Eli Hart had been shot multiple times, and his mother, Julissa Angelica Genrich Thaler, was arrested with human remains in her hair.
A Spring Park woman has been charged with murder in the shooting death of her young son.
A criminal complaint filed on Monday in Hennepin County District Court identifies Julissa Angelica Genrich Thaler, 28, as the biological mother of 6-year-old Eli Hart, according to relatives and court papers. Early Friday morning, Mound police officers discovered the boy’s body in the trunk of the vehicle driven by Thaler.
Officers initiated a traffic stop on Thaler after observing that the Impala she was driving was missing its front tire and had a shattered rear window.
Foster mother speaks out about death of Eli Hart
According to the complaint, police discovered a live shotgun shell, a spent shell casing, and what appeared to be a bullet hole in the back seat. Additionally, they observed blood on the defendant’s hand, but Thaler was released from the scene.
Shortly after she departed, police believed there was probable cause to search the car and discovered the body of a child, identified by police as Eli Hart, along with a shotgun in the trunk.
Squads immediately went to the Thaler’s apartment and discovered that she wasn’t there but the washing machine was running.
According to the complaint, the defendant’s clothing was being washed in the machine. Officers quickly located Thaler as she attempted to flee on foot and arrested her. The police discovered what appeared to be human remains and blood in her hair.
To determine Thaler’s whereabouts prior to the traffic stop, investigators interviewed witnesses and examined the road damage caused by her car’s rim. They discovered human remains, a child’s car seat that had been damaged by what authorities suspect was a gunshot, and a backpack abandoned in various dumpsters and locations.
In the criminal complaint, it is stated that investigators questioned a friend of Thaler who stated that in the week preceding the child’s death, Thaler expressed a desire to learn how to use a firearm.
The witness stated that Thaler purchased a shotgun on March 17 and that the following two days were spent at a shooting range. During this time, she allegedly brought the shotgun into and out of the apartment while wrapped in a gray blanket.
Investigators discovered a gray blanket in Thaler’s impounded car’s trunk.
The autopsy revealed that the child was shot as many as nine times.
According to court papers, Thaler had recently been involved in custody disputes with Eli’s father, Tory Hart.
A 27-year-old man was also arrested in connection with the boy’s death, but the Hennepin County Attorney’s Office has determined that there is insufficient evidence to file charges against him at this moment.
The shore communities of Lake Minnetonka have been heartbroken by the news of Eli’s passing. At the elementary school where he attended as a kindergartener, counselors are available, and a memorial is growing on the bridge leading from Spring Park to Mound.
