MINNEAPOLIS — A Minnesota man Vance Boelter has admitted he assassinated Minnesota House Speaker Melissa Hortman and her husband last June and tried also to kill State Senator John Hoffman and his wife and their daughter. In all, he pleaded guilty in federal court to murder, stalking, and firearms offenses. The plea was part of a deal negotiated by his attorney and which U.S. Judge John Tunheim accepted. The agreement calls for Boelter to serve two consecutive life sentences in prison plus 40 years. In court Boelter admitted to planning the attacks for years, using people-finder websites to find the home addresses of the lawmakers, and disguising himself as a police officer to get the victims to open the door. Besides federal charges, Boelter faces state charges of first-degree premeditated murder, which carries a mandatory sentence of life in prison without the possibility of release.
