A 29-year-old Indiana man has been sentenced to 92 years in prison after pleading guilty to the brutal murder of his 3-month-old son and the attempted murder of his wife, authorities confirmed.
Eliasard Moneus received the sentence on Tuesday from Tippecanoe Superior Court Judge Steve Meyer, following his May guilty plea to one count of murder and one count of attempted murder. According to court records, he was given 62 years for the murder of his infant son, Jacob Moneus, and 30 years for the attempted murder of his wife, Edlie Moneus. The sentences will be served consecutively.
During the sentencing hearing, prosecutors detailed the horrifying circumstances surrounding the crime, which occurred in August 2024.
“It doesn’t really get worse than this,” said Tippecanoe County Deputy Prosecutor Elyse Madigan, as reported by the Journal & Courier. “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.”
Madigan told the court that Moneus admitted to committing the crime to “teach his wife a lesson” about disrespecting men. Jacob died from asphyxiation, having swallowed approximately 100 milliliters of detergent before drowning.
“The defendant said repeatedly he didn’t care what the consequences were,” Madigan continued. “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.”
Speaking through a French Creole interpreter, Moneus offered an apology for his actions, but Judge Meyer dismissed the gesture.
“You killed your own child,” the judge said. “This is one of the most grotesque murders I have ever had to see. The thought of putting a 3-month-old upside down into a bucket of laundry detergent is unimaginable.”
According to a probable cause affidavit, police were first alerted on August 10, 2024, when Moneus’ wife arrived at a local hospital with a fractured skull. She told authorities that her husband had assaulted her with a tire iron or wrench and then fled their home with their infant son.
When Lafayette Police responded to the residence, they found signs of a violent struggle, including blood spatter. However, the baby was missing.
Moneus was arrested the following day but initially told detectives he did not know where his son was. On August 11, a further search of the couple’s home uncovered Jacob’s body inside a sealed orange bucket filled with dark liquid, positioned next to the kitchen trash can.
An autopsy later confirmed that Jacob died of asphyxiation after being submerged in the detergent-filled container.
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