Horrific moment father confesses to letting his baby be eaten alive by rats

This is the horrific infinitesimal an Indiana begetter admitted that his babe was bitten by rats much than 50 times arsenic helium slept connected the couch. 

David Schonabaum called for assistance connected September 13, 2023 aft helium woke up to find his babe lad covered successful humor with his fingers chewed to the bony by rats. 

'Blood was each implicit the pillow,' helium told Evansville Police during questioning. 'I picked him up, I seen [sic] the humor everywhere, his diaper was fractional hanging disconnected of him. 

'I took him into the bath and I didn't cognize what was going connected astatine the clip yet, due to the fact that I hadn't seen his hands...I thought helium had a nosebleed.'

After his sister-in-law pointed retired the boy's hands, Schonabaum 'instantly' thought  'it's the rats,' helium told investigators, an interrogation video obtained by Law & Crime showed.  

The boy's soma had been chewed disconnected the apical of his fingers and his thumb connected his close hand, causing respective of the baby's fingers to aboriginal beryllium amputated, according to Fox 59. 

The kid suffered from much than 50 bites crossed his full body, including his forehead and cheeks. 

The begetter instantly called 911 aft determining the origin of his child's injuries and the six-month-old was taken to the hospital, wherever helium received a humor transfusion, according to Fox 59. 

Schonabaum, who was sentenced to 16 years, admitted to Evansville Police that his location had a rat occupation during archetypal interrogation. 

The dada insisted, however, that nary 1 successful the location had ever been bitten by a rat before, and that helium had an exterminator coming erstwhile per period to assistance with the problem. 

When constabulary investigated the home, they recovered discarded nutrient successful the father's country and rodent feces successful the house, according to Fox 59. A authoritative called the wrong of the location a 'house of horrors.' 

Trash successful the backyard had besides been flagged by the terminator arsenic a crushed rodents would beryllium attracted to their home, according to Fox 59.  

Every day, erstwhile his woman was home, Schonabaum would emergence astir 5:30am and helium admitted helium would usually spot rats successful the bathroom, which was adjacent doorway to his bedroom, wherever the babe was sleeping successful a bassinet.  

He had slept connected the sofa the nighttime it happened due to the fact that helium was 'trying to beryllium a bully hubby and marque definite the location is clean' for erstwhile his woman was expected to get the adjacent day. 

Although constabulary released him aft the archetypal interrogation, helium was aboriginal arrested and convicted of 3 counts of kid neglect - 1 for each kid surviving successful the location astatine the time. 

He was sentenced to 16 years successful October. 

His wife, Angel Schonabaum, besides pleaded blameworthy to 1 number of neglect of a dependent. She received a twelvemonth recognition for clip served and was fixed 3 years of probation nether a suspended sentence. 

Schonabaum's sister-in-law, Delaina Thurman, was sentenced to probation.  

Prior to the incident, the parents had a Department of Child Services (DCS) lawsuit unfastened against them aft 1 of their children was injured owed to deficiency of supervision successful December 2022, according to Fox 59. 

DCS besides substantiated a assertion of carnal maltreatment by David that allegedly took spot successful June 2023, but the section determined the kid could enactment with the parents. 

Three DCS employees were aboriginal fired for not removing the children from the location earlier the rat attack.   

The employees aboriginal filed a national lawsuit.