Minnesota boy, 6, found dead in trunk, mother charged with murder: Police

 MINNEAPOLIS  — The mother of 6-year-old Eli Hart has been charged in the boy’s death after he was found dead in a car trunk while police were executing a traffic stop near Orono Friday morning.

On Monday, 28-year-old Julissa Thaler was charged with second-degree murder in Hennepin County. She was arrested by Orono police early Saturday morning. Orono police say they stopped a car traveling near Shoreline Drive and Bartlett Boulevard Friday morning after a caller reported the car had a shattered rear window and blown-out tire.

According to the criminal complaint, officers saw what appeared to be blood on Thaler’s hand, and observed a shotgun shell, a spent shell casing and a bullet hole in the back seat. Based on the state of the vehicle, officers determined there was probable cause to search the vehicle, including the trunk.

When officers searched the vehicle before towing the vehicle, they found a child’s body in the trunk. There was also a shotgun found inside the trunk, the complaint said.

Multiple family members previously identified the boy who was found dead as Eli Hart. Later, a medical examiner’s report confirmed Eli Hart’s identity, saying he died of “multiple shotgun wounds.” The manner of death was listed as homicide. 

Prior to officers finding the body, Thaler was released from the scene. When officers went to arrest her at her apartment, they found that she had placed the clothes she was wearing in the washing machine and was trying to leave on foot, the complaint said.

Thaler’s vehicle was seen at a gas station near some dumpsters not long before the traffic stop. Officers searched there and found a backpack, blood and other evidence of a shooting. There were other locations where blood and evidence of a shooting were found discarded, including a bloody child booster seat, which sustained damage consistent with a shotgun blast.

According to the criminal complaint, Thaler had recently wanted to learn how to use a gun, so she went with a friend to the gun range. Court documents say she would often carry a shotgun out of her apartment, wrapped in a gray blanket. A gray blanket was also located in the trunk during the traffic stop.

Dakota County court documents portray the last two years of Eli Hart’s life centered around an ongoing custody battle between Thaler and his biological father, Tory Hart. In January of 2021, records show Eli Hart was placed into family foster care after concerns regarding his mother’s mental health grew. There were also concerns about her criminal history and living situation.