A Haitian man living in Indiana has been sentenced to 92 years in prison after he was found guilty of killing his 3-month-old son and trying to kill his wife.
The judge described it as one of the most "grotesque" crimes he’s ever come across.
On August 10, 2024, Eliasard Moneus, then 28, committed a horrifying act that shocked the Lafayette community.
According to court documents seen by PEOPLE, Moneus visited his wife that day while she was reportedly watching a church service on TV.
He then took their baby, Jacob, from her arms and went into another room, where he placed the infant face-down in a bucket filled with laundry detergent and closed the lid..
Sadly, the child drowned in the toxic liquid, after swallowing 100 ml of detergent before dying.
While his son was suffocating, Moneus returned to his wife and attacked her with a tire iron or wrench, causing a skull fracture and serious head injuries.
Thankfully, she managed to escape and drive herself to the hospital.
There, she told police that Moneus had taken off with their son, and she didn’t know where Jacob was.
She also told police that she and Moneus had been quarrelling, and hadn’t spoken to each other for five days before the attack happened.
At that moment, she had no idea her baby was already dead inside the house.
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| Baby Jacob |
Authorities immediately issued a Silver Alert for baby Jacob, warning that the infant was in extreme danger and may need medical care.
The next morning, police returned to the home to carry out a full search, as reported by PEOPLE.
That’s when they discovered Jacob’s lifeless body inside an orange detergent bucket in the family’s apartment.
The Tippecanoe County Coroner’s Office later confirmed that the baby died from asphyxia and ruled it a homicide.
Moneus was arrested the same day and charged with murder, attempted murder, and domestic battery.
When criminal investigators interviewed Moneus, he reportedly told officers he didn’t know where his son was and even wished his wife had died from her injuries.
During the pre-trial, Deputy Prosecutor Elyse Madigan said Moneus attacked his wife and son because she "disrespected" him.
He reportedly told her he wanted to “teach her a lesson for disrespecting him”
At his sentencing on July 1, 2025, Moneus showed little emotion as Judge Steve Meyer gave him a 92-year prison sentence — 62 years for murder and 30 years for attempted murder, to be served one after the other.
"You killed your own child," Judge Meyer said, his voice shaking with anger. "I can’t think of a worse crime. This is one of the most grotesque murders I have ever had to see," the judge added.
Eliasard Moneus, who doesn’t speak English, used a French Creole interpreter to read a statement in court where he expressed some regret—but also blamed his actions on his circumstances.
"I left Haiti to look for a better life… but things were not easy for me," he said. "If I knew I was to be involved in such a problem, I would never have come here."
However, his statement didn’t change the court’s decision.
Moneus—now 29—is required to serve 75% of his sentence, which means he won’t be eligible for release until he’s 97 years old.
As the legal proceedings conclude, Jacob’s family is left to mourn a life cut tragically short—while Moneus faces the consequences of his unforgivable action.
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