A woman swore at a judge calling him and the court "garbage" and said "f**k you all" after hearing her sentence for the murder of her child.
Julissa Thaler, from Minnesota, US, has been sentenced to life in prison without parole for the murder of her six-year-old son, Eli Hart.
Thaler was convicted of first and second-degree murder, after shooting Eli nine times with a shotgun in May 2022.
During her sentencing hearing, Thaler made an outburst, saying "I'm innocent. F**k you all. You’re garbage. That is all, your honour."
This was met with disapproval from the Hennepin County District Judge, Jay Quam, who told Thaler that her statement was inappropriate.
Thaler responded by saying that she had only told the truth.
Judge Quam spoke about the severity of the crime during the sentencing, stating that the worst thing that can happen to a parent is to lose their child, but it is even worse when someone takes that child from the world.
He went on to explain that nothing he could do would bring justice to the situation or relieve any of the pain that Thaler had caused. Thaler was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.
During the reading of the sentencing, Thaler sat back in her chair with her head resting on her hand, looking down at the floor.
She appeared to give the judge and gallery the middle finger before being escorted out of the courtroom.
Nikita Kronberg, who is Eli Hart's former foster mother, said: "[Eli] meant the world to so many people.
"He was so kind and amazing. Always had a smile on his face. He made friends so easily and wanted to explore all the time."
The case was first brought to the attention of the police when they received reports of someone driving without a tire and a smashed back windshield on May 19, 2022.
During the traffic stop, officers found Thaler with pieces of flesh on her body and blood in her car.
Thaler claimed that the blood was from a tampon and the flesh was from a deer she had picked up from a butcher, according to documents obtained by KMSP at the time.
After 30 minutes, the police drove Thaler home. It was only afterwards that Eli's body was discovered in the trunk of the car, alongside a shotgun that was suspected to be the murder weapon.
Prior to Eli's death, Thaler had won full custody of him just 10 days earlier.
Eli's father, Tony Hart, had made numerous complaints about Thaler's history of drug abuse and mental health problems but was ignored by the courts.
Mr Hart has filed a wrongful death lawsuit against Dakota County employees who gave custody to Thaler, and the case is set to be heard in a federal court in 2024.
