By Steve Karnowski, Associated Press
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Attorneys in the case of a man charged with killing a top Minnesota Democratic lawmaker and her husband said Wednesday that prosecutors have turned over a massive amount of evidence to the defense, and that his lawyers need more time to review it.
Federal prosecutor Harry Jacobs told the court that investigators have provided substantially all of the evidence they have collected against Vance Boelter. Boelter has pleaded not guilty to murder in the killing of former Minnesota House Speaker Melissa Hortman and her husband, Mark Hortman, and to attempted murder in the shootings of state Sen. John Hoffman and his wife, Yvette.
Some evidence, such as lab reports, continues to come in.
Federal defender Manny Atwal said at the status conference that the evidence includes over 130,000 pages of PDF documents, more than 800 hours of audio and video recordings, and over 2,000 photographs from what authorities have called the largest hunt for a suspect in Minnesota history.
Atwal added that her team has already spent close to 110 hours just downloading the material—not reviewing it—and that they are still in the process of evaluating the evidence. She noted that the review has been slowed due to the recent federal government shutdown.
“That’s not unusual for a complex case but it is a lot of information for us to review,” Atwal told Magistrate Judge Dulce Foster.
Jacobs said he did not have a timeline for when the Department of Justice would decide whether to seek the death penalty against Boelter. The decision will be up to U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi.
Judge Foster scheduled the next status conference for Feb. 12 and asked prosecutors to keep the defense and the court updated in the meantime about their death penalty decision. She did not set a trial date.
The shootings occurred in the early hours of June 14, when a man disguised as a police officer arrived at the suburban homes of Hortman, her husband, Hoffman, and his wife, driving a fake squad car.
Boelter, 58, was captured near his home in rural Green Isle late the next day. He faces both federal and state charges, including murder and attempted murder, in what prosecutors have described as a political assassination.
At a brief nine-minute hearing, Boelter, dressed in orange and yellow jail clothing, said nothing.
Minnesota abolished capital punishment in 1911 and has never handled a federal death penalty case. However, the Trump administration has pushed for greater use of capital punishment.
Boelter’s attorney has not made any comments on the substance of the allegations. His motivations remain unclear, and statements he has made to some media outlets have been somewhat ambiguous.
Friends have described him as a politically conservative evangelical Christian, who occasionally serves as a preacher and missionary.
In August, Boelter told the conservative outlet Blaze News that he never intended to shoot anyone that night but that his plans went horribly wrong. He claimed he opened fire when the Hoffmans and their adult daughter tried to push him out the door, which spoiled his plan.
He did not explain why he allegedly shot the Hortmans and their golden retriever, Gilbert, who later had to be euthanized.
Hennepin County Attorney Mary Moriarty, who announced Boelter’s indictment on state charges in August, said she gave no credence to the claims Boelter made from jail.
In other recent developments, a Sibley County judge granted Boelter’s wife a divorce last month.
https://www.bostonherald.com/2025/11/12/minnesota-lawmakers-shot-evidence/