A 29-year-old man has been sentenced to 92 years in an Indiana state correctional facility for the cruel act of leaving his three-month-old baby to die in a bucket of laundry detergent as a means to teach his wife a lesson. Eliasard Moneus heartlessly drowned his baby boy, Jacob, by sealing the lid on the vat of detergent. In addition to the murder of Jacob, Moneus received a 62-year sentence for attacking his wife with a tyre iron and a further 30 years for attempting to murder her, with the sentences to be served consecutively.
The horrific incident was discovered when a deceased male infant, believed to be Jacob, was found in a dark-colored liquid inside an orange bucket after the lid was removed. An autopsy revealed that the cause of death was asphyxia from being immersed in the detergent, a fact that Tippecanoe County Deputy Prosecutor Elyse Madigan described as one of the worst cases she had seen.
Moneus was driven by a desire to teach his wife a lesson about respecting men, according to Madigan. The prosecutor stated that Moneus showed no regard for the consequences and was determined to make his point, even if it meant spending the rest of his life in prison.
Following Moneus’s guilty plea to murder, Tippecanoe Superior Court Judge Steve Meyer handed down the sentence. Despite expressing remorse through an interpreter, Moneus was condemned by Judge Meyer for committing such a heinous act.
The tragic incident unfolded when officers responded to a domestic violence incident involving Moneus’ wife, who had been assaulted with a tyre iron or wrench, leading to a fractured skull. Although blood spatter and evidence of an attack were found at the home, Jacob was initially missing. Moneus was apprehended the next day, and during questioning, he admitted to assaulting his wife but claimed ignorance about his son’s whereabouts. Jacob was ultimately found in an orange bucket in the kitchen with the lid securely fastened.
This disturbing case highlights the extreme consequences of domestic violence and the tragic loss of life resulting from a father’s unfathomable actions.