Left: Jacob Moneus (Lafayette Police Department) Right: Eliasard Moneus (Tippecanoe County Jail)
Indiana authorities investigating the disappearance of a 3-month-old child allegedly found the boy dead inside a sealed bucket on Sunday morning.
Now the boy’s father, 28-year-old Eliasard Moneus, is considered a person of interest in his death, according to Indianapolis Fox affiliate WXIN. Tippecanoe County Jail records show Moneus is being held on domestic violence and attempted murder charges.
According to an arrest affidavit obtained by the station, officers from the Lafayette Police Department responded to a hospital around noon on Saturday for a domestic violence incident involving Moneus’ wife. She reportedly told cops that her husband of nearly a year beat her with a tire iron or wrench and then took off with their 3-month-old son, Jacob Moneus. The wife reportedly suffered a fractured skull in the incident.
This prompted officials to issue a Silver Alert for Jacob that gave out a picture and description of him and said the boy may be in danger.
The affidavit reportedly said cops responded to the home and found blood splatter and other evidence that an assault took place but did not find Jacob. Cops reportedly found Moneus in Indianapolis early Sunday morning and took him in for questioning. He first told investigators that he didn’t know where his son was, but then said the boy was OK, the affidavit reportedly said.
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Moneus also allegedly admitted to hitting his wife “two or three times” with a tool from his vehicle. Cops searched the home a second time early Sunday morning and found Jacob dead inside an orange bucket with a snap-seal lid, the affidavit reportedly said.
The Tippecanoe County Coroner said the preliminary cause of death is asphyxia with homicide as the manner of death.
Lafayette police announced the cancellation of the Silver Alert shortly after 9 a.m. Sunday.
Moneus has yet to be charged in Jacob’s death.
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