A baby was found covered in serious wounds from rat bites at a home in Evansville, Indiana. Three adults have been arrested and face felony charges. The baby's father said he found his baby covered in blood, according to arrest affidavits. The baby reportedly had more than 50 rat bites all over his body.
The baby also had parts of his fingers missing, resulting in bones being exposed, 14 News, a local station, reported. Hospital records indicate that the baby nearly died, Today.com reported.
The parents of the baby are facing charges, and the mother's sister also faces charges. The baby was treated at a hospital in Indianapolis, the New York Post reported, which included being given a blood transfusion. When the baby arrived at the hospital, he reportedly had a body temperature of 93.5 degrees, which indicates moderate hypothermia.
The baby is 6 months old, and the couple has two other children. The mom's sister's children also live in the same home, TODAY.com reported. According to the outlet, the Department of Child Safety visited their home after two of the children mentioned rat bites to a teacher at school.
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Social workers also previously checked the home, the outlet reported. According to court documents, social workers described the house as "cluttered, had trash sitting out, had animal feces on the floors, had dirt, dishes piled up and had foul odors emitting from the kitchen."
The family's neighbors did not seem to notice that anything was wrong, according to WFIE. One neighbor described them as "good people," saying, "they take good care of their kids. I’m always seeing them loading food into the house.”
When the Indiana Department of Child Services visited the house after reports of rat bites, the children's aunt reportedly said the home had "a normal amount of mice," according to USA Today. DCS employees were supposed to return to the home on September 14 for another visit, but the police were called on September 13.
The father reportedly said that they noticed the rodent problem in their home in March and Terminix was helping to resolve the issue, WFIE reported. DCS has had two other interactions with the family, according to police. One was involving an injury that resulted from lack of adult supervision, and one was related to alleged physical abuse of a child.
The last time social workers visited the home before the police were called was September 9. Although the house was cluttered, messy, and dirty, a social worker described it as "slowly improving," according to USA Today.
Another neighbor told WFIE that the mother appeared to take good care of her baby.
“People can put up a front, you may not know them well enough, or behind closed doors there’s things going on," Evansville Police Dept. Sgt. Anna Gray told WFIE. She also noted that the police should've been involved before the situation became a medical emergency.
“The only reason that we even knew about it was because the dad woke up and the baby was covered in blood," Gray said.
If you suspect child abuse, you can call the Childhelp National Child Abuse Hotline at 1-800-422-4453 (1-800-4-A-Child), or go to Childhelp.org. The hotline is available 24/7.
