[chris]

Julissa Angelica Genrich Thaler was convicted of first-degree premeditated murder in the death of her 6-year-old son, Eli Hart, and sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of release. A Hennepin County jury found her guilty on February 8, 2023, after about two hours of deliberation. CBS Minnesota reported that she was also convicted on a second-degree count. Judge Jay Quam imposed the sentence required by Minnesota law on February 16, 2023. She told the court she was innocent.

Thaler, 28 at her arrest, lived in Spring Park, Minnesota. Eli's father, Tory Hart, had been fighting for custody. Thaler lost custody twice, first in October 2020 and then for most of 2021, and regained full custody just 10 days before Eli's death. Family members said they had raised concerns about her drug use and mental health with child protection authorities.

At about 7 a.m. on Friday, May 20, 2022, Orono police stopped Thaler's Chevrolet Impala in Mound. A front tire was missing, the car was riding on the rim and its back window was broken out. Officers saw what appeared to be blood on her hand, a shotgun shell and a spent casing in the car, and blood and an apparent bullet hole in the back seat. They drove her home, then searched the car because it could not be driven safely. Eli's body and a shotgun were in the trunk.

The Hennepin County Medical Examiner listed the cause of death as multiple shotgun wounds. A preliminary autopsy found Eli had been shot multiple times, possibly up to nine, including in the torso and head. He was shot at Lake Minnetonka Regional Park in Minnetrista. Police found Thaler leaving the area on foot and arrested her. The charging complaint said her hair contained blood and apparent brain matter. A backpack, blood and bone were recovered from dumpsters at a Shell station on Three Points Boulevard; a damaged child booster seat was found in a dumpster elsewhere. A friend told police Thaler bought the shotgun on March 17, 2022, and they went to a gun range in the days after.

A man was also taken into custody on May 20. On May 23, the Hennepin County Attorney's Office said there was insufficient evidence at that time to charge him. No charge against him has been publicly reported.

Thaler was charged on Monday, May 23, 2022, with second-degree intentional murder, with bail set at $2 million. After she rejected a plea offer, a grand jury indicted her in January 2023 on first-degree murder. Her attorney argued the state had not proved she was the one holding the gun. She did not testify. No appeal has been publicly reported.

The recorded interview took place on May 20, 2022, with an investigator stating the time as 1804 hours. Thaler is brought food and read the Miranda warning. Early on, she says she wants a lawyer and asks why she is being held. Near the end, investigators tell her she will be booked and charged with murder. She says she was raped, denies murdering anyone and asks for a lawyer. Her defense later filed a motion saying she requested a lawyer during two interrogations but questioning continued. No ruling on that motion has been publicly reported.