Melissa and Mark Hortman's killer gets consecutive life sentences
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A makeshift memorial for DFL State Rep. Melissa Hortman and her husband Mark Hortman. Photo: Steven Garcia/Getty Images
Vance Boelter, the man who dressed up like a police officer and killed former Minnesota House Speaker Melissa Hortman and her husband Mark last summer, was given two life sentences followed by 40 years in prison by a federal judge Thursday.
The big picture: The sentence puts Boelter behind bars without a possibility of parole and brings some resolution to a politically motivated crime that rocked Minnesota.
Catch up quick: Boelter, 58, pleaded guilty in June as part of a deal with U.S. Attorney Daniel Rosen to avoid the death penalty, Rosen said.
- Boelter, who was targeting a long list of Democrats, apologized before the sentencing.
- "To every person I have caused loss, pain, heartache, confusion, sadness, shame, or loneliness, I am truly sorry," he said according to Fox 9.
It was a painful day in court for the Hortmans' family and friends.
- Their son Colin said he never got to dance with his mom at his December wedding and daughter Sophie recalled having to put down the family's wounded golden retriever after the slayings, according to the Star Tribune.
State Sen. John Hoffman said Boelter looked him in the eye before shooting shooting him nine times. Hoffman and his wife Yvette, who was shot eight times, survived the attack.
- "The court will hand down the defendant's sentence. Mine continues forever," Hoffman said, according to Fox 9. "The defendant did not simply decide to take life. He attempted to silence people and send a message that violence is stronger than democracy."
Zoom in: In documents filed ahead of the sentencing, prosecutors revealed evidence that Boelter "closely followed" the balance of power in the Minnesota Legislature, where Democrats hold a one-seat Senate majority and the House is tied.
- "He knew if he had been successful in all of his attempted murders that night … the balance of power would have shifted in both houses," prosecutors wrote in their sentencing position statement.
House DFL leader Zack Stephenson, a close ally of Hortman, called the attacks politically motivated, but he said Boelter failed in his effort to weaken the party.
- "He hoped that we would retreat, but our commitment to the people of Minnesota is bigger than the fear he caused," Stephenson told the court, per the Star Tribune.