A mother was arrested after authorities discovered the body of her 6-year-old son in the trunk of her vehicle.
The incident occurred in Mound, Minnesota on Friday.
Officials say they conducted a traffic stop on 28-year-old Julissa Thaler after they noticed that she was driving on a rim and that the back window of her vehicle was blown out.
As authorities approached, they noticed blood on the vehicle, a shotgun shell, a spent casing, and a bullet hole in the backseat.
Despite the findings, authorities released Thaler from the scene and continued to search the vehicle.
Investigators eventually opened the trunk and found a child’s body and a shotgun inside.
Officers tracked down Thaler near her apartment and noticed that the clothes she had on earlier that day were being washed.
They also noticed blood in her hair and located a bloody booster seat that appeared to have been damaged by a shotgun in a dumpster.
She was arrested.
The child was identified as Thaler’s son. A preliminary autopsy found that the child was shot as many as 9 times.
A friend of Thaler’s told investigators that she wanted to learn how to use a gun, so he took her to a gun range.
The friend was detained but later released after it was ruled there was insufficient evidence to charge him.
Thaler was charged with second-degree murder with intent. She faces up to 40 years in prison if convicted.