Eliasard Moneus, 29, was sentenced to 92 years in prison for the brutal murder of his three-month-old son, Jacob, and the attempted murder of his wife, Edlie, in Indiana, USA
A 29-year-old father cruelly left his three-month-old baby to die in a “bucket of laundry detergent” as a twisted way to teach his wife “a lesson.”
Eliasard Moneus has been sentenced to serve 92 years in an Indiana state correctional facility after he heartlessly drowned his baby boy, Jacob, in a vat of detergent, “sealing the lid and leaving the boy to die.”
The charges arose from him attacking his wife with a tyre iron after murdering his son. Moneous was handed a 62-year sentence for the murder of Jacob and a further 30 years for the attempted murder of his wife Edlie, with the sentences to be served consecutively.
An affidavit revealed: “A young male infant believed to be Jacob was located deceased in a dark-coloured liquid inside of the orange bucket once the lid was removed. A subsequent autopsy determined that the boy died of asphyxia from being immersed in the detergent.
“It doesn’t really get worse than this,” said Tippecanoe County Deputy Prosecutor Elyse Madigan.
“A father put his 3-month-old son face down in a bucket of laundry detergent, sealed the lid, left his son to die, and then went to the next room and viciously attacked the baby’s mother. Jacob drowned in the bucket swallowing 100 ml of detergent while he died.”.
Madigan stated that Moneus wanted to teach his wife “a lesson” about showing disrespect to men. “The defendant wanted to teach Edlie and women a lesson,” the prosecutor said, referring to the defendant’s wife by name.
“You can’t disrespect a man. The defendant said repeatedly he didn’t care what the consequences were. He could not live without teaching Edlie a lesson, and he didn’t care if he spent the rest of his life in prison, which is exactly where he belongs.”
Tippecanoe Superior Court Judge Steve Meyer handed down the sentence after Moneus pleaded guilty to one count of murder.
Moneus, who communicates in French Creole, expressed his remorse for the pain he caused through an interpreter. However, Judge Meter condemned the man regardless.
“You killed your own child,” Meyer reportedly stated. “I can’t think of a worse crime. This is one of the most grotesque murders I have ever had to witness. The thought of putting a 3-month-old upside down into a bucket of laundry detergent is unimaginable.”
According to a probable cause affidavit, officers from the Lafayette Police Department were called to a hospital for a domestic violence incident involving Moneus’ wife around midday on 10 August last year.
The wife, who suffered a fractured skull, informed police that her husband of nearly a year assaulted her with a tyre iron or wrench and then absconded with their three-month-old son.
Authorities arrived at the home and discovered blood spatter and other evidence indicating an attack had occurred, but tragically, they could not locate Jacob.
Moneus was tracked down and arrested the next day.
During questioning with detectives, he confessed to assaulting his wife and striking her repeatedly, but told officers that he had no idea where his son was.
On August 11, investigators carried out another search of the property and found Jacob “in an orange bucket with a snap seal lid.”
The affidavit stated: “The orange bucket had the lid attached to the bucket and was located next to the trash can in the kitchen.”