Suspected Minnesota assassin under suicide watch; hearing continued over jail conditions
Vance Boelter, who is accused of shooting two Minnesota lawmakers, is under suicide watch and told the court he hasn't "really slept" in 12 to 14 days.
A federal court hearing for the man accused of shooting two Minnesota lawmakers and their spouse was pushed back on June 27 as both the prosecution and defense raised concerns about conditions at the jail where he's being held under suicide watch.
Vance Boelter, 57, is facing six federal charges in connection with the killing state Rep. Melissa Hortman and her husband, Mark, and wounding state Sen. John Hoffman and his wife, Yvette. Both lawmakers are members of the Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party, and officials have called the killings a targeted "political assassination."
The charges, which include multiple counts of murder and stalking, make him eligible for the death penalty if convicted.
Boelter arrived in court in St. Paul for a combined detention and preliminary hearing wearing a forest green sleeveless jumpsuit, orange shoes, no restraints, and an anti-suicide smock. He is being held at the Sherburne County Jail in Elk River, Minnesota, where public defender Manny Atwal said he has been sleeping on a mat with no pillow and the smell of feces from a nearby cell makes its way into his cell.
Atwal said it's been hard to communicate with Boelter when he is sleep deprived due to the conditions at the jail and requested a continuance. Prosecutors said they've been in communication with jail officials and also expressed concerns about the conditions at the jail, which is currently under investigation for the death of another inmate, 23-year-old Tyrah Davis.
The hearing was rescheduled for July 3. The brief court appearance comes as Hortman, her husband and their dog are lying in state at the Minnesota State Capitol.
Minnesota shooting suspect under suicide watch
In addition to the poor conditions at the jail, Boelter is under suicide watch and has had light on continuously, Atwal told the court. Boelter said he hasn't "really slept" in 12 to 14 days, but denied wanting to take his own life.
"I have never been suicidal and am not suicidal now," Boelter said.
Still, Atwal said she didn't feel comfortable moving forward and requested a continuance, which was granted.
Suspect's wife says she was 'completely blindsided'
Jenny Boelter said she was "completely blindsided" by the attack allegedly carried out by her husband in a statement released by her attorneys on June 26.
"We are absolutely shocked, heartbroken and completely blindsided. 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."
According to a federal affidavit, law enforcement used cell phone data to locate Boelter’s wife after the shooting. Jenny Boelter said law enforcement officials contacted her in the morning on June 14 and she met them voluntarily at a nearby gas station.
"We were not pulled over; we parked and waited until they arrived," she said in the statement. "When they did, we voluntarily agreed to meet with them, answer their questions, provide all items they requested, and cooperate with all searches."
In the car, officers found a safe, all of the children's passports as well as Jenny Boelter's, about $10,000 in cash, a revolver pistol in the glove box and another semi-automatic pistol in a cooler, the FBI said in the complaint. She told police her husband was a doomsday "prepper" with "bailout" plan in the event of a catastrophe.
What happened in Minnesota shootings?
Before the attacks, Boelter compiled a list of mostly Democratic state lawmakers and their addresses, disguised his SUV to look like a police squad car, and purchased a silicone mask and a cache of weapons, according to the affidavit.
Boelter disguised himself as a law enforcement officer and went to the Hoffmans' home in Champlin, about 20 miles northwest of Minneapolis, around 2 a.m. on June 14, prosecutors say. Boelter opened fire on the couple in what Thompson called a "chilling'' attack captured on video.
Boelter then traveled to two other unnamed lawmakers' homes before going to the Hortmans' house and killing them, according to the affidavit. He allegedly exchanged gunfire with police outside the Hortmans' home before escaping into a wooded area.
Authorities eventually tracked Boelter to an area near his family home in Green Isle, Minnesota, about an hour southwest of the Twin Cities. The next day, at 9:10 p.m., Boelter crawled out of a wooded area and surrendered to law enforcement.
Who is Vance Boelter? Suspect in Minnesota shootings
At various times, Boelter has claimed to work in the food service industry. In other moments, he's claimed he runs large firms involved with “security situations” overseas, including Africa, Eastern Europe and the Middle East.
Court documents say Boelter worked at Red Lion, a “security company and fishing outfit in Congo, Africa.”
David Carlson, 59, told Reuters that Boelter worked for an eye donation center near the house they have been sharing in Minneapolis for more than a year.
Suspect will also face state charges
Boelter is also facing two counts of second-degree intentional murder and two counts of second-degree attempted intentional murder in Minnesota state court.
Hennepin County Attorney Mary Moriarty said she plans to obtain a grand jury indictment and upgrade the charges to first-degree murder, which carries a mandatory sentence of life without the possibility of parole.
Contributing: Michael Loria, Eduardo Cuevas and Jonathan Limehouse, Christopher Cann, Terry Collins and Jorge L. Ortiz, Paste BN