Shortly before to Minnesota Police arrested Julissa Thaler, 28, on suspicion of the murder of her 6-year-old child Eli Hart, officers found blood in her vehicle but drove her home without additional incident.
Her explanation: the blood was from a tampon and the flesh discovered on her body and in the seats was from a deer she picked up from a butcher, new files show, FOX 9 of Minneapolis reported.
In the new documents, Orono law enforcement officials said they situated Thaler’s vehicle after they were initially alerted about a vehicle with a smashed window driving on a blowout.
Throughout the traffic stop, Orono officers stated they discovered what appeared to be blood on her body and additional blood and little bits of flesh in the cars and truck, FOX Minneapolis reported.
The officers also saw a bullet hole in the vehicle and shell casings, but none of those details led to them initially apprehending Thaler, according to the documents.
Rather, officers drove Thaler to her house while other officers who stayed at the scene examined the vehicle, according to the report.
Officers then found the body of Thaler’s son in the trunk of the car. The body was found together with a shotgun and an autopsy later on revealed young Eli was brutally shot up to 9 times, before being shot in his head, Fox 9 reported.
The Hennepin County Lawyer’s Office consequently charged Thaler with second-degree murder. Thaler’s boyfriend was in the automobile throughout the preliminary traffic stop and was held before he was released due to an absence of evidence to charge him.
According to The New York Post, “Eli’s father, Tory Hart, made numerous complaints about Thaler’s drug and mental health problems but was ignored by the courts,”
Documents from Dakota County court detail concerns social workers had about Thaler's mental health, criminal history and living situation.
Still, she was granted full parental custody on 5/10 and the case was dismissed. @WCCO #WCCO pic.twitter.com/gE2dzQ7lyY
— Adam Duxter (@AdamDuxter) May 22, 2022
“Despite the complaints, Thaler was awarded full parental custody just 10 days before Eli’s body was discovered.
Tory Hart’s fiancée Josie Josephson told Fox9 that the court failed Eli by handing the boy to his mother despite her mental health and substance abuse issues.”
“No matter how many cries we cried, they ignored us,” Josephson said. “No matter how many warning signs there were.”