Wife of alleged political assassin Vance Boelter files for divorce; records ordered sealed

The wife of Vance Boelter, the man charged federally with stalking and murder in the June shootings of two Minnesota lawmakers and their families, has filed for divorce, according to state court records.

Jenny Lynne Boelter, 51, of Green Isle, Minn., filed a petition for a dissolution of marriage with children Aug. 29 in Sibley County District Court. Details about the petition were sealed by Judge Amber Donley three days later at Jenny Boelter’s request. The judge’s motion orders “all current and future documents filed in this matter to be sealed and deemed confidential.”

Vance Boelter, 58, stands federally indicted on six counts including stalking and murder — which carries the possibility of the death penalty, along with state charges of first-degree murder and attempted murder. The charges allege Boelter disguised himself as a police officer when he approached the lawmakers’ homes early June 14. In what federal prosecutors described as a politically motivated attack, Vance Boelter is accused of shooting Democratic state Sen. John Hoffman and his wife 17 times before going to the home of Democratic House leader Melissa Hortman and fatally shooting her and her husband, Mark. The Hoffmans survived.

The Boelters married in 1997 and share five children.

Maury Beaulier, Jenny Boelter’s divorce attorney, declined to comment when contacted by the Minnesota Star Tribune and referred to a previous statement released following the attacks. Through a lawyer, Jenny Boelter previously said she was “absolutely shocked” and “heartbroken” to learn of the allegations.

“This violence does not at all align with our beliefs as a family,” Jenny Boelter said. “It is a betrayal of everything we hold true as tenets of our Christian faith.

“On behalf of my children and myself, I want to express our deepest sympathies to the Hortman and Hoffman families,” she wrote. “Our condolences are with all who are grieving during this unimaginably difficult time, and we are praying daily for them.”

In her statement, Jenny Boelter said she was heading to her parents’ house when police contacted her and she agreed to meet agents at a nearby gas station. When authorities arrived, Jenny Boelter said that “we voluntarily agreed to meet with them” and were willing to cooperate.

Authorities searched her car near a gas station in Onamia an found passports, two guns and $10,000 in cash.

An FBI agent identified the Boelter family as “preppers,” a group who gather supplies under the belief of the imminent end of the world. Court documents said the family had an arsenal of 46 firearms.