On Friday, a 6-year-old boy was found fatally shot in the trunk of a car his mother was driving after she shot him up to nine times.
The mother, Julissa Angelica Genrich Thaler, 28, was charged on Monday with second-degree murder in the killing of her 6-year=old son, Eli Hart, on Friday, May 20.
Thaler’s first court appearance is scheduled for 1:30 p.m. on Tuesday. Her bail has been set for $2 million, per court documents. Another person, who is a man, was also taken into custody on Friday in connection to Eli’s death. It is still unclear if he has been charged.
Eli was a kindergarten student at Shirley Hills Primary School in Mound, Westonka Public Schools.
“It is horrifying and difficult to process a tragedy of this magnitude, especially in our close-knit community. My thoughts and prayers go out to all those who are grieving this profound loss,” Borg wrote.
Police conducted a traffic stop on a Chevrolet Impala driven by Thaler at about 7 a.m. on Friday. May 20, according to the criminal complaint and Orono police. The vehicle was missing its front tires and was riding on the rim. The back window of the vehicle was broken out and there appeared to be blood on Thaler’s hand. A shotgun shell was also found as well as a spent casing in the vehicle. There was also blood, and what looked like a bullet hole in the back seat, the charges said.
Police searched the trunk after determining probable cause and found Eli’s body, who had been shot. The complaint also states there was a shotgun in the truck.
Thaler had been released from the scene before police found Eli’s body. When officers discovered him, they responded to Thaler’s apartment but she left and the washing machine was running, charges said. Police also found the clothes Thaler was wearing at the time of the traffic stop being washed in the machine.
Police further searched the car and found “significant blood” and what appeared to be brain matter in the backseat, charges state. A gray blanket was also found in the trunk.
A preliminary autopsy found Eli was shot multiple times, possibly up to nine timers, including shots to the torso and head, the complaint said.