New details, charges emerge as Vance Boelter is indicted in state court for first-degree murder

While announcing that a grand jury had indicted Vance Boelter for premeditated first-degree murder in state court, Hennepin County Attorney Mary Moriarty provided new details of the investigation and added two more victims from his alleged politically motivated rampage.

Boelter is now charged in District Court with two counts of first-degree murder, four counts of attempted-first degree murder, one count of felony animal cruelty and one count of impersonating a police officer.

The charges allege he killed Rep. Melissa Hortman and her husband, Mark, and attempted to kill Rep. Kristin Bahner and Sen. John Hoffman, his wife, Yvette, and their daughter, Hope, at their respective homes on the morning of June 14.

“These are members of our community here in Hennepin County,” Moriarty said. “These were people who were public servants, who represented us.”

Last month, federal prosecutors indicted Boelter on six counts including stalking Melissa Hortman and John Hoffman, killing Melissa and Mark Hortman and attempting to kill John, Yvette and Hope Hoffman. Boelter pleaded not guilty to the charges.

No jury trial has been scheduled in the federal case.

Moriarty said her office will continue to wait for the federal case to play out before pursuing its case against Boelter.

“It does not matter that the act could not be completed here,” Moriarty said, explaining the new attempted murder charge. “The fact that Bahner wasn’t home at all is not a barrier to proving this charge.”

Moriarty said the Hortmans’ family dog, Gilbert, was heard on security footage barking until Mark Hortman told the dog to stop. She said Boelter later shot the dog at the foot of the stairs and left him partly paralyzed, leading to the animal cruelty charge. Gilbert was later euthanized by a veterinarian.

In Minnesota, a conviction for first-degree murder carries a mandatory sentence of life in prison without parole. It can only be charged by a grand jury after it is shown evidence in the case to determine whether or not to indict the defendant. In Boelter’s case, the grand jury would have been asked to determine whether his crimes were premeditated. Moriarty said evidence was first shown to the grand jury two weeks after Boelter was arrested.

Boelter, 58, surrendered to law enforcement on June 15 in a Green Isle, Minn., field roughly a mile from his residence following a 43-hour manhunt.

He was charged with second-degree murder in Hennepin County on the day of the attacks, and a nationwide warrant was issued for his arrest. His state case has largely been on pause while the federal case moves forward.

After the officers arrived, Boelter immediately shot Mark Hortman inside the doorway while running into the house then shot Melissa Hortman and Gilbert inside the home.

Moriarty also clarified that Boelter shot John and Yvette Hoffman by firing at least nine shots through the front door of the house, striking them multiple times and narrowly missing their daughter, Hope.

More details were clarified about the list of names Boelter had in his police-style SUV. Moriarty said John Hoffman, Melissa Hortman and Bahner were on the list and had stars next to their names with additional notes about their families and homes.

She said other individuals on the list had stars by their names but she was unaware if he planned to attack anyone else that night.

“I can’t get into his mind,” Moriarty said. “We’re not going to speculate on what his plans were.”

When asked if investigators and prosecutors are giving credence to Boelter’s version of events, Moriarty said no, but added both state and federal prosecutors can use those words against him in building a criminal case.

“Nobody is making him make a statement,” Moriarty said. “He is doing that voluntarily.”

Boelter’s public statements come after investigators found a letter he allegedly addressed to FBI Director Kash Patel. That letter was found inside a Buick that Boelter bought off a man at a bus stop in Minneapolis after the shootings. The letter claims Boelter carried out the attacks after being approached by Gov. Tim Walz to kill U.S. Sens. Amy Klobuchar and Tina Smith. He also claimed to be trained by “U.S. Military people off the books.”

Prosecutors and doctors have claimed the letter lacks any foundation in reality.

When asked if any motive for Boelter’s actions was becoming clear, Moriarty said that analysis was best left until trial.

“Our guess is that they will keep him until they are done with their process,” she said. “So he has not made a court appearance here ... and probably won’t until the federal government is finished with their case.”

As Boelter’s case continues to play out in court, the attack has also prompted discussion around the law enforcement response to the active threat, including: information not being shared about a New Hope police officer interacting with Boelter outside the home of Sen. Ann Rest between the shootings of the Hoffmans and the Hortmans; the decision by the Brooklyn Park Police Department to wait an hour to physically enter the home to check on Melissa Hortman after seeing Mark Hortman get shot in the entryway of the home and pulling him out to perform life-saving measures; and a shelter-in-place alert being sent to residents in Brooklyn Park and not north Minneapolis, despite law enforcement being aware Boelter had returned to his rental home in the neighborhood.