A Minnesota man accused of killing State House Speaker Melissa Hortman and her husband, Mark, Vance Boelter, was indicted on Thursday by a grand jury on eight charges, including two counts of first-degree murder.
Hennepin County Attorney Mary Moriarty announced that Boelter, who was also accused of injuring another Democratic Party state lawmaker and his wife in June, was hit with four counts of attempted first-degree murder, two counts of first-degree premeditated murder, impersonating a police officer and animal cruelty.
Boelter was accused of shooting Hortman and her husband on June 14 at their home, both of whom died from gunshot injuries. Boelter also allegedly tried to kill state Sen. John Hoffman, his wife, Yvette and the couple’s daughter, Hope.
Moriarty said during a press conference that her office “received hundreds of videos and thousands of pages of reports over a period of weeks” and that her team “carefully reviewed the file and put together the evidence to present to the grand jury.”
The fourth count of attempted first-degree murder was included over Boelter’s alleged attempt to attack Democratic state Rep. Kristin Bahner, who was not home when Boelter visited while reportedly impersonating a law enforcement officer.
The anomaly cruelty charge was added over Boelter’s alleged shooting of Hortman’s dog.
“These charges reflect the weight of Mr. Boelter’s crimes, and our thoughts are with Melissa and Mark Hortman’s family, the Hoffman family, Rep. Bahner, and Sen. (Ann) Rest,” Moriarty said in a statement, according to CBS News.
Just one guilty verdict on the first-degree murder charges could lead to Boelter serving life in prison. Boelter pleaded not guilty to federal charges earlier this month.
Last month, a grand jury indicted Boelter on six federal charges, including murder counts.
“The damage done to the victims — those with us, those who were taken from us, and to our entire community — has opened wounds that will never heal,” Moriarty said, CBS reported.
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