Vance Boelter (Hennepin County Jail)
MINNEAPOLIS (KFGO CBS News Minnesota) – Prosecutors working on the case of Vance Boelter, the man accused of killing Minnesota House Speaker Emerita Melissa Hortman and her husband in a politically motivated spree that also injured state Sen. John Hoffman and his wife, say they have not yet made a decision whether to pursue the death penalty.
Boelter, 58, pleaded not guilty to six counts of murder, stalking and firearms violations. If he is convicted on the murder charges, he could face life in prison or the death penalty.
In court Friday, Boelter wore a yellow sweatshirt and sweatpants and sat between his attorneys, with U.S. marshals seated behind him. Members of the Hortman and Hoffman families were also present for the proceedings.
The federal judge at the hearing also asked the prosecutors whether they feel they are adequately staffed to continue the case as planned.
Last month, Joe Thompson, the first assistant U.S. attorney who filed the charges against Boelter, resigned as part of a mass exodus at the Minneapolis U.S. attorney’s office that has left the department with just over a dozen prosecutors. Sources familiar with the matter said his departure stemmed from pressure to investigate the shooting of Renee Good as an assault on a federal officer as opposed to a civil rights case.
Thompson was working as the acting U.S. attorney for the District of Minnesota when he charged Boelter. His departure, as well as the skeleton status of the office, prompted questions about the timeline for Boelter’s case. Harry Jacobs, the top prosecutor in the case, also left the office.
The prosecutors on Friday told the judge that they have been working Boelter’s case since day one, and feel their load is manageable. They said they’ll likely bring in additional support if the case goes to trial.
The decision about the death penalty, they said, could be addressed at a future status hearing scheduled for April 17.
Thompson had originally said the decision would be “decided by Attorney General (Pam) Bondi with input from the Capitol Case Unit in the Department of Justice, along with this office and the victims.”
“Today, I looked into the face of the man who tried to destroy my family. It was one of the hardest moments of my life. I carried with me the loss of Melissa and Mark Hortman, and Gilbert — lives taken in senseless violence. Their absence is with us always,” Yvette Hoffman said. “But we are still here. We will not be defined by hate. We will honor them by choosing strength, justice and hope.”
Authorities say Boelter impersonated a police officer when he shot the lawmakers in their Twin Cities homes on June 14. He first went to the Hoffmans’ home in Champlin and shot the senator nine times. He then shot Yvette Hoffman eight times, prosecutors say.
He then went to the Hortmans’ home in nearby Brooklyn Park and killed the couple, charges say. Their dog Gilbert was so badly injured he had to be euthanized.
Boelter had allegedly made lists of politicians in Minnesota and other states — mostly Democrats — and attorneys at national law firms. He visited two other state Democratic lawmakers homes that night, authorities say, but he encountered police at one, and the other was not at home.
What followed was a roughly 40-hour search that authorities called the largest manhunt in state history. He was taken into custody near his Green Isle home.
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