Jury Convicts Minnesota Mother for Killing Her Son
Minneapolis, MN (KROC-AM News)- A Hennepin County jury has returned a guilty verdict against a mother accused of killing her son.
28-year-old Julissa Thaler stood trial after being charged with killing the six-year-old boy by shooting him multiple times with a shotgun in the backseat of a vehicle last May. Thaler was arrested after police in Mound pulled her over after officers responded to reports of an erratic motorist and spotted her driving a car that was missing one of its tires and had a shattered rear window. The officer noticed blood on the woman's hand and what appeared to be a bullet hole in the back seat, along with a shotgun shell and a spent shell casing inside the vehicle.
The jury returned the guilty verdict after deliberating for less than two hours. Jurors found Thaler guilty on first and second-degree murder charges.
When investigators opened the trunk, they discovered the body of little Eli Hart and the shotgun that was used to kill him. An autopsy later determined the child had been shot at least 9 times.
Court records indicate Hennepin County child protection workers had earlier removed Eli from his mother’s home, but he was returned to her custody 10 days before he was killed. Prosecutors contend a heated custody battle between Thaler and Eli’s father was the motive for the fatal shooting.
The conviction calls for a mandatory life sentence. Thaler is scheduled to be sentenced on February 16.
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