Dad drowned baby in bucket of laundry detergent to 'teach wife a lesson'

In a heinous act of domestic violence and murder, Eliasard Moneus, 29, left his three-month-old baby to die in a "bucket of laundry detergent" as part of a twisted bid to "teach his wife a lesson."

Moneus has been handed an extensive prison sentence of 92 years in an Indiana state correctional facility for deliberately drowning his baby boy, Jacob. The twisted child killer put his son face down in the bucket, "sealing the lid and leaving the boy to die."

Moneus assaulted his wife with an iron bar in the aftermath of their son's murder. He received a 62-year sentence for Jacob's murder and a further 30 years for attempting to take the life of his wife Edlie, with both terms set to be served one after the other.

According to a legal affidavit: "A young male infant believed to be Jacob was located deceased in a dark-colored 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."

Tippecanoe County Deputy Prosecutor Elyse Madigan remarked, "It doesn't really get worse than this," detailing the grim circumstances: "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 elaborated on Moneus's abhorrent motive, which centred around punishing his wife for perceived disrespect. "The defendant wanted to teach Edlie and women a lesson," she said, citing the assailant's malicious intention towards his spouse.

"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 ordered the sentencing after Moneus pleaded guilty to one count of murder, the Mirror reports.

Moneus, who speaks French Creole, through an interpreter apologised for the pain he caused. However, Judge Meter 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 responded to a hospital for 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 beat her with a tyre iron or wrench and then took off with their three-month-old son.

Authorities responded to the home and found a blood spatter and other evidence indicating an attack had taken place, but police tragically could not find Jacob.

Moneus was found and apprehended the next day. During an interview with detectives, he confessed to assaulting his wife and striking her multiple times, but claimed ignorance about his son's whereabouts.

On August 11, investigators conducted another search of the home and located 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."