Indiana mom who left six-month-old son to die in rat-infested home swerves jail in shock twist

An Indiana mom who left her six-month-old son to die in a rat-infested home has now been sentenced.

Angel Schonabaum has avoided being sent to prison after she was sentenced on Thursday. Schonabaum was given a four-year prison sentence and was given credit for a year already served . The remaining three years were suspended to probation.

The 29-year-old had pleaded guilty to one count of neglect of a dependent. She will need to undergo a mental health evaluation and follow any treatment which is recommended, according to Law and Crime .

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The baby's father David Schonabaum was convicted in September of child neglect. The couple were arrested in September 2023 after David dialed 911 to report their infant son had been severely injured by rats in their home, according to law enforcement.

David claimed to have found his son "covered in blood" and said the boy's fingers had been "chewed off". The child had suffered more than 50 rat bites and needed hospital treatment.

When police officers arrived at the home, they found the baby in a room filled with half-eaten food and rat feces. The baby's diaper disposal container also had "blood smeared all over it".

Detective Jonathan Helm wrote in an affidavit: "All four of (the victim's) fingers and thumb on his right hand were missing the flesh from the top of them, exposing fingertip bones. The damage to (the victim's) index and pinky fingers were the most severe."

Emergency responders had been able to stabilize the infant before he was airlifted to another hospital in Indianapolis for more specialized treatment. Doctors described the baby's condition as being "near fatal".

David Schonabaum was found guilty by a jury in September on three felony counts of neglect of a dependent. He received the maximum sentence of 16 years in prison.

County prosecutor Diana Moers took to Facebook on Thursday to explain that Angel Schonabaum "was not residing in the home at the time of the rat-bite incident; however, she was held accountable for the deplorable conditions of the home which she was responsible for when residing there."

The house had once been occupied by the Schonabaums and Angel Schonabaum's sister, Delaina Thurman. Thurman received a sentence of two years probation following the incident.

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