- “Eli’s brutal murder is one of the most horrific cases I have encountered in 30 years working in the criminal legal system,” Hennepin County Attorney Mary Moriarty stated.
- “Nothing will ever fill the emptiness Eli’s father and other loved ones now live with every day, but I’m hopeful this verdict will make it just a bit easier to remember Eli as the toothless, happy, smiling little boy we have seen in photos.”
- The trial was so disturbing that jurors were offered crisis counseling.