Mom Drove Around With 6-Year-Old Child's Corpse In Car Trunk After Shooting Boy To Death

A mother in Minnesota was arrested and charged with murder on Monday after authorities found the corpse of her six-year-old child in the trunk of her car during a routine traffic stop, just days after being granted full custody of the child.

Julissa Thaler, 28 years old, was pulled over by police because the car she was driving had a shattered rear window and a blown-up tire. Upon closer inspection, police officers found blood on the vehicle and on Thaler, leading them to the body of six-year-old Eli Hart, according to the New York Daily News.

Thaler, who was released before the body was found, attempted to escape on foot when officers returned to her apartment to question her about the body. They also found evidence that Thaler was involved in a gas station shooting inside the vehicle, CBS News reported.

Among the evidence found was a broken child booster seat whose damage was consistent with a shotgun blast.

The child, Eli Hart, was in the middle of a massive custody case in the past two years, being brought from family foster care and county custody between court cases. Hart’s father, Tory Hart, had contested giving custody to Thaler due to her history of drug abuse and mental state.

“No matter how many cries we cried, they ignored us,” Tory Hart’s fiancée Josie Josephson said about the death. “No matter how many warning signs there were.”

“I feared if she got custody back, that she would harm Eli, if not worse,” Nikita Kronberg, wife to Thaler’s cousin, said. “I instantly responded with, you know, this is a dangerous situation for Eli. You know, I fear for his safety if he's returned to her. There's numerous things I had brought up that were concerning that I had noticed.”

The social worker who was assigned to Eli’s case has yet to respond to questions from the press. Kronberg said that she feels like the state had “failed this child big-time” after he was given custody to his mother.

A 27-year-old was also allegedly involved in the death, but he has yet to be charged as of press time.