A Minnesota man who admitted to killing a prominent Democratic lawmaker and her husband will spend the rest of his life behind bars for the brutal attack.
Vance Boelter, 59, received two back-to-back life sentences, along with an additional 40 years in prison, for the murders of former House Speaker Melissa Hortman and her husband, Mark. He was also sentenced for shooting state Senator John Hoffman and his wife, Yvette, both of whom survived.
Boelter entered a guilty plea last month in a deal that spared him the death penalty, accepting instead the harshest punishment available short of capital punishment.
During Thursday’s sentencing hearing, Boelter attempted to offer an apology, but as he began speaking, many supporters of the victims stood up and walked out of the courtroom.
‘To every person I have caused loss, pain, heartache, confusion, sadness, shame, or loneliness, I am truly sorry,’ Boelter said from the podium, The Minnesota Star Tribune reported.
In court in June, Boelter acknowledged that he had spent months researching, tracking and selecting his victims before showing up at their homes late at night while posing as a police officer, intending to kill them.
The Minnesota lawmaker shootings triggered what authorities described as the largest manhunt in the state’s history.
Dressed in orange jail clothing with his ankles shackled, Boelter remained nearly motionless throughout the hearing and did not look toward survivors or grieving relatives as they delivered emotional victim impact statements.
Vance Boelter, 59, was sentenced to two consecutive life terms plus 40 years in prison over the murders of House Speaker Melissa Hortman and her husband Mark, and the shootings of state Senator John Hoffman and his wife Yvette who survived
Boetler shot Minnesota House Speaker Melissa Hortman and her husband Mark dead at their Brooklyn Park home around 3.30 am on June 14, 2025
Sophie Hortman, daughter of Melissa and Mark Hortman, exits court following Boelter’s sentencing
In court Thursday, Senator Hoffman condemned Boelter’s ‘acts of calculated violence’ as he shared how he and his family are reminded of the horrific shooting every day.
He said they do not receive mail at home anymore, installed solid steel doors and that they have changed how they do everyday tasks because of their injuries.
‘The defendant looked me in the eyes and pulled the trigger. The defendant looked at my wife and chose to do the same,’ Hoffman said.
‘My wife and I now live with injuries. We live with our bodies remembering the gunfire.’
He quoted several Bible passages in an apparent attempt to counter Boelter’s request to be judged based on his years of faith and service in the church.
‘The court will hand down the defendant’s sentence. Mine continues forever,’ the senator said, according to KMSP.
‘The defendant did not simply decide to take life. He attempted to silence people and send a message that violence is stronger than democracy.’
Yvette Hoffman said she has been too traumatized to work since the attack in their home, and that she sees a therapist weekly.
Harry and Linda Haluptzok, parents of Melissa Hortman, speak to the media at the Diana E Murphy United States Federal Courthouse following the sentencing
He killed the Hortmans after having already shot and critically injured state Senator John Hoffman and wife Yvette at their residence
The Hortman family’s golden retriever was gravely injured in the shootings and had to be euthanized
‘I fought him, your Honor, with everything I had. And I finally got him out of our home. I will never forget looking down and watching my blood slowly stream down that white washing machine as I felt myself sinking to the floor,’ she said, barely holding back tears as she spoke.
‘We always have an escape plan now. This isn’t how people should live.’
She added that she hopes once Boelter dies ‘his body is carried out of prison in one of those body bags he intended for my family.’
Mark Hortman’s parents and siblings spoke of their anger Thursday, both at the man who killed him and of the justice system.
‘It will not offer me peace of mind that he will have room and board provided for the rest of his life, paid for by my tax dollars,’ said Lisa Hortman Bean, Mark’s sister.
Melissa Hortman’s mother and fathe, and the Hortman’s children changed the tone of the statements when they spoke Thursday, remembering them as attentive, loving parents and grandparents and people who impacted thousands of lives.
‘It is impossible to realize the damage that has been done not only to our family, but to our society,’ said Melissa’s father Harold Haluptzok, who repeatedly referred to her as his ‘little girl.’
‘I wish the perpetrator would have sat down and talked to Melissa about his political positions. If only he did that before he decided to kill them,’ Haluptzok added.
Boelter went to the Hortmans’ Brooklyn Park home wearing a tactical uniform and mask, about 3.30am on June 14, 2025. He rang the doorbell while shouting he was a police officer doing a welfare check, according to court documents.
Mark and Melissa Hortman’s son Colin, left, arrives at the Diana E. Murphy United States Courthouse in Minneapolis to attend Boelter’s sentencing hearing
Members of the Hortman family come down the escalator into the lobby of the Diana E. Murphy United States Courthouse ahead of Boelter’s sentencing Thursday
Mark Hortman answered the door. Boelter gave him a fake name and badge number before requesting he summon his wife to the door as well.
He shot Mark Hortman multiple times before pushing into the house and shooting the lawmaker as she fled upstairs.
Boelter gunned them down after he visited the Hoffmans’ home, shooting and critically injuring the senator and his wife, according to police and court documents.
Court documents said Boelter also went to two other lawmakers’ houses that night.
In one instance no one answered the door and in the other, Boelter was spooked when a police officer approached him in his car believing he was another officer.
Boelter also faces state charges, including two counts of murder, four counts of attempted murder, impersonating a police officer and animal cruelty.
The Hortman family’s golden retriever was also gravely injured in the shootings and had to be euthanized.
Hoffman and his family filed a personal injury lawsuit against Boelter in April. The Daily Mail reached out to Boelter’s attorney for comment.
