Vance Boelter Avoids Death Penalty as He Pleads Guilty to the Murder of Rep. Melissa Hortman and Her Husband Following Horrific Crime at Couple's Home
Vance Boelter will rot behind bars the rest of his life.
June 11 2026, Published 6:40 p.m. ET
Vance Boelter has avoided the death penalty by pleading guilty to killing former Minnesota House Speaker Melissa Hortman and her husband, Mark, in 2025, RadarOnline.com can reveal.
The 58-year-old, who pretended to be a police officer to commit the crime, had fled following the bloody crime, leading to a huge manhunt.
Vance Boelter Pleads Guilty
Boelter pleaded guilty on June 11.
On Thursday, June 11, Boelter appeared in U.S. district court in Minneapolis and admitted to two counts of murder, according to court records.
He also confessed to shooting State Sen. John Hoffman and his wife, Yvette, and attempting to gun down the couple's daughter, Hope. Boelter also pleaded guilty to other charges, including stalking the pair and a firearms offense.
While the disturbed man will not be put on death row, he was instead sentenced to two consecutive life terms in prison plus 40 years.
The tragic night occurred on June 14, 2025, as Boelter drove to the Hoffmans' house first in a vehicle made to look like a police squad car. He also wore a fake police uniform, as well as a silicone mask over his head to conceal his identity.
Details on Vance Boelter's Disturbing Crime
Boelter fatally shot Hortman and her husband.
While he declared himself to be in law enforcement, the Hoffman couple did not buy it as they tried to keep Boelter outside their home to no avail, as he shot them several times.
Boelter, who carried a list of names and addresses for dozens of Democratic officials across the state, then visited the Hortmans' home, where he entered the residence and fatally shot them.
According to the criminal report, police had learned of the shooting at the Hoffman property and happened to encounter Boelter at the Hortmans' home before he opened fire on the couple.
However, Boelter shot at the police before making his way into the home and killing the pair. The Hortmans' dog, Gilbert, was also shot in the chaos and was euthanized.
'May Be Dead Shortly'
The 58-year-old was arrested after a two-day manhunt.
Boelter was able to avoid being captured for two days before he was caught near his home. A second "hit list" is said to have been found at his home during a search.
The list reportedly included more than a dozen new names. According to Boelter's best friend and longtime roommate, David Carlson, the killer sent haunting messages after murdering the Hortmans.
The message read: "David and Ron, I love you guys. I made some choices, and you guys don't know anything about this, but I'm going to be gone for a while."
"May be dead shortly, so I just want to let you know I love you guys both and I wish it hadn't gone this way," the message noted.
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He was sentenced to two consecutive life terms in prison plus 40 years.
According to Carlson, Boetler "wasn't a hateful person. But he needed help."
While a motive for Boetler has not been made official, authorities had previously suggested he wanted to kill the Hortmans, Democrats, because they supported abortion rights.
According to CNN, his list allegedly included several Democrats and figures with ties to Planned Parenthood or the abortion rights movement.
