Indiana
6-month-old Indiana boy nearly eaten alive by rats as he slept in his crib
A 6-month-old Indiana boy was nearly eaten alive by rats that bit him more than 50 times while he slept in his crib last week.
The boy’s parents, David and Angel Schonabaum, were arrested and charged with child neglect after they awoke to find their infant son drenched in blood last Wednesday, 14News reported.
The child’s aunt, Delania Thurman, who lived in the same home in Evansville, was also arrested on the same charge.
The tot, who was covered in bites on his forehead, cheek, nose, thigh, foot, arm, fingers and toes, lost a significant amount of blood, according to the arrest affidavits obtained by the local station.
His right arm had been gnawed by rodents from his elbow down to his hand and parts of his fingers were bitten off so that his bones were exposed, police said.
The infant was flown to a hospital in Indianapolis, where doctors gave him a blood transfusion after his temperature had dropped to 93.5 degrees, the station reported.
The family’s home on South Linwood Avenue — where the boy’s 3- and 6-year-old siblings and 2- and 5-year-old cousins also lived — was full of clutter, trash and rat feces, police said.
Evansville Police Sgt. Anna Gray said the stomach-turning scene was one of the worst child neglect cases she has seen in her career spanning decades.
“It’s really hard to see that and sometimes it’s really hard to maintain composure and be professional,” she told 14News.
The baby’s father told investigators that they began having a rodent issue in March and that Terminix exterminators were treating the house.
But the rats’ mauling of the baby was not the first time the vermin have snacked on children in the home.
Two kids in the house told a teacher at their school on Sept. 1 that mice had bitten their toes while they were sleeping, according to the affidavit.
Four days later, an employee with the Indiana Department of Child Services visited the home, where Thurman claimed the marks on her child’s toes were likely just scratches from the bed frame, the news station reported.
DCS went over a safety plan with the family and a DCS representative was scheduled to return to the home just one day after the baby was bitten by rats.
A case manager had been visiting the home twice a week since April due to past reports involving the children, including a claim last year that a child was hurt due to a lack of supervision and a claim in June that David Schonabaum had physically abused one of the children.
DCS did not comment on the neglect allegations.
Indiana
Delivery driver reported missing in Decatur found dead in her vehicle in Indiana
A driver who makes nationwide deliveries and was reported missing last month to Decatur police was found dead inside her vehicle Thursday in Indiana, authorities said.
Foul play is not suspected in the death of Ann Theresa Kipp, a 62-year-old subcontracted driver for RXO who had a Decatur mailing address but did not live in the north Alabama city, Decatur police said Thursday.
Kipp was reported missing to Decatur police on Nov. 3.
She made a delivery in Corinth, Mississippi on Oct. 10 before calling her employer Oct. 16 to request time off because she was not feeling well.
Kipp was in Louisville, Kentucky when she made that call.
On Oct. 20, her employer tried contacting her but the effort was unsuccessful. Her employer told authorities Kipp was in Scottsburg, Indiana at the time.
On Thursday, police officers with the Indianapolis Police Department found Kipp dead inside her vehicle.
Indianapolis police are taking over the investigation into Kipp’s death.
Indiana
Woman killed, man wounded in shooting at Gary, Indiana, home
Be the first to know
Get browser notifications for breaking news, live events, and exclusive reporting.
Indiana
Child dies, 5 others injured from fatal house fire
FOWLER, Ind. (WISH) — A family was trapped in a house fire that killed one child and put three children and their parents into the hospital.
The Benton County Sheriff’s Office said the fire happened just before midnight Dec. 17. They were called to a report of a house fire with the family trapped at a home on 600 North, northeast of Fowler, Indiana.
Four children and their parents, Dolores Moreno-Lazo and Keyry Haro-Ortega, were taken to the hospital. Officers said that 11-year-old Yuliana Haro-Ortega was pronounced deceased at the hospital.
The cause of the fire is still under investigation.
-
Politics7 days ago
Canadian premier threatens to cut off energy imports to US if Trump imposes tariff on country
-
Technology1 week ago
Inside the launch — and future — of ChatGPT
-
Technology6 days ago
OpenAI cofounder Ilya Sutskever says the way AI is built is about to change
-
Politics6 days ago
U.S. Supreme Court will decide if oil industry may sue to block California's zero-emissions goal
-
Technology6 days ago
Meta asks the US government to block OpenAI’s switch to a for-profit
-
Politics1 week ago
Conservative group debuts major ad buy in key senators' states as 'soft appeal' for Hegseth, Gabbard, Patel
-
Business4 days ago
Freddie Freeman's World Series walk-off grand slam baseball sells at auction for $1.56 million
-
Technology4 days ago
Meta’s Instagram boss: who posted something matters more in the AI age