Eli Hart’s mother indicted on 1st-degree murder charge
Mugshot for Julissa Thaler (Credit: Hennepin Co. Jail)
A Hennepin County grand jury has indicted a woman on a charge of first-degree murder in the death of her son last year.
Friday, the grand jury returned an indictment against 28-year-old Julissa Angelica Genrich Thaler, charging her with first-degree premeditated murder in the killing of Eli Hart.
Thaler was charged last spring with second-degree murder after officers found her 6-year-old son’s body in the trunk of her car.
Prosecutors confirmed in October that they’d offered Thaler a plea deal of 40 years in prison but she didn’t accept it.
Now, she faces the possibility of life in prison if she’s found guilty of first-degree murder.
Court documents state that Hart was shot as many as nine times, and a friend told police Thaler had wanted to learn how to use a gun and had gone to a gun range before the shooting.
Her trial is scheduled to start on Jan. 30.
Thaler’s attorney sent the following statement to 5 EYEWITNESS NEWS on Friday:
“The only surprise in this indictment is how long it’s taken the County Attorney’s office to get one. We must all respect the undeniable fact that right now Ms. Thaler is presumed innocent, and at trial the defense will point out the reasonable doubts that lurk in the evidence.”
Assistant Public Defender Bryan Leary