Eli Hart was born on December 15th, 2015 to parents Tory Hart and Julysa Angelica Genrich Thalor. He was described as a bright light in his community with a giant toothless smile and a mop of sandy blonde hair. This little boy was always full of giggles and his favorite colors were green and gold.
He loved to blow bubbles and he dreamt of being a firefighter when he grew up. Early on in his life, Eli’s parents split up and a fierce custody battle ensued. It’s been alleged that Eli’s mother filed several false protection orders against Eli’s father. Eli also suffered from a condition known as Towns Brock syndrome, which is a genetic disorder that affects several parts of the body.
In Eli’s case, he suffered from kidney issues. He also used hearing aids to assist him with hearing loss caused by his condition. Ongoing concerns about Julysa’s mental health resulted in the little boy being placed in foster care in January of 2021. Julysa had been presenting with psychosis and she heard voices that told her to take her own life.
Eli would go on to live in foster care for the next 11 months. He was placed in the Randolph, Minnesota home of Steven and Nikita Croninberg. Now, Steven was Jula’s cousin, but the couple served more as aunt and uncle figures to young Eli. Nikita had nothing but wonderful things to say about the little boy. She described him as an amazing kid that was full of energy and was always smiling.
The type of kid who wanted to befriend everyone. During this time, Nikita allowed Eli to work on building a relationship with his father, Tori, and his fiance, Josephine Josephson. From the very beginning, Eli had a magnetic bond with his father. Tori was excited to make up for all of the lost years with Eli.
He was thrilled to start teaching his son how to ride a bike without training wheels. According to Josephine, quote, “They loved each other immensely.” Tori’s days and weeks revolved around when he would get to see his son next and when the next sleepover would be. He was missing a piece of himself when his son was not around. End quote.
The pair enjoyed playing with Matchbox cars, building things, creating art, reading books, and watching movies, and exploring the outdoors. Tori owned a bait shop in Chetc, Wisconsin, and was a lifelong angler. He was also very excited to share this pastime with his son. Eli picked up on fishing quickly and had such a talent for it that he caught more fish than his father did on his first day with a pole.
Like many boys his age, Eli loved going to the playground and playing in the park. The little boy loved to swing as high as he could, trying to touch his toes to the treetops. He loved to swing on the monkey bars, and he was quick to make new friends. With the help of the Chromeberg family, Tori was able to walk Eli to school on his very first day of kindergarten at Shirley Hills Primary School and got to take him trick-or-treating in the fall.
Eli had some challenges for sure, but he certainly made the best of it with the help of his father and the Chromeberg family. However, Eli was returned to Julysa for a home trial at the end of December of 2021. Tori fought hard to get custody of his son, but unfortunately, Julysa was up to her old tricks again.
More false protection orders were filed, which postponed custody hearings. According to Eli’s foster mother, Nikita, quote, I feared if she got custody back that she would harm Eli, if not worse. I instantly responded with, you know, this is a dangerous situation for Eli. 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.” End quote. Prior to losing custody of Eli, Jula had quite the rocky past that stemmed as far back as her teenage years. The mother was in and out of mental institutions from the ages of 13 to 18. She was repeatedly treated for drug and alcohol use and ran away from home her senior year of high school, living on the streets for 45 days.
Police had responded to Jalissa’s home 21 times in 10 months for various offenses. She had been arrested for stealing drugs from a health clinic. Additionally, she had to find a new drug testing facility because she was exhibiting bizarre behavior. and the workers didn’t want anything to do with her.
However, this January 2021 incident was not the first time that Julysa had lost custody of Eli. In October of 2020, authorities temporarily placed Eli in foster care after social workers visited Julysa’s home and found her son unclothed with nothing to wear in the house but pajamas. The house was completely filthy. The upstairs bathroom was flooded and someone had broken eggs and smeared them throughout the main level of the home.
Eli remained in foster care through December 2021 when a judge let Julysa take him home on a trial basis. Courtappointed guardian and county social worker Sher Larson also expressed concern for Eli’s well-being due to Julysa’s mental health issues. She noted that Julysa was trying to limit contact between the boy and his father, even though Tori appeared to be a stabilizing force in Eli’s life.
However, there were differences of opinion within CPS despite major red flags. County social worker Beth Denner recommended that Julysa be awarded full custody of her son despite her misgivings. Interestingly, it was Denner that reported that Julysa failed to attend weekly therapy sessions for months and claimed that the mother lacked insight into her own mental health and behavior.
She also failed to complete a parenting education program for missing too many classes. Denner also reported that she had been neglecting Eli’s medical needs and would not sign releases allowing CPS access to his medical records. Denner claimed that Julysa failed to make sure her son’s hearing aids were in working order and that she often brought him to school late.
The mother repeatedly had unstable housing, including being forced to move for violating multiple leases. Despite this, Beth Denner concluded that there was no indication that Eli was physically unsafe in his mother’s care. Despite clear evidence of neglect and numerous parties making statements to CPS fearing that Julysa would harm Eli, Dakota County District Judge Tim Wormager still awarded the mother full custody of her son.
On May 10th, 2022, officers with the Orino Police Department conducted a routine traffic stop of a silver Chevy Impala that was traveling near Shoreline Drive in Bartlett Boulevard. The reason? Police received a call that the motorist was driving without one of their front tires and was riding on the rim. Now, driving without a tire generally ends in a mess of sparks flying about, so obviously this was a little suspicious and at the very least unsafe.
Upon stopping the car, officers identified the driver as Julysa Thalor. However, the missing tire wasn’t the only cause for concern. The officers observed that the back window of the vehicle had been broken out and shotgun shells and spent casings littered the interior. There was also what appeared to be a bullet hole in the back seat.
Julysa’s hands were bloody and so was some of the upholstery of her car. There were also bits of what looked like flesh all over her. She claimed that the blood was from changing a tampon and the flesh was from a deer she had picked up from an unknown butcher overnight. She claimed that she had returned to meet her AA sponsor in the city of Mound.
Aside from these obvious red flags, Julysa looked incredibly disheveled. Her hair was a mess and she was dressed in ill-fitting floral pajamas with filthy cuffs. Even though this was clearly suspicious, the officers allowed Julysa to leave the scene and shuttled her to her home located at 2400 Interlockan Road in Spring Park, about a 10-minute drive south along the northern shore of Lake Minnatonka.
This would soon prove to be a terrible decision by the police. Based on its condition, the officers felt as if there was probable cause for a search. In addition, as the vehicle could not be operated safely, it needed to be towed away. Prior to this tow, the officers conducted a cursory search of the car, which included taking a peek at the contents of the trunk.
What they found next would make them all wish that they had never allowed Julysa out of their sights. Inside of the trunk of the Impala was a gray blanket, a shotgun, and the badly damaged body of a six-year-old little boy. It was Jula’s son, Eli Hart, who had just been returned to her custody 10 days prior. Upon the discovery of the child’s remains, officers immediately rushed to Julysa’s apartment.
But by the time they had arrived, she had already left her home and her washing machine was running. Officers searched the washer and discovered the clothing that Julissa had been wearing during her traffic stop. She was trying to destroy evidence. Surveillance video showed Julysa fleeing her apartment on foot with her boyfriend and a large backpack.
The two were soon located on the 4200 block of Shoreline Drive in Spring Park. Both were placed under arrest. As the officers cuffed Julysissa, they noted what appeared to be blood and brain matter all throughout her hair. DNA tests would later prove that it belonged to Eli. When questioned by the police about what had happened, Julysa seemed utterly fixated on Eli’s father, Tory Hart.
After some discussion about the traffic stop and discovering Eli in the trunk of her car, Julysa said that she was done covering for her ex. She made cryptic statements to officers such as, “Do you need my ex’s name?” Later, Julysa said, “There’s stuff that I didn’t tell you about my ex.” She also claimed to have been attacked earlier in the day.
Her interview lasted just under an hour and was started and stopped twice as Jula would agree to talk, then request a lawyer, and then she would begin to talk again completely unprompted. But ultimately, she decided to lawyer up. Soon, the officers received tips related to the whereabouts of Julysa’s Chevy Impala on the day of her traffic stop.
Just before her encounter with police, a concerned citizen witnessed the vehicle at a gas station parked by the dumpsters. Officers subsequently searched the dumpsters and located a backpack containing worksheets in kindergarten assignments with Eli written in the top right hand corner along with blood, bone, and what appear to be more brain matter.
A more in-depth search of the impounded vehicle yielded copious amounts of blood and additional brain matter located on the back seats. Officers were able to follow damage done to the roads by the vehicle’s rim, as well as information from citizens to track movements of Jalissa’s car. They found multiple locations where blood and brain matter were discarded along with clothes and a bloody children’s booster seat in another dumpster.
The seat of the car had sustained damage that was consistent with that of a shotgun blast. Julius’s boyfriend, Robert Picaran, told officers that over the past week, his girlfriend wanted to learn how to use a gun. So, the couple paid a visit to a gun range. Not so coincidentally, Julysa bought a shotgun on March 17th and learned how to use it shortly after Eli’s father, Tory Hart, filed papers asking the court for full custody.
Robert told the officers that Julysissa had been carrying the shotgun in and out of the apartment and that when she did, it would be wrapped in a gray blanket, the same gray blanket that was found in the trunk of her Impala. Robert outlined for the officers the events that led up to Eli’s death.
He told them that the previous day they had spent the day shopping with Eli and then returned home for pizza and a movie. They capped the night off by playing with their kittens. This otherwise normal and enjoyable day took an abrupt turn when Eli refused to go to bed. Soon, the mother and son began fighting and hitting each other.
Julysa then left the apartment with a little boy, taking the shotgun with her. Robert said that he fell asleep and asked where she had gone when he woke up the next morning. According to Robert, she was kind of like, “I had to go do something.” It should be noted that Robert was cleared of any wrongdoing and was not charged in connection with Eli’s death.
He was released shortly after questioning and cooperated fully with police in their investigation. If this wasn’t damning enough, Julysa’s internet search history included how to load a shotgun, the most powerful knockout drug, qualifying accidental deaths, payment from life insurance if a child dies, how to keep a child away from another parent with visitation.
How to fake being home to the cops. how much blood a six-year-old can lose. And that is just a sampling of some of her searches. We’ll have some of the other searches on screen for you to view, courtesy of K1’s Lou Reggse. When questioned specifically with regards to her search of how much blood a six-year-old can lose, Julysa claimed that it pertained to donating blood to the Red Cross.
Now, according to the Red Cross, in order to donate blood, you have to be at least 17 years old in most states, although some states do allow donations from 16-year-olds with parental consent. Additionally, you have to weigh at least 110 lb. Additional height and weight requirements apply for donors 18 years old and younger and all high school student donors.
There are many other requirements, but these ones best fit why Julysa’s excuse was completely nonsensical and why young Eli could never have qualified to give blood. Preliminary autopsy findings reveal that Eli was shot multiple times with the shotgun at close range as he sat in his booster seat in the back of his mother’s impala.
It was estimated that the little boy was shot up to nine times, including shots to his torso and his head. Phone records showed that Julysa shot her son in a secluded parking lot at Lake Minnetonka Regional Park. Then she drove around the region, abandoning his belongings. Let that sink in for a second. The average 6-year-old boy is 3 and 1/2 to 4 feet tall and weighs between 39 and 60 lb.
Eli looked to be somewhere in the middle. Now, think for a moment of the impact that up to nine shotgun blasts at close range would have on someone of that size. It should be also noted that when purchasing ammunition for her shotgun, she allegedly asked the store clerk for shotgun shells that would blow the biggest hole.
This is how much of a disgusting person Julysa Thaler is. A judge determined that Julysa was mentally competent to stand trial. She was offered a plea deal soon after, but rejected the offer to plead guilty to the charge of secondderee homicide, which carries a sentence of 40 years in prison. At trial, Julysa did not testify, and her defense called no witnesses.
Her lawyer, Brian Liry, stated that she participated in Eli’s death, but was not the one who shot him. He argued that there were no eyewitnesses, no photos, no videos connecting her to the killing. He went on to state, quote, “She’s not charged with the crime they have proved. She destroyed evidence, lied to police, ran away, but they have not proved beyond a reasonable doubt that the gun was in her hands when it was fired nine times into her son.” End quote.
Assistant Henipin County Attorney Dan Allard argued that overwhelming evidence, including cell phone data linking her to all of the sites involved in the death, proved that Julysa killed her son, either for life insurance money because of her mental health, or due to the stress of a custody battle with the boy’s father. He also noted that Eli’s DNA was found in Julysa’s hair and on her skin and clothes.
According to Allard, quote, “If she didn’t shoot him, why didn’t she tell police when pulled over, “Oh my god, someone shot my son. He’s in the trunk.” End quote. Jurors in Henipin County District Court deliberated for less than 2 hours before finding 29-year-old Julysa Thor guilty of firstdegree homicide in the death of her son, Eli Hart.
Henipin County Attorney Mary Mori Arti released a statement soon after the verdict was announced saying in part, quote, “Eli’s brutal murder is one of the most horrific cases I have ever encountered in 30 years working in the criminal legal system. Nothing will ever fill the emptiness Eli’s father and other loved ones now live with every day.
But I’m hopeful this verdict will make it just a bit easier to remember Eli as the toothless, happy, smiling little boy we have seen in photos.” End quote. Julysa was sentenced Thursday, February 16th, 2023 to life in prison without the possibility of parole after being convicted of firstdegree homicide. Before the judge handed down her sentence, she had this riveting comment for the courtroom.
Yes, I would like to say something. Okay, go ahead. Um, I’m innocent. you all. You’re garbage. Absolutely. Miss Stler, I you know, don’t know that that’s appropriate here. Prior to her sentencing, Eli’s dad, Tori Hart, and his fiance, Josephine Josephson, both spoke at points, wiping away tears from their eyes.
Your honor, everyone knows Eli Hart as the victim of this senseless and horrific crime. But Eli was so much more. Eli was an amazing six-year-old boy who always woke up full of energy and laughter. He was kind, made friends easily, loved reading books. Eli had a love for animals that was very special. Eli explored, played outside, fished with his dad.
Eli was an innocent, loving six-year-old boy. He did not deserve this. Eli deserved to grow up and have a safe and happy life. We know these things about Eli because he was our little boy, our son, the center of our world. The love and connection he had with his son that Tori had with his only son was something I was privileged to see.
You could see the love and bond they shared every second they were together. They had this extra spark between them that everyone could see. Now we only have memories and they are not enough. Time was taken from us. A lifetime of memories to be made gone. The moment the moments I treasured as being a parent myself.
Tori will never have those experiences. A lifetime without Eli robbed of us. school milestones that we will never get to see like graduating kindergarten and elementary school. All the artwork he would have brought home and put on the fridge taken. The first day of middle school and high school, prom, graduation, watch him play sports, teach him to drive, stolen from us.
Watching Eli grow and become a young man and what he could have been and done in this world. We will never have those memories. No more hugs. No more snuggles. They were ripped from us. Straight from our souls on May 20th, 2022 at about 11:30 p.m. when an officer knocked on our door and asked to come in, then asking Tori to have a seat.
The cries from my husband broke my heart in a million pieces. I’ve been listening to the officer tell me what happened broke it into a million more. Watching my husband so as his brother tried to comfort him. Watching the officer’s hands shake while he tried to write down his number. On a small piece of paper was the moment I knew our lives had shifted forever.
That nothing would ever be the same. The pain will never go away. This will forever affect our day-to-day lives. You can’t explain the loss of your only son. You can’t explain what that does to you or anyone. Then having lost him in such a horrific way. You just can’t explain how that changes your life.
How the pain is so deep you can’t breathe. How nothing in your life looks or feels the same. and no one understands your lack of sleep at night. The nightmares of how Eli was murdered. The struggle to go to work every day knowing Eli has no more days. How painful it is that life just keeps moving and doesn’t slow down for us to grieve. No one should ever have to feel this kind of pain or experience this kind of trauma.
But we have been sentenced to a lifetime of this pain, confusion, grief, sorrow, and trauma. A lifetime without Eli. The little boy who would laugh and giggle and squeal so hard when he and his dad would play at the park. It’s a sound I hope never fades from our memory. The little boy who rescued a pan fish that was stuck on shore when he was fishing with his dad.
Um, the little boy who rescued the Okay, just a second. I’m sorry. The little boy who rescued a baby pan fish who was stuck in the shore when he was fishing with his dad. He was so proud. He came running in to tell me all about it, but couldn’t get his words out because he was so excited. He was so proud. The little boy who would tell me not to be scared of bees, that they were nice and we need them.
The little boy that loved being on his dad’s shoulders. The little boy who when we asked him who loves you the most would always reply, “You both do.” There are no more triple hugs, no more I love you, no more memories to be made, just emptiness. El was a happy six-year-old boy, our little boy that we loved so deeply.
Henipin County Attorney Mary Morardi released a second statement following Julius’s sentencing. Quote, “We now have legal closure on this heartbreaking tragedy, but nothing will ever fill the void in the world that Eli left behind. I hope his family can slowly move forward and eventually find some level of peace.” End quote.
In the wake of the little boy’s death, Eli’s father filed a wrongful death lawsuit seeking more than $75,000 in damages. The lawsuit states that DCSS provided services to Eli with Tory Hart claiming the county and its employees were negligent. Dakota County and two of its employees, Sher Larson and Beth Denner, were named in this lawsuit.
Eli’s former foster mother, Nikita Chromeberg, started a GoFundMe in order to purchase a headstone and to cover the little boy’s final expenses. As of the date of this recording, it has raised over $45,000 of its $25,000 goal. A second GoFundMe was started by community members, including Eli’s family, to build a permanent memorial for Eli Hart in the city of Mound so he could be remembered and to raise awareness for children in the foster care system.
In addition, funds raised would also benefit a new playground located in Surfside Beach in honor of Eli. The project has currently been put on hold and as of the date of this recording has raised just over $32,000 of its $200,000 goal. If you’d like to know more about how you can help, we’ll have all of the links below in the description.
In addition, the Mountain City Council unanimously passed a resolution to rename a portion of a bridge to memorialize Eli. The city said that it would work with Henipin County to rename a portion of Shoreline Drive that goes over Seatan Channel to the Eli Hart Memorial Bridge. Although Eli’s community has banded together to flood him and his family with love in his death, why couldn’t this have been done when the little boy was still alive, Eli was thriving in foster care and had built a stable relationship with his father and his fianceé. Julysa’s failure
as a mother was documented and her misdeeds were well known to Dakota County Social Services and its employees. So, we ask you, the listener, what should be done in cases where those who are mandated to protect are most vulnerable blatantly abandon their post? Let us know your thoughts in the comment section down below.
