A mother snarled in court, “I’m innocent, fuck you all, you’re garbage,” as she was sentenced to life in prison for killing her six-year-old son by shooting him nine times with a shotgun.
Julissa Thaler, 29, began the vile diatribe when she was sentenced Thursday to life in prison without parole by a Minneapolis judge for the May 2022 murder of her son Eli Hart.
The distorted killer was also seen pointing the finger after being convicted of gunning down Eli while he was in the back of her car.
She bought the gun six days after Tory Hart, her son’s father, filed for custody.
Thaler was given an opportunity to speak after his sentencing and stunned the silent courtroom with a barrage of abuse that Judge Jay Quam branded “inappropriate.”
The killer’s own sister, Nikita Kromberg, called her a “monster” while making a victim impact statement.
This is the moment Julissa Thaler snarled, “I’m innocent, fuck you all, you’re garbage,” as she was sentenced to life in prison without parole for the May 2022 murder of her six-year-old son Eli
Thaler was also seen flipping the bird during the hearing, leading to Eli’s family members convicting her for killing their son shortly after his father filed for custody
Eli was shot at nine times with a shotgun while sitting in the booster seat in his mother’s car. Police and prosecutors in Minneapolis described the murder as one of the worst they had ever investigated
At Thaler’s sentencing, Quam spoke about the horrors of a child’s death, saying: “It’s worse, however, when you don’t lose your child to something like cancer or an accident. It’s when someone takes that kid out of the world.
“What I can’t imagine – nobody can imagine – is if the person who takes a child from the world is also the one who brought that child to them.”
Eli was sitting on a booster seat in the back seat of Thaler’s gray Chevy Impala when she shot his body nine times, reloading the gun between shots.
The onslaught of violence left his remains badly mutilated, the Star Tribune reported, with the crime seen by one of the worst local cops and prosecutors.
Thaler was later pulled over by police officers after a concerned eyewitness reported seeing her badly damaged car near a dumpster.
Officers noticed that their sedan’s rear window had been smashed and that one of its wheels was completely destroyed.
They found Eli’s remains in the trunk, as well as the gun used to kill him. It was also discovered that Thaler had disposed of some of her son’s body parts in a nearby dumpster.
Chilling footage from a surveillance camera showed Thaler and Eli leaving their apartment on the morning of his death.
The youngster had only recently lost his two front milk teeth.
Thaler’s broken-down Chevy Impala is pictured shortly after she murdered her son. She dumped some of Eli’s remains in a dumpster before police found the rest of his body in the trunk of the car
The shotgun used to commit the murder is pictured in the trunk of Thaler’s Chevy
Eli is pictured with his father, Tory Hart. Tory had filed for custody of his son six days before Thaler bought the gun she used to murder the boy. Tory has now filed a $75,000 wrongful death lawsuit against Dakota County Social Services
Thaler was later photographed in the same outfit chatting to police officers after being pulled over after her son’s murder.
It took the jury just two hours to convict her of first-degree murder.
A motive for the murder was not given, although the court heard Thaler leave and purchase the gun less than a week after Eli’s father, Tory Hart, filed for custody.
She had twice lost custody of the boy before his murder after battling his alcohol and drug addictions.
Thaler also suffered from depression, mood disorders and borderline personality disorder.
After her arrest, she was found to have searched online for terms such as “how much blood can a six-year-old lose?”
Thaler was also noted to have researched “life insurance payments when a child dies,” “how to commit crime and blame the child,” and “how long am I allowed to saw off a shotgun barrel?”
Tory Hart has filed a $75,000 wrongful death lawsuit against Dakota County Social Services for allowing Eli to return to the clutches of the mother who would later murder him.
At Thursday’s court hearing, Eli’s family also paid moving tributes.
Horrifying surveillance footage showed Eli with his mother on the day of his murder, hours before she killed him with nine shots from a shotgun
She is pictured being arrested by police officers shortly after Eli’s murder. The boy’s remains were found in the trunk of the silver Chevy Impala pictured left
The court was also shown the searches Thaler had conducted – including how much blood a six-year-old could lose, how much life insurance would pay out – and how much she was allowed to saw up the barrel of a shotgun
A photo of the youth showing off his gap-toothed grin was shown throughout Thursday’s hearing.
The court was told that Eli was a good-natured child who once rescued a panfish stranded on the shore of a lake, and that he told family members not to be afraid of bees “because they are nice and we need them.” ‘
His stepmother, Josephine Josephson, said in her victim statement: “The pain is so deep you can’t breathe.
“You can’t explain the loss of your only son…then losing him in such a horrible way, you just can’t explain how it changes your life.”
“We have been condemned to a lifetime of pain, confusion, grief, grief and trauma. A life without Eli.”
Thaler’s sister Nikita Kronberg, who temporarily acted as Eli’s foster mother, believes her sister will go to hell for her behavior
Tearfully, Josephine added in court on Thursday: “Eli was an innocent and loving 6-year-old. He did not deserve that. Eli deserves to grow up and live a safe and happy life.’
Thaler’s sister Nikita Kronberg once stepped in to care for Eli after his mother lost custody.
She told the courtroom her horror at the murder, says she blames herself for not saving Eli and said she believes Thaler is destined for Hell.
Kronberg said, “How could anyone do such a wicked thing to an amazing, loving child?”
“No one will ever know why she did what she did to Eli. We can only assume it was about keeping Tory and Eli apart.
“But that only separated them temporarily.
“One day they will be together again in heaven. But we all know she’ll never be with Eli again… She’s going to hell where she belongs.”
A GoFundMe page was set up to build a memorial playground in Eli’s memory. To learn more, click here.