DAKOTA COUNTY, Minn. — Two and a half years after the death of 6-year-old Eli Hart, his father has settled with Dakota County in a federal wrongful death lawsuit.

Eli died on May 20, 2022, when he was shot by his mother Julissa Thaler, in Spring Grove. Investigators said Thaler shot the boy while he was strapped in his car seat, and stuffed his mangled body in her trunk.

A KARE 11 Investigates report found that only 10 days earlier, Dakota County had closed a child protection case against Thaler, one in which records show she repeatedly lied to caseworkers, filed false court claims, failed drug tests, committed crimes and even stalked the boy’s foster parents.

RELATED: KARE 11 Investigates: Red flags ignored, warnings disregarded, a boy murdered

“This is one of the most shocking child fatalities, one of the most shocking failures of child protection I’ve seen in many decades of working in child welfare,” said Dee Wilson, who reviewed the records for KARE 11.

A federal wrongful death lawsuit was filed by Eli’s biological father, Tory Hart, accusing Dakota County of negligence. According to court documents, the defendants in the case, Dakota County, have agreed to tender $2.25 million to Eli’s family. 

Thaler was found guilty in 2023 of one count each of premeditated first-degree murder and second-degree murder. She automatically received a life sentence without parole for a premeditated murder conviction. 

BLOOMINGTON, Minn. — Despite some national headlines on Tuesday, there does not appear to be a bombshell confession in the O.J. Simpson “trial of the century” sitting in Bloomington, Minnesota.

The Bloomington Police Department issued a statement late Tuesday in response to a report published by TMZ earlier in the day. The report stated the department had a thumb drive which Simpson’s former bodyguard claimed contained Simpson’s alleged confession to the murders of his wife, Nicole Brown Simpson, and Ronald Goldman.

In a statement to KARE 11, Bloomington PD confirms the department arrested a man named Iroc Avelli on assault charges in March 2022, with investigators collecting a number of items as part of the case, including a backpack containing thumb drives.

More than two years later, in June 2024, BPD confirms it was contacted by detectives from the Los Angeles Police Department stating Avelli and his attorney claimed the thumb drives in BPD custody included an alleged recording of Simpson confessing to the murders. Avelli also filed suit against BPD seeking to have the backpack and thumb drives returned, but was denied by a judge.

In July, Bloomington PD obtained a search warrant to run a forensics analysis on the drives. According to the BPD statement released late Tuesday, “reviewing detectives did not locate any information of evidentiary value for the (Los) Angeles Police Department.”

TMZ has also updated its reporting to state that there were no recordings of Simpson on the drives at all, but only recordings of Avelli.

Simpson died in April 2024. He was acquitted in criminal court for the murders following his heavily publicized trial, but later held liable in civil court.

LAPD said the deaths of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ron Goldman are considered to be a closed case.

ST PAUL, Minn. — Editor’s note: The video above first aired on KARE 11 in September 2024.

Ramsey County leaders laid out plans to open multiple small treatment homes to serve the county’s most at-risk youth in a secure setting, an attempt to get a handle on juvenile repeat offenders.

The county received money from the state legislature in 2023 to open small, homelike settings where youth can have mental, behavioral or chemical health needs met. Officials asked for proposals to run the facilities in November 2024 hoping to have one or more up and running by May 2025.

“It fills a critical gap,” said County Attorney John Choi, who along with Ramsey County Sheriff Bob Fletcher, helped spearhead the program.

That gap is the lack of placements for youth who’ve committed crimes and cannot safely return to the community, but also aren’t a good fit for a juvenile prison like Red Wing. Many have severe mental health, trauma or behavioral health needs to address.

The treatment homes will be based in Ramsey County where family members can participate in their treatment. Unlike many group homes, they can be locked to help prevent runaways.

Sheriff Fletcher talked about the department’s work to crack down on car theft and carjacking involving youth. He said he’s learned many youth in the system come from homes where addiction, homelessness and poverty are common.

Fletcher believes the new treatment homes can help steer them down a more productive path while keeping the public safe.

“The number of kids who need this intensive treatment is really small,” Fletcher said. “The younger you can get treatment for these ills, the better.”

The county is asking for community-based organizations to develop culturally responsive homes for up to six youth at a time. The county will use money from the legislature to get them up and running.

Choi says they will also work to increase the reimbursement rate for providers who take on the difficult job.

County leaders pointed to the uniqueness of the program and said while it’s not the only solution to repeat youth crime, they believe it is an important start.

Tyrone Terrill who runs a navigators program for kids in the juvenile justice system said it’s vital. “A lot of children from birth never had a chance,” he said. “I believe these homes will give kids a chance.”

The move comes as metro counties grapple with a post-pandemic rise in juvenile crime and a lack of facilities to rehabilitate youth — some of whom are incompetent to stand trial because of their young age, mental illness or low IQ.

In November, the Hennepin County Board approved emergency action to turn part of a county building into a Youth Behavioral Health Crisis Stabilization Center to house troubled kids accused of crimes who need secure treatment.

The action came after a judge blasted the county for holding children in jail illegally.