Eli Hart killing: Police investigating multiple crime scenes
Police have confirmed there are multiple crime scenes being investigated after 28-year-old Julissa Thaler allegedly killed her 6-year-old son, Eli Hart.
"Information discovered during the investigation has led to addresses in the city of Mound and Minnetrista, where officers have found evidence implicating those locations as potential scenes," Orono Police Department announced Tuesday.
Orono PD told Bring Me The News that the search locations are the Speedway and Shell gas stations in Mound – one of which was referred to in the criminal complaint charging Thaler with 2nd-degree murder – as well as Three Rivers Park and Red Oak Lane in Minnetrista.
The complaint, released Monday, says investigators were able to track Thaler's movements through a combination of witnesses and street damage caused by the tireless rim on the Chevy Impala she was driving when police stopped her around 7 a.m. Friday.
One of the locations mentioned in the complaint was a dumpster at the Shell gas station at 5550 Three Points Blvd. in Mound, where a heavy police presence was noted on Friday.
It was there that officers found "a backpack, blood, bone and what appeared to be brain matter."
The complaint then mentioned a second dumpster in an unidentified location, where a child booster seat was found. The seat was bloody and "had sustained damage consistent with a shotgun blast." The complaint notes that officers found "multiple locations where blood and brain matter were discarded."
Charges: 6-year-old Eli Hart shot up to 9 times by his mother
Police continue to investigate a second person who was arrested in connection with Hart's death, though it was reported there is not enough evidence to charge that person at this time.
Another confirmed crime scene is Thaler's home at the Bayview Apartments in Spring Park, where officers found the clothes she was wearing when she was initially pulled over.
Thaler was released from the scene before they found Hart's body in the trunk, with Thaler allowed to leave despite officers noting a broken back window, blood on Thaler's hand, a shotgun shell, spent shell casing and blood inside the car, and an apparent bullet hole in the back seat.
The Hennepin County Medical Examiner's Office confirmed Tuesday that Hart died from multiple shotgun wounds. The complaint notes that Thaler may have shot her son up to nine times.
Thaler is scheduled to appear in Hennepin County District Court at 1:30 p.m. today. She is being held on murder charges and $2 million bail.
