Man, we got a wild a wild one for y'all today, man. Cops open mom's trunk and uncover a horrific secret, man. But, I ain't going to talk y'all to death. Let's get right into it, man. And shout out to EWU Crime Story Time, man. Link to the full to the original video will be in the description. Let's get right into it. This is blood. No, it's not. It was Jeremy. I smell something. Like death in there. That's a lot of That's a lot of blood. >> Yeah, but people don't have bullet holes and blood and it smells like death in your car. So, like there's a huge blood splatter. How did that happen? On May 20th, 2022, in Mound, Minnesota, a bizarre traffic stop reveals an unimaginable secret hiding in plain sight, setting off a twisted series of events that will end in an unspeakable discovery. Woah. Uh what the [ __ ] is that? Holy [ __ ] The following is based on official police records. Just after 7:00 a.m., the Orono Police Department was contacted about a suspicious vehicle driving without a tire and with the back window smashed. It doesn't take long for officers to spot the vehicle and initiate a traffic stop. I don't know what this blood is. Yeah. Look like she been shot at. That's what it look like. What's going on? Are they shooting? Um well, you're you don't have a tire. Well, I know. I'm going home right now. You going where? I'm going home right now to bed. Okay. You have a driver's license on you today? You guys mind tonight? Do you have my driver's license on the driver's seat? No. The woman's license identifies her as 28-year-old Julissa Thaler. She claims that an hour ago teenagers shot at her car with BBs, causing the damage to her tire and rear window. Look at the BB right there. On the front of the dashboard, on the outside of the car. On the outside of the car, right there, on the outside of the car. If the woman's story isn't strange enough, one of the officers has already noticed something concerning. Um, do you have any guns in the car cuz I see a shotgun shell right there? No gun. No no guns in the car? >> No. Okay. So, I'm not 100% understanding your story. Could you kind of explain from the beginning? Sure. I was sitting in the Alano AA club and some kids started to shooting paintballs and broke the tire on my car. I said, "Excuse me, you guys, what are you doing?" And they ran off. So, now I'm driving home to put a new tire on. And I need to get there before my hubcaps do. Well, they must have been doing something because it was really really really really Why is your hand all bloody? Because I was just pushing out a splinter. You're what? I was pushing out a splinter. I have a splinter going on. I really have a little finger issue. Okay. Let's just get it. Yeah, why don't you step out of the car for me? Oh, why do you need my car keys? Why don't you step out of the car for me? Step out. We're going to go around over here behind your car. Yeah, she's saying drunk. What's up? Trying to understand what's going on, the officers ask her to detail the events leading up to this moment. Julissa explains that she spent the previous evening filling Instacart orders from 10:00 p.m. until 6:00 a.m. before meeting with her Alcoholics Anonymous sponsor, where she says her car was vandalized. You guys, are you trying to search me or something? >> Oh, I Because you have blood, I'm just checking for blood. I don't know. Wait, I'm going to go. It's for my feminine hygiene. Answer a question on this one, uh Sure. Do you have any mental health problems? No, sir. Nothing? No, none. I actually have a doctor's note from my psychiatrist, um just um for I think custody court. Okay. And they said I'm in good mental health, no problem. >> Okay. You're being kind of rude. Well, I really need to get home. I'm worried because this looks really bad. And kids shooting paintball guns doesn't do this do this much damage to somebody's car. Yeah. So, I'm worried about you. I'm concerned for you. You've got blood on you. That might be some They were throwing paintballs and rocks. Deciding they need to discuss the situation among themselves, the officers tell Julissa to sit in her vehicle. She's going to leave on us, I guarantee it. Let's get her keys, though. There's blood. Give me 1 second. Hold on. Can you go stand there for a minute? Yeah, just one question. You guys need a warrant to search my car. >> searching your car. So, what's that then? Can you go over there so I can do what I got to do? Okay. Dude. Hold on, wait a minute. Hold on. What? You see this? Uh-uh. This is blood. No, it's not. It was deer meat. Deer meat? >> The whole bag of ravioli and groceries over here. You see that? Let me see your hand for a second. Can you just show your hand to me? How about the other side? This is dirty. got bloody. >> bloody eyes. It smells like like death in there. It's a deer meat. That's not good. Yeah. I I I mean Look, I'm sorry my car is a mess. You can't really be mad at How did you get off the road here? Just You guys are being really rude. Like the >> god, look up in there. Okay, this is like Did you look up? What's up? Yeah, she's definitely acting weird. Something she's she's acting suspicious. >> happened in this corner here? Sure, so I had bags of groceries there. I had some deer meat. I had some ravioli cans. I had some veggies and then those people broke my window, so I had to throw all my groceries away. Let's let's start all six and just yeah. What's up? So, nobody else was in here today with you, right? No. Nobody? No. Okay. Why? What's up? Well, we're trying to figure it out. There's a lot going on here. That's a lot of blood. Blood? Or something. Where's the deer now? I threw it out. Why would you want anything that was a full glass? We got a few things to look into. What do you need to look into? It's not a It's not a crime to get vandalized. I'm cold. I want to go home. Okay, just look at the totality of the circumstances. Yeah, people get in car accidents all the time, right? >> Yeah, but people don't have bullet holes and blood and it smells like death in your car. Fine. I'm cold. What do you have in your trunk? Nothing. Nothing in the trunk at all? Nothing. There's no deer meat or anything in the trunk? No, sir. A supervisor arrives on the scene and Julissa immediately relays the same story. Sorry, I was wondering if I could just get a good ticket. And maybe no tickets would be awesome. And would you be able to get my ID back from those guys? They seem to be holding I put them in there earlier. Okay. Well, will you stay here? I'm just going to look at your tire just to see how it is, okay? >> The tire is fine. There's just no rim on it. That hole and that it You can see there's a a pattern of blood. Finally, the supervisor takes a closer look at Julissa's missing tire. Oh, this can't be driven. There is no tire there, all right? >> No. Prior to being pulled over, Julissa was spotted at a Shell gas station. The unusual state of her vehicle drew more than a little attention, with one witness even capturing a Snapchat video. To me, I mean, that that there, it looks almost like a bullet that's uh hit the head because there almost looks like there's some sort of matter on the back of that seat. >> Right. That's something bigger is going on. >> So, though they're on the right track, the details of the incident will be beyond anything they could have imagined. For now, the supervisor heads back to his vehicle to call for a tow truck. Hey, the shotgun shells. Talking about the shotgun shells. Why is one spent, one's not spent? Um one's for target practice. I don't know. My boyfriend got them for me. I don't really know. Whoa, whoa, whoa, what are you doing? What do you mean? Put it down. Just taking some pictures. You want to take my photo? Excuse me. I don't want anybody in my car. We're not going in your car. >> hiding anything, but I just don't want you guys climbing around in my car. >> We're not climbing around. As Julissa's strange behavior continues, the officer spot another disturbing detail. Notice how there's there's drops on the outside of the car, too. Is this from the deer meat, too? Um probably. There's a big thing of it. It went How did it get out of How was it on the outside of your car and the inside of your car? Um I'm not sure. I'm Julissa's lack of an explanation does nothing to quell the officer's growing suspicions. I mean, she said she had deer meat stacked up. But, the way that that looks blood is is not from Julissa. I think it's not from Back seat looks to me like a back seat passenger left got hit on the side. It looks like a shooting happened. The officers can see a large hole in the back seat of upholstery between the head area and backrest. Even with this concerning discovery, the supervisor has made a decision. So, right now, all right, I I don't have any You're not under arrest. You're not being detained. But, we're not letting you take the vehicle right now. We're impounding the vehicle. I'm just I'm sorry. I don't know what you're thinking this car. I just want to grab that stuff out of there. I don't know. I know it's I know it's I know it's an unfortunate thing. >> talking over me. I'm Well, I can't let you over by your vehicle right now is the thing, okay? You're impounding it? Then, well, Well, so so right now, Julissa, I can't let you by your vehicle right now. Right now, it's it's under my custody. Okay, well, I need my money. I need my phone. I need my purse. Okay. And my house keys. And it's freezing. I'm Okay, no, I can't let you back to the vehicle right now. I'm I am more than happy I am more than happy to get you your phone out of the car, okay? But, I have to get it from the Do you want Can I get it? Would you like a ride to the station? Would you like a ride? Um yes, please. I'll take a ride. Though she accepted the ride, Julissa continues to oppose the officers impounding her vehicle. Here, I have it at this time you are free to go. Awesome. Well, I the car is actually drivable. I got it. So, I was wondering if I could just drive it >> Nope. Nope. not right now. Why do you need it? Cuz I believe that there contains evidence of a crime. I probably got to believe that and also you have no front left rear front left tire. I have a phone in there that I need. Yeah, anything that's in the vehicle right now is staying in the vehicle, unfortunately. Thank you. I left it in the back. You guys take your time around here. I have things to do when you pull people over for having cracked windshield. It's so horrible. It takes only a few minutes to arrive at the apartments where Julissa lives. She's dropped off at 8:25 a.m. I got to let you out now. Thank you. Yeah. Use them all or I'm going to pick it up. I wanted to thank you for your time. >> Yeah, can I get my car back? We'll keep in touch with you, okay? Okay. Thank you. Surveillance footage from inside the building captures the moment Julissa runs through the door. However, since her belongings are still inside her car, she doesn't have her key and has to wait for someone to let her in. Minutes later, the officer returns to the scene where more law enforcement has arrived, leading to one of the most gruesome discoveries the Orono police has ever made. Scares, your thoughts on one thing. We have not checked the trunk and I have this terrible feeling about the trunk and I've had it since the whole time. Woah. Uh, what the [ __ ] is that? That may be the deer meat that she took out of. Put in the tail. Why don't you sell that gun? We don't want it loaded anymore. Inside the trunk, they can see a shotgun. There's also something wrapped in a gray blanket. What is this? Yeah. Is it an amp of It looks like a kid's legs. There's something in this blanket. Watch out for the shotgun there. >> There's a shotgun there pointed that way. But there's there's weight to this blanket. Oh. All right, let's cover it. >> Yep. Let's go grab her. Yep. Yep, right now. Baby U Condos. >> Almost Let's cover back up. Yep. What if she ran in somewhere with that? Pull that up so it doesn't rain. >> Okay, so we get there she ran in her apartment She's not going to go to the floor. We're going to have to go in and get her. We got a body. So, we're going in. This horrific discovery is just the beginning as more disturbing revelations lie ahead. Before they leave, the two responding officers take a moment to convene. The whole time? >> The whole time. The whole The whole time I thought that was in the back. That's what I I got to do it before it Concentrating their efforts on catching Julissa, the officers head to the apartment where they just dropped her off. They've collected a key from the building manager and approach Julissa's apartment. Yes, ready. POLICE, COME TO THE DOOR! POLICE, COME TO THE DOOR! OPEN THE DOOR OR WE'LL KICK IT DOWN! OPEN THE DOOR! KICK IT! POLICE, OPEN THE DOOR! CHECK THAT RIGHT THERE. CHECK IT. I GOT THE DOOR HERE. POLICE! CHECK THAT ONE. POLICE DEPARTMENT! WATCH THAT ONE. I'll cover this one. OPEN THE DOOR! GET OUT WITH YOUR HANDS UP AND ANNOUNCE YOURSELF! POLICE, ANNOUNCE YOURSELF! I HEAR IT. OPEN. LET'S LET'S BREACH IT cuz I hear the shower. Yeah, GO AHEAD. POLICE DEPARTMENT, ANNOUNCE YOURSELVES. WHAT DO WE GOT? OH, THAT'S THIS ONE. ALL RIGHT. CLEAR. POLICE, show us your hands. Though they find a washing machine running, there's no sign of Julissa. That right there, you need to you want to go look around the building and see if you can find her? >> Yeah, she's got to be around here somewhere. At 8:45 a.m., 20 minutes after she returned home and just 5 minutes before police arrive, Julissa is caught on surveillance footage at the back of the apartment building. And she isn't alone. Leaving right behind her is 27-year-old Rob, the man she told police was her boyfriend. Utilizing the building security footage, they quickly spot her and realize she's already gone. We have a uh Oh my god. >> Target individual leaving with a male with a large backpack. What you got? Right in back of you right now. Right across the hall. Right back there. RIGHT ACROSS THE HALL. CONTACT FOR THE JUMPER. LET'S GO. 543 Where do you got the female, Steve? Uh 02's got them. Don't move. Don't move. DON'T EVEN TOUCH YOUR PHONE. Don't even touch your phone. Take his bag off of him. Put your hands behind your back. >> Put your hands behind your back. What am I doing? I didn't do You're being detained right now. For what? For what? Investigation location of a robbery. What are you talking about? What are you doing? This is This is a legal search. It's not an illegal search. It's all illegal. It's all illegal. It's is illegal. You think doing anything. I was walking. That's all I was doing. What the [ __ ] are you talking about? Why am I under arrest? Okay, go on and sit. Hey, um where did my boyfriend go? Is he in that one? Sit back. Scoot my way. Scoot my way more. You got to talk to them. Yeah. What did you learn? Um I learned about the key is not in the Is that what? I learned that he's not in the Okay. Hey, what the [ __ ] Drove up on me. You guys What the [ __ ] is this? We're going to go around this way. What the [ __ ] is this? Real. Wow, man. You guys are dumb. Was there something I'm just not seeing what was it worth arresting us for or what was in the car? Was it something bad? I mean, obviously if we're getting arrested, it's bad or what was it? Julissa and Rob are then transported to the Orono Police Department. I think this is a good spot. Walking out of the street, walking down here. Once settled into rooms, they were informed about why exactly they had been detained. Julissa? Hello. Hi, how are you? Good, how are you doing? All right. I'm Remember me? I'm Investigator Kirchner. We talked down there. Yeah, hi. So, right now, I'm I'm here to inform you that you are under arrest. For what? You're under arrest for suspicion of homicide right now. For what? Yeah, for suspicion of homicide. Homicide of of who? Well, that's what we're we're going to we're going to work on that to figure that out, okay? Robert? Yeah, what's up, man? I'm Investigator Kyle Kirchner. I'm here with the Orono Police Department, okay? Yeah, what's up? So, right right now, yeah, so so right now you are under arrest. For what? Okay, as of right now we're conducting a homicide investigation. >> Yep, so right now you're considered a suspect in a homicide investigation. So it's it's suspicion. Later that same day Julissa is brought into an interrogation room to speak with investigators where a shocking story will soon unravel. She's been read her Miranda rights and agrees to speak. So right now the investigation that we're conducting involves a vehicle that you were stopped in this morning. Okay. Okay. What do you think was found in the trunk of that vehicle? I'm not sure. What was in there? I think you know. I don't. Oh, can you tell me what it was? Yes, she definitely know. Maybe I don't know what She know what was in that vehicle in that vehicle. >> in the trunk of that car. A dead juvenile body. Really? Who was it? That's what I can't answer right now. That's why I'm here talking to you right now. The reason why we don't know who it was is because the head was missing. What? Damn, the head was missing. >> In my car? Police reports reveal that inside the trunk officers discovered a small body, likely a juvenile 6 to 8 years old with a wound on the arm. It appeared the body was missing parts of the head and was possibly dismembered and mangled in other ways. We have to forensically identify the body because the the face is gone. It's missing its face. It's a little boy. Blue t-shirt on, blue pair of shorts. Just missing a face. Do you have any kids? I have a son. You have a son? How old is your son? Um, six. Six years old? Yeah, and a What's your son's name? Eli. The police are already aware of Julissa's son, Eli, who she shares with her ex, Tory. Eli had been removed from her home by Child Protective Services on three occasions. In an EWO exclusive interview, Josie, Tory's wife, explains the circumstances of why Eli was first removed from Julissa's care. Uh Eli was removed from her home because she was at a a doctor's appointment and she had told the physician that she had been hearing things and that she had been having suicidal thoughts. Because of this, Tory had received an email about Eli's removal. He'd previously not been in contact with Eli because Julissa had made multiple accusations against him, which will come up later in her interview. Now, however, he was being informed about his son's life. Ultimately, Eli was returned to Julissa, but a few weeks later, he was once again removed after a social worker determined that the house was not livable. He was returned to Julissa a week later. Fall of 20 20, she calls the police because Eli locked her out of the house. They finally get into the house. Eli is screaming at the top of his lungs. He's doesn't have any clothes on. There's eggs smeared all over the house. The upstairs bathroom is flooded. They couldn't even find clothes for him to wear and he had a huge gash on his arm. This time, when Eli was removed, he was placed into foster care. In an EWO exclusive interview, Nakita, Eli's foster mother, gives insight into Eli's personality. He was a isolated, I would want to say. You know, they they didn't have much interaction with other people. So, when he came with us, you know, it was just he wanted attention from everybody. Yeah, he was a very big social bug. Um he made friends so easily. He was such a happy little boy. He was always trying to, you know, like figure out how to do things, how things work, and everything. And yeah, he was just he probably the best kid in this world. >> [laughter] >> You know, cuz he was 5 years old when he came to us, and he was not potty trained. Um so, we had, you know, just working on the potty training and everything. He, you know, showed a lot of signs of distress because he would always chew on his shirts, and it was so bad to where like, you know, a brand new shirt would only last like maybe about a week or so because he would chew it so bad that it was so stretched out. In her interview, Josie explains that Eli also had some medical concerns. Eli was born with a rare genetic disorder called Townes-Brocks syndrome. He did have kidney disease, which just needed to be monitored every year. But, the biggest thing that you would notice is he wore hearing aids. >> [music] >> Though Eli wasn't placed with them, Tori and Josie had unsupervised and weekend visits with him. The only time I really saw Eli like get sad is when he had to come back to my house because like he just he wanted to be with Tori still. Jalisa was also allowed to have overnight and weekend visits with Eli. It's then that Nakita noticed a change in Eli's behavior. He would wake up in the middle of the night with night terrors and screaming saying the bad guy is coming to get me. During this time, we also continued to fight to get him out of foster care and into our home. Before every hearing, we would get a report, and they would read every time the following, that she was not um meeting her parenting education, she was not meeting with her therapist, she was causing issues at the drug testing facility to the point where they would no longer test her. She had a ongoing criminal case for stealing pharmaceuticals from a clinic. None of these seemed to be concerning to anyone. Tori and Josie eventually filed for full custody of Eli. However, after living with Nikita for 11 months, Eli was eventually returned to Julissa. So, we were told that they did that to see if she would mess up. My personal opinion is they gave Eli back because they were sick of dealing with her. According to police documents, on January 20th, 2022, Julissa was given placement of Eli by Dakota County CPS. On May 9th, 2022, Julissa was granted full custody of Eli. This was just 11 days before her arrest. So, tell me, how are you guys protecting Eli by giving him back? Happy birthday [singing] to you. They basically were using him as a pawn to see if she's going to mess up. And to use a 6-year-old in that manner is in my mind criminal. Is Eli living with you? Where was Eli today? Cuz I mean, you know, we were at your apartment earlier. He's with my boyfriend. Who's your boyfriend? Um Rob. Rob? Okay. How long have you been dating Rob? Um a few months. Rob, however, has a very different story to tell, and he shares it from Hampstead County Jail 2 days after his initial arrest. This was his second interview. Last time we talked, you said you have a a disability, FASD. [clears throat] Yes. Do you have fetal alcohol syndrome? Yes. Okay. How did you meet Julissa? We guys go together. And I didn't mention the last couple weeks. Trying to get over her and try to Why? I don't know. She don't In fact, Rob claims that not only are they not dating, but he's only been hanging out with Julissa at her apartment for just under a week before they were arrested. Surveillance footage from Julissa's building confirms that he'd been staying with her for the past few days. The footage also captures a few moments on the morning of the 19th, just 1 day before their arrest. 6-year-old Eli, wearing a yellow shirt and blue shorts, can be seen playing in the background. Where's Eli with Rob? Um I'm guessing he took him into a minute and put him to sleep. Yet in his first audio interview, Rob has a very different account of the evening of the 19th. She put Eli down in her den arguing back and forth. And then I just kind of fell out. What were they arguing about? Remember? Bedtime. And she was yelling at him. Um >> [clears throat] >> he kind of like running around. He's Would you say that it seemed just normal parent-child stuff, or did it seem like it was more that she would get more upset than she should have? She would get more upset. You thought she would She's a little more angry than she might need to be. She has a temper. Yeah. Rob says he fell asleep, and the next morning there was no sign of Eli when Julissa returned to the apartment after the police took possession of her vehicle. When you asked where Eli was, what did she say? She was editing. She just ignored the question. >> He ignored He just kind of went about it. This isn't the only chilling story Rob will share. Is there any chance that the body in your car is Eli? I highly doubt that. Okay, well, can I tell you guys something off the record then? I'm kind of angry right now because my ex involved me in some pretty horrible stuff. And um Um I have with multiple restraining orders against him. Police records reveal there is a long history of Julissa making similar reports. She had history while they were dating, while they were together, of false accusations of domestic violence with Tory. I personally requested a copy of that order of protection from the police department, got a copy of it just to find out that when they came to do a second interview on her, she admits in her own words that she oftentimes, due to her mental health, accuses Tory of things that he has never done. In her interview, Julissa now makes a disturbing allegation. I was assaulted last night. >> probably assaulted you. He pushed me up against the car and kind of like punched at me. Were you badly hurt? I mean, yeah. I mean, he's the kind of guy. I was fine. So, it was a sexual assault? Yeah. Okay. I'm going I left there for a reason. How come you didn't tell me that this morning? Earlier that morning, the officers had asked Julissa about this very subject. Is any of this that's going on here related to domestic violence? Um, maybe those kids could have been, but So, I want I want you to be honest with me, okay? Should we say is any of this related to domestic violence? Um, no, I don't think so. He showed the gun to my head. There's a gun now? The topic of guns is also raised in Rob's interview. What he shares paints a harrowing picture. He explains that on Tuesday, the 17th, Julissa had him drive her to a gun store where she purchased a shotgun. She said she wanted to buy something just so she can protect her from rats. They then took it to a gun range. He's going to tell me to tell the gun to shoot at the ground like four times. Beautiful shot the gun into the ground? Yeah, that's just shoot me. Why did she shoot in the ground? I don't know. That's They shoot me with it. What did you say when she did that? I [snorts] was freaking out. Did you say anything? I flipped out on her again. Look, but I'm not bad, but you shouldn't have your wife to do that. You know, you can get killed somebody. And that's after she had done some target practice. Yeah. I didn't tell her she didn't know how to shoot a gun. Told her she can't shoot that shotgun at all. In his first interview, Rob admitted he believed Julissa bought the gun for more than protection. What did she talk about she was going to do? Kill her ex-boyfriend. She's going to what? Kill her ex-boyfriend. Kill her ex-boyfriend? Yeah. On the morning of the 19th, the day before her arrest, Julissa visited the All Season Sports Store in Delano. Security footage shows her talking to an employee, and he later spoke with investigators. I asked her one more time what we could do for her, and she just got frustrated and said she wanted whatever would blow the biggest hole in something. This chilling statement has devastating implications. So, what happened to your son? Um they took him. This isn't the first time Julissa has claimed something similar, as Rob revealed when discussing Julissa's behavior after she returned to her apartment on the morning of the 20th. She didn't She didn't say anything to me. She said, "They took him. They took him. They took him." You shouldn't have done this to me. What are you talking about? So, we don't know where her son is. No, right now we have no idea where her son is. Well, we do. Yeah, we do. We do. But, she she doesn't, but she wants the lawyer to tell the story. Got it. Yeah. Okay. Got it. They treated me like a criminal. This isn't just some story I made up last minute. Like if this really happened to me. Julissa I'm just going to Um you're Yeah. You're here and arrested and um will be booked and charged with murder. What? Um, you were the last person to be seen with your son. That's not true. I told you it was rape. Yeah. Though one interview has ended, the most disturbing aspects of this case are just coming to light. Two days after her initial interview, Julissa once again speaks with investigators. Hi guys. Hey Julissa. What did you find out? I don't know what I'm doing being in jail when I'm innocent. Where is because I'm still in here and I would have assumed that once you guys saw that I was innocent you would let me out, but I'm still in here. You need to take your mask off. Sorry about that, thank you. I There's just a couple things I'm not understanding like one why you guys haven't found the guy who raped me. Following her arrest, Julissa was taken to the hospital and an assault test was conducted. While the results aren't shown when discussing the time of the alleged assault, she made an interesting claim. Can you wake up and talk to me? This is >> I would say like 11:00 a.m. to 1:00 a.m. So yeah, 11:00 p.m. to 1:00 a.m. However, investigators have uncovered surveillance footage from Julissa's apartment building that places her still there at 11:22 p.m. Also seen in the footage is Eli as he's rolled out on a cart by Julissa. Chillingly, there's something wrapped in a gray blanket with him. This blanket and Julissa's use for it came up in Rob's first interview. It's a a blanket a blanket that she wraps the shotgun in? >> Yeah. So it's a gray blanket? >> Yeah. Okay. Are you saying you rolled the shotgun in out of there all the time? So that she wouldn't see it Eli wouldn't see it Eli wouldn't see it. And said Eli couldn't see it? Yeah. Rob's phone data and the security footage from Julissa's apartment showed that he never left that night. He was eventually released without any charges in relation to this case. The investigators speaking with Julissa now begin laying out crime scene photos from her vehicle. And then you got a blanket. Looks like some stuff here in the passenger van. Mhm. Well, there was shotgun >> orders of protection. Shotgun. There was shotgun because of the order of protection. You know, she claimed that Tory was going to get a shotgun and come and kill her and Eli. Police documents confirmed that while orders for protection were granted against Julissa's ex, police documents show that no criminal charges were ever filed. Once me and Tory started communicating, that's when I realized how much she had lied about him. So, she she was very good at these web of lies. That's your little boy, friend? Yeah. That's Eli? Eli? You confirmed You confirmed it? That's Eli in the trunk of your car? He's such a good person. You confirmed it? Are you sure? Are you sure? Though they suspected it all along, the investigators have confirmed that the body in Julissa's trunk was her 6-year-old son, Eli Hart. Hauntingly, this means that the security footage from the night of the 19th captures some of the last moments of Eli's life. In her interview, Josie recalls the last time she and Tory saw Eli. And we always did this thing called a triple hug. And who loves you most? And we always give him a big hug and we'd say, "Who loves you most?" And he would always say, "You both do." Did you find the people who did this? Was there DNA on me? Girl, your ass did it. You did it, god damn it. I didn't know he was dead, I swear to god. And I'm here telling you who did it. But I didn't know he was dead. You're telling me my baby boy? Man, cut the bull crap. >> DNA would play an important role in this case, but likely not in the way Julissa anticipated. After her arrest, investigators had noticed a blood-like substance in her hair, and swabs were taken. It was tested and found to be a match to the DNA profile obtained from Eli. This dumpster is where we recovered a lot of his a lot of his head brain tissue. This is the same dumpster that we have witnesses that saw this car with no tire and a broken out window describing you dumping all this stuff in. Immediately following the discovery of Eli's body in Julissa's trunk, a few of the officers were approached by a witness who saw something concerning before she was pulled over. So, what was she dumping? I don't know, I don't know. I pulled in and she was next to the dumpster. She was You know that dumpster, you know, the Shell station up there? Following this tip, investigators checked the dumpster at the gas station. My question is this, where the [ __ ] is she going? Yeah, I like What are you going to do with it? What in the world? Documents indicate that they found a large amount of glass on the ground mixed with evidence consistent with a blood-like substance, suspected brain matter, skull fragments, and bodily tissue. Inside the dumpster were two large cardboard boxes with body tissue and brain matter on top. There was also a backpack with suspected skull fragments nearby, brain matter, pieces of skull, and blood on the bottom. Inside the backpack, investigators found school work with the name Eli on it. As horrific as these details are, they are just the tip of the iceberg. Other witnesses who saw Julissa that morning described her strange behavior to investigators. She turned and looked at us and we went, "Whoa." She's not like There was just like this weird vacant look on her face. Saw her walk She was walking towards the cars. She was coming out of the garbage can area. Um and then she had something and she walked over to like the woods like she walked wide of the car towards like the woods area. With this in mind, investigators realized Julissa hadn't dumped evidence just at the gas station, but at several other locations as well. At Surfside Park in Mound, they found towels with blood, hair, and yellow kitchen cleaning gloves that were turned inside out, as well as bone and tissue fragments and a suspected shotgun wad in a grassy area on the north side of a driveway. In a dumpster, they also found a child's car seat. Horrifically, it was covered in suspected blood, brain matter, hair, and tissue. Along with this, the GPS data from Julissa's phone placed her device in the proximity of three known crime scenes. As well, surveillance video from the Mound Skate Park at 6:58 a.m. showed Julissa driving in before leaving again. As this was just 17 minutes before the police pulled her over, there's a chilling implication about what may have been dumped there if someone else had not already been at the park. Where's your dad? We're investigating Eli's death for him. We're here to get answers for him. Cuz we think He was an important person in the world. Cuz we I he deserves it. He deserves everything. He's not actually Like how do you know? You know he is. How do YOU KNOW? YOU YOU'RE MAKING ASSUMPTIONS. HOW do you know that I know? Police documents state that in the months leading up to Eli's death, Julissa researched life insurance, including the search "I'm looking for the highest possible life insurance for me and a rider for my child." She received a text message on April 13th, a little over a month before Eli's death, indicating that she had applied for $500,000 in life insurance coverage. Eight days later, Julissa passed her concealed carry course. This isn't all that her search history would reveal. Tragically, Nikita had contacted CPS hundreds of times about Eli, and she wasn't the only one. From what I've heard, um, somebody in the apartment complex that she lived in, as well as teachers, had called CPS to notify them of different situations. The complex, um, resident or manager, somebody, had called them because Eli was out on the balcony in the middle of the night just screaming. Police records state that Julissa's search history also included things like, "How to keep child away from dad and CPS." "How much blood can a 6-year-old lose?" "Most powerful knockout drug." "How much whiskey to give a baby?" "Payment from life insurance if child dies." "Most expensive life insurance for child." "Qualifying accidental death." >> This lady was crazy. >> cover drowning?" And "How to commit crime with a child." This was crazy. He's the baby boy. He's the most important person in the world to me. I would never hurt him. I would never do anything to him. I protect him. In a later recorded jail call, Julissa spoke to her father, and police documents state that he told her, "Quote, I warned you. I begged you many times for this not to happen. I knew you couldn't be a good mom." Her father also spoke to police, and official records state that he told investigators he's been terrified of something happening, and that he was so happy when she lost custody of Eli. He also stated that anything she tells you is a lie, and I think she did this to her, Tory. She did not want him to have Eli. In her interview, Josie recalls the moment they found out about Eli's death. Eli is dead. He's been murdered. Tory is like in a corner with these primal sobs. He is my world. He is so kind. He deserves really good things. He's not a bad person. He doesn't deserve bad things. He deserves people to give him love and support and people to protect him. He doesn't deserve this. Then I learned that he was shot nine times with a shotgun. At point-blank. While strapped into his car seat on the back seat of his mom's car. Julissa Thaler was charged with murder in the first degree, premeditated, and murder in the second degree with intent not premeditated. She initially pled not guilty to both charges. Following Eli's death, Josie and Tory filed a lawsuit against Dakota County All right, guys. I ain't going to get a little sad off that. I can't even finish the video uh after hearing that the baby got shot nine times. I can't even finish the video, and um yeah, y'all going to go finish it yourself. Um yeah, that just told me out right there. Um yeah, um yeah, I I I Hey, man. Hey, please subscribe to his channel, EW uh, crime story time. Godly, I'm I'm tearing up a little bit. Um, yeah. Yeah, man, that's your boy Hood News Cash, man. Hit that like button, sub to the channel. If you're new to the channel, man, like, sub, comment, subscribe. Be sure to check out, um, I'm I can't get my word Yo, I Peace. I'm going to holler at y'all, man. Next on the next one, man.