Twin Cities Mom Convicted In Killing Of Her 6-Year-Old Son

ORONO, MN — A Hennepin County jury on Wednesday convicted a 29-year-old woman in the killing of Eli Hart, her 6-year-old son.

Julissa Angelica Genrich Thaler, of Spring Lake Park, was found guilty of first-degree murder. The conviction carries an automatic sentence of life in prison.

She is scheduled to be formally sentenced on Feb. 16.

Thaler fatally shot her son with a shotgun and hid his body in the trunk of her car, authorities said. Prosecutors said Thaler may have killed her son for insurance money. She was also in the middle of a custody battle with the boy's father.

"Eli's brutal murder is one of the most horrific cases I have encountered in 30 years working in the criminal legal system," Hennepin County Attorney Mary Moriarty said in a news release.

"Nothing will ever fill the emptiness Eli's father and other loved ones now live with every day, but I'm hopeful this verdict will make it just a bit easier to remember Eli as the toothless, happy, smiling little boy we have seen in photos."

On May 20, 2022, Mound police officers conducted a traffic stop on a Chevrolet Impala that was reportedly driving without one of the front tires and was riding straight on the rim.

During the traffic stop, officers also notice blood on the driver's hand and a shotgun shell in the vehicle, according to the criminal complaint. Thaler was identified as the driver.

Police determined that the vehicle could not be driven safely, and Thaler was released from the scene, authorities said.

Before the Impala was towed, police searched it and found a shotgun and the body of a child who had been shot up to 9 times, according to the criminal complaint.

Police drove to Thaler's apartment, which they found empty but the washing machine was running with the clothes she had just been wearing, according to investigators.

Thaler was later found leaving the area and placed under arrest, according to the criminal complaint. Police said they found blood and brain matter in her hair.

A witness also reported seeing Thaler's car at a gas station, parked near the dumpster, according to the criminal complaint. Police searched the dumpster and said they found a backpack, blood, bone, and brain matter.

The Star Tribune reported that in court, Orono police investigator Kyle Kirschner testified that the search history found on Thaler's Google account included searches on:

• Loading a shotgun
• Knockout drugs
• Payment from life insurance if a child dies
• How much blood a 6-year-old can lose

Those searches were made in the months before Eli Hart's death, Kirschner said.