Young Boy Found Dead in Trunk of Car After Traffic Stop in Mound
Eli Hart, 6
Authorities have confirmed the body of a young boy was found inside of a vehicle on Friday morning after a traffic stop near Shoreline Drive & Bartlett Ave. in Mound.
Orono police, who patrol the city of Mound, said that around 7:10 a.m. Friday, they received a report of a suspicious vehicle. A 911 caller reported seeing a silver car, driving on a rim and with a back window smashed out.
Mound sits on the northwest corner of Lake Minnetonka and is about 20 miles west of Minneapolis.
Orono police said within two minutes of the suspicious vehicle report, officers found the silver car and conducted a traffic stop. While officers were speaking to the female driver, they noticed blood inside of the car.
After further investigation of the vehicle, police said a body was found in the trunk.
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Police have not yet named the boy, but an email statement released from Kevin Borg, Superintendent of Westonka Schools, notified district families and staff of the “tragic death of a child in our community.”
Borg said that the district is waiting for positive identification of the victim, but school officials believe the victim to have been a kindergarten student at Shirley Hills Primary School.
“It is horrifying and difficult to process a tragedy of this magnitude, especially in our close-knit community,” Borg wrote in the school district email, noting a district crisis support team will be available on-site at the primary school Monday morning.
Police arrested two people following the traffic stop and discovery of the boy’s body.
According to booking records, 28-year-old Julissa Angelica Genrich Thaler, of Spring Park, is being held in the Hennepin County Jail on probable cause murder.
Details on the other person arrested are not yet available.
Thaler’s criminal history in the state contains various traffic offenses.
According to a GoFundMe page established for the funeral of the victim, he was identified as Thaler’s biological 6-year-old son, Eli Hart.
Orono police said the incident was the result of a domestic incident, but further details including the manner of the boy’s death have not yet been released.
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