Dead baby's mother says rats were in walls

WESTWEGO, La., July 18 (UPI) -- The mother of a dead infant bitten by rats said she could hear rodents in the walls of her rented home in Westwego, La.

Three-month-old Natalie Marie Hill was found dead Thursday, her face, arms and legs covered in hundreds of bite marks, police told The (New Orleans) Times-Picayune in a story published Saturday.

Casey Laine, the baby's mother, told police her daughter was fine when she checked on her about 2 a.m. Thursday. Robby Hill, the baby's father, said he found the girl dead and covered in blood and bite marks when he rose for work Thursday about 7 a.m.

The Jefferson Parish coroner's office is expected to announce an official cause of death this coming week. Laine and Hill's 14-month-old son was taken into state protective custody pending the outcome of an investigation, police said.

Laine told police she had heard rodents in the walls but had never seen them near the children.