Nationwide — A heartbreaking tragedy unfolded in Lafayette, Indiana when a 3-month-old African American baby named Jacob Moneus was found dead after being drowned by his father in a bucket of laundry detergent. On Tuesday, a judge sentenced 29-year-old Eliasard Moneus to 92 years in prison for the infant’s death, which occurred in August 2024. The sentencing comes after a series of disturbing events that shocked the Lafayette community and made headlines statewide.
KGNS News reports that according to court documents, the incident began on August 5, 2024, when Eliasard and his wife had an argument and stopped speaking to each other. While the mother sat in their bedroom watching a church service and holding baby Jacob, Eliasard entered the room, took the child, and walked out the front door. He returned about 30 minutes later and brutally attacked his wife with a heavy object, believed to be a tire iron or wrench, fracturing her skull before leaving again.
The injured mother managed to drive herself to the hospital, where doctors treated her for multiple injuries. When officers arrived to speak with her, they realized baby Jacob was missing and not at the hospital. Police immediately began searching for the infant and issued a Silver Alert on August 10, citing that the baby was in grave danger and required urgent medical care.
Sadly, the search ended in tragedy the following day when officers returned to the family’s apartment for a second, more thorough search. It was during this visit that they discovered Jacob’s body hidden in a sealed bucket beside the kitchen trash can — a location authorities described as “very well hidden where a normal person wouldn’t think to look.”
Lafayette Police confirmed that the bucket contained laundry detergent and that Jacob had been drowned in it. The devastating discovery led to Eliasard’s arrest and ultimately his conviction. As part of a plea agreement, additional charges — including aggravated battery, criminal confinement, and domestic battery — were dropped in exchange for the lengthy sentence.
The case has drawn national attention, not only for the brutality of the crime but also for the resilience of Jacob’s mother, who survived a brutal assault and helped authorities uncover the truth.
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