A 29-year-old father heartlessly left his three-month-old baby to die in a “bucket of laundry detergent” as a sick way to teach his wife “a lesson.”
Eliasard Moneus was handed a 92-year sentence in an Indiana state correctional facility after he callously drowned his baby boy, Jacob, in a vat of detergent, “sealing the lid and leaving the boy to die”.
The charges stemmed from him assaulting his wife with a tyre iron after murdering his son. Moneous was given a 62-year sentence for the murder of Jacob and an additional 30 years for the attempted murder of his wife Edlie, with the sentences to be served consecutively.
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.”, reports the Mirror.
“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 Moneus wanted 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.”
Tippecanoe Superior Court Judge Steve Meyer on Tuesday delivered the sentence after Moneus pleaded guilty to one count of murder.
Moneus, who speaks French Creole, expressed remorse through an interpreter for the suffering he caused.
Nevertheless, Judge Meyer condemned the man regardless. “You killed your own child,” Meyer reportedly said.
“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 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 summoned to a hospital regarding a domestic violence incident involving Moneus’ wife at about noon on August 10 last year.
The wife, who suffered a fractured skull, told police her husband of nearly a year assaulted her with a tyre iron or spanner and then escaped with their three-month-old son. Officers attended the property and found blood spatter and other evidence indicating an attack had taken place, but police tragically failed to find Jacob.
Moneus was located and detained the following day.
During interviews with detectives, he admitted to attacking his wife and hitting her repeatedly, but told officers that he was unaware of his son’s location.
Investigators conducted another search of the premises 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.”
