Eliasard Moneus, 29, drowned his three-month-old son in a vat of detergent and left his body in a sealed bucket before going to the next room to viciously attack the baby’s mother
A 29-year-old father horrifically drowned his baby in “laundry detergent” and left the body in a bucket as a cruel way to teach his wife “a lesson.”
The harrowing incident took place when Eliasard Moneus drowned his three-month-old baby, Jacob, in a vat of detergent, “sealing the lid and leaving the boy to die.” This monstrous act was followed by an attack on his wife with a tyre iron, leading to additional charges.
According to an affidavit, the evil incident was uncovered when officers from the Lafayette Police Department responded to a hospital for a domestic violence incident involving Moneus’ wife at about noon on August 10 last year. The wife, who suffered a fractured skull, informed police that her husband of nearly a year had 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.
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Moneus was found and arrested the next day. During an interview with detectives, he confessed to assaulting his wife and striking her repeatedly but claimed he was unaware of his son’s whereabouts.
On August 11, a further search of the house led to the discovery of Jacob “in an orange bucket with a snap seal lid.” The statement revealed: “The orange bucket had the lid attached to the bucket and was located next to the trash can in the kitchen.”
An affidavit stated: “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,” Tippecanoe County Deputy Prosecutor Elyse Madigan said. “A father put his three-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 100ml of detergent while he died.”
Moneus pleaded guilty to one count of murder and was sentenced to 92 years in prison. He was handed a 62-year sentence for the murder of his three-month-old son and a further 30 years for the attempted murder of his wife Edlie. The sentences are being served consecutively at an Indiana state correctional facility.
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Prosecutor Madigan also stated that Moneus intended to teach his wife “a lesson” about disrespecting 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.”
Moneus, who communicates in French Creole, expressed his apologies for the pain he caused through an interpreter. However, Tippecanoe Superior Court Judge Steve Meyer 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 see. The thought of putting a three-month-old upside down into a bucket of laundry detergent is unimaginable.”