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The man charged with killing former DFL Minnesota House Speaker Melissa Hortman and her husband Mark is expected to plead guilty Thursday.

Vance Luther Boelter is also accused of shooting and wounding DFL State Sen. John Hoffman and his wife, Yvette, and trying to shoot their daughter, Hope. 

 it would not seek the death penalty for Boelter, 58, who is expected to face life in prison with no possibility of release.

The change-of-plea hearing is scheduled for 10 a.m. before U.S. District Judge John R. Tunheim in Minneapolis.

 for the hearing, filed Wednesday, notes that Acting U.S. Attorney General Todd Blanche directed prosecutors not to seek the death penalty against Boelter “in accordance with the terms delineated in a proposed plea agreement.” 

The filing says a copy of the proposed agreement has been submitted to the court, but the plea agreement itself won’t become public until Boelter formally enters a guilty plea.

According to court documents, Boelter disguised himself as a police officer and killed the Hortmans at their Brooklyn Park home early in the morning on June 14, 2025, about 90 minutes after attacking the Hoffmans at their home in Champlin. 

A federal grand jury returned a six-count indictment in July charging Boelter with stalking, murder with a firearm and two other firearm-related crimes. 

Boelter also faces state charges of first-degree premeditated murder, which carry a mandatory sentence of life in prison without the possibility of release.

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Federal prosecutors have asked a judge to schedule a change-of-plea hearing for Vance Luther Boelter, indicating the case may be moving toward a plea agreement rather than trial.

Boelter expected to change not guilty plea

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