A 29-year-old Indiana man has been sentenced to 92 years in prison for the shocking murder of his three-month-old son and a violent attack on his wife. Eliasard Moneus drowned his infant, Jacob, in a bucket of laundry detergent, allegedly as a twisted attempt to “teach his wife a lesson.”
Moneus received a 62-year prison term for the murder of Jacob and an additional 30 years for the attempted murder of his wife, Edlie, to be served consecutively. Court documents reveal that the boy was found in a dark-colored liquid inside an orange bucket with the lid sealed. An autopsy confirmed the cause of death as asphyxiation from immersion in detergent.
Tippecanoe County Deputy Prosecutor Elyse Madigan described the case as “unimaginably horrific,” stating, “It doesn’t really get worse than this.” Prosecutors said Moneus carried out the act to punish his wife for what he perceived as disrespect toward men, showing no regard for the consequences or the life of his own child.
Judge Steve Meyer condemned the crime as one of the most grotesque he had ever witnessed. “You killed your own child. The thought of putting a three-month-old upside down into a bucket of laundry detergent is unimaginable,” he said during sentencing.
The tragedy began on August 10, when police were called to a hospital for a domestic violence incident involving Moneus and his wife. Edlie, who suffered a fractured skull, told officers that her husband assaulted her with a tire iron before taking their son. Despite initial searches, Jacob was not immediately located.
Moneus was arrested the following day after confessing to the assault on his wife, but initially denied knowing his son’s whereabouts. Police later discovered Jacob in the orange bucket with a snap-seal lid at the family home, confirming the worst fears.
Moneus, who communicates in French Creole, expressed remorse through an interpreter, but the severity of the crime led the court to hand down a sentence that will likely keep him behind bars for life.
