Indiana Dad Learns His Fate After Drowning His 3-Month-Old Son in a Bucket of Laundry Detergent

It's been almost a year since Lafayette, Ind. police launched their investigation into a Haitian husband and father. Now, a judge has handed down a hefty sentence to Eliasard Moneus, who police say committed a particularly heinous crime

The Lafayette Police Department was called to a local hospital on Aug. 10, 2024 in response to a domestic incident, according to FOX 59 News. They spoke to Moneus' wife, Edlie, who claimed he beat her with a tire iron or "wrench of some kind." He reportedly told his wife he hoped she would die from her injuries. She was left was hospitalized with a fractured skull but alive.

Police soon arrived to Moneus' home where they reportedly found blood splatter evident of the violent assault. But during the initial search, they could not locate the couple's 3-month-old baby. The next day (Aug. 11), police located Moneus after he drove off the night before with their son, Jacob. The Tippecanoe County Coroner’s Office was called to an apartment complex in response to a deceased infant, and what they found was horrifying.

"It doesn’t really get worse than this," Tippecanoe County deputy prosecutor Elyse Madigan told Judge Steve Meyer. "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’s body was stuffed inside an orange bucket. An autopsy report later confirmed his cause of death was due to asphyxia, ruling it a homicide. Moneus was then arrested and charged with six felonies, including the infant's murder and the attempted murder of his wife, Law and Crime reported.

Months later in May, the 29-year-old father pleaded guilty to both the murder and attempted murder charges. On Tuesday, (July 1), he sat in a court room while Judge Meyer announced the punishment to the Haitian immigrant, who doesn't speaking any English.

In total, Moneus was given 92 years behind bars -- 62 years for the murder of Jacob and 30 for Edlie's attempted murder, according to Journal & Courier. A French Creole interpreter read Moneus' statement to the court before his sentencing.

"This is not what I wish for my future," the written statement said. "But this is what is present in my life today. I would like to present my apologies to all of you in the community reading and hearing about this situation."

He will have to complete 75 percent of his sentence before he's eligible for release, when he'll be 97 years old.