Julissa Angelica Genrich Thaler, 28, of Saint Paul, Minnesota, United States gave birth to Eli Hart in 2016. His father Tory Hart is engaged to Josie Josephson.

Aside from St. Paul, Thaler lived in other parts of Minnesota including Mound, Faribault, Garden City, Minneapolis and Cambridge. Tory and Josephson live in Chetek, Wisconsin, USA where he owns and operates a bait shop. 

According to Josephson, Eli dreamed of becoming a firefighter someday and loved playing with Matchbox cars. He suffered from Townes-Brock syndrome, a rare genetic disorder that led to kidney disease and hearing problems that required hearing aids.

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Shortly after Eli was born, Tory lost contact with the boy. In 2019, Thaler and Tory exchanged phone numbers at a family wedding they both attended, allowing Tory and Eli to rekindle their relationship.

In January 2021, Eli was taken from Thaler because she failed to properly care for him. He was placed in foster care and lived in the house of Nikita Kronberg, a relative who served as his foster mother.

In December 2021, Thaler regained custody of Eli, who was a kindergartener at Shirley Hills Primary School in Mound. Tory made several complaints about her drug and mental health problems, which were all ignored by the courts.

On March 25, 2022, Tory sent an email to the Child Protective Services in Dakota County, Minnesota expressing concern that Eli was being mentally and emotionally abused. But on May 10, 2022, Thaler gained full custody of their son.

At around 7:00 a.m. on May 21, 2022, Orono Police Department officers pulled over a Chevy Impala that Thaler was driving in Mound. A man, 27, was with her inside the vehicle.

The officers noticed blood on the interior of the Chevy Impala and when they searched the vehicle, they found Eli dead in the trunk. Later, investigators found evidence of foul play at a nearby gas station that the vehicle had stopped at. 

Thaler was taken into custody. She is currently being held at the Hennepin County Jail in Minneapolis for probable cause murder.