Eli Hart’s family settles lawsuit with Dakota County for $2.25M in boy’s slaying by mother

The family of 6-year-old Eli Hart, who was shot and killed by his mother in 2022, on Wednesday reached a $2.25 million wrongful death settlement with Dakota County.

The lawsuit, which was filed three months after Eli’s death, accused the county’s Social Services department of gross and willful negligence when it returned Eli to the custody of his mother, Julissa Thaler.

For months leading up to the shooting, Thaler had struggled with her mental health, substance abuse and parenting duties, all of which were documented by child service providers, Eli’s father, Tory Hart, and others. Yet an intervention never came.

“It is definitely a bit of a relief just to have some resolution to this very long case,” said Josephine Josephson, Eli’s stepmother. “It’s a lot of stress to have an ongoing case with a delicate subject.

“I think Dakota County — obviously, they agreed to our settlement without taking any faults — but I think that they truly know that something did go wrong and that they should make corrective actions.”

The settlement stipulates that $1.2 million be paid to Eli’s father. Three of the boy’s grandparents will receive $25,000 each. The balance of the settlement will cover attorney fees and other costs.

In the years since Eli’s death, his family has created the Eli Hart Foundation. Josephson said Wednesday that the settlement will help the organization establish a scholarship fund and create a legal assistance service for parents who don’t have the means to fight for custody of their children.

“It’s a scary place to be,” Josephson said.

Eli was found dead in the trunk of his mother’s car following a traffic stop by police in Mound in May 2022. Police believe he was shot as many as nine times with a firearm that had been purchased days earlier. Thaler was later convicted of murder charges and sentenced to life in prison.

The murder followed months of documented, disturbing behavior by Thaler as Hart made frantic attempts to remove his son from her custody.

According to the complaint filed in the suit:

In October 2020, Eli was removed from Thaler’s custody and placed in foster care when a Dakota County social services worker visited their home and found Eli wandering naked. The home was in a “disgusting state of decay.”

Over the next several months, Thaler had supervised visitations with Eli where she continued to show she was mentally unfit to take care of herself or her son.

Thaler, who had a long history of substance abuse, exposed her son to a controlled substance in utero. He wore hearing aids and was born with cleft feet.

However, in late 2021, Dakota County returned Eli to Thaler’s custody despite her failing to meet a range of court requirements and drug tests. There were reported incidents such as Thaler driving recklessly on the grounds of the school that Eli attended.

Leading up to the May 2022 murder, Hart continued to report a variety of concerns. Eli missed doctor appointments, appeared sleep-deprived and often wore the same clothes. Staff at his school reported witnessing a physical altercation between Thaler and Eli.

“I think Eli’s case definitely has brought to light some of the areas that need to be improved on,” Josephson said. “I just really want people to not forget the kids, to remember what happened to Eli and to make a change.”