Not Guilty Plea From Minnesota Woman Charged With Murdering Son

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Minneapolis, MN (KROC-AM News) - The Twin Cities woman accused of the shotgun slaying of her young son today entered a not guilty plea to a second-degree murder charge.

28-year-old Julissa Thaler was recently deemed to be competent to stand trial on the charge. After ruling today that there is probable cause to proceed with the case, a Hennepin County judge scheduled her trial to begin in late January of next year.

Thaler was arrested in May after a traffic stop eventually led to the discovery of the body of 6-year-old Eli Hart in the trunk of the vehicle she was driving. An autopsy determined the young boy had been shot up to 9 times with a shotgun. The criminal complaint says the traffic stop was initiated by citizen complaints about her erratic driving in a car that was missing the tire and had a shattered rear window.

After stopping Thaler in Mound, an officer noticed blood on the woman's hand and what appeared to be a bullet hole in the back seat, along with a shotgun shell and they spent shotgun casing inside the vehicle. A shotgun was also found in the trunk with the young child's body.

KMSP-TV in the Twin Cities is reporting that Hennepin County prosecutors today offered Thaler a plea deal that calls for a 40-year prison sentence. The TV station's report indicates Taylor was given a month to accept the deal or proceed to trial.