Accused US assassin Vance Boelter ‘extracted eyeballs from corpses for a living’
The gruesome job of Vance Boelter — accused of shooting dead a US Democrat, injuring her husband and seriously wounding two others — has been revealed.
North America
Don't miss out on the headlines from North America. Followed categories will be added to My News.
Accused Minnesota assassin Vance Boelter’s most recent job was extracting eyeballs from corpses at a funeral home, it can be revealed.
Boelter — a 57-year-old married dad who allegedly murdered Democratic state politician Melissa Hortman and her husband, Mark, and wounded another Minnesota politician and his wife on Saturday — was carrying out his gruesome extraction work as part of an organ donation program, former friend and roommate David Carlson told The New York Post.
“I knocked on his door, and I said, ‘Hey Vance, are you there?’,” Carlson recalled of his interaction with the accused killer — just hours before Boelter unleashed his carnage.
“He goes, ‘Yeah, I’m in bed, and I’m trying to get some rest for work’,” Carlson said from the home in north Minneapolis where Boelter rented a room from him.
“He’d always said, ‘I need rest for work so I’m sharp’ because he was extracting eyeballs. You gotta be sharp for that,” Carlson said.
That day, Boelter also eerily thanked Carlson and their other roommates for their friendship.
It wasn’t unusual for Boelter — who once worked in the food industry and also as a manager at a 7-Eleven — to go to bed so early so he could be on call for work.
Boelter was on call for 12 hours on the night he allegedly murdered the Hortmans at their Brooklyn Park home and tried to assassinate Democratic state Senator John Hoffman and his wife, Yvette, in nearby Champlin.
He worked six days a week between two funeral homes — helping one of the businesses remove bodies from crime scenes, the Post reported.
The alleged assassin had taken courses in mortuary science in 2023 and 2024 at an Iowa community college, a rep for Des Moines Area Community College (DMACC) told Local 5.
It isn’t known whether Boelter carried out the mortuary science courses in person or online. Both are offered by DMACC, the representative said, citing federal privacy laws.
Boelter has not been a student at DMACC since 2024.
He was working for a funeral home in Savage, a southern suburb of Minneapolis, before leaving his job voluntarily in February, his former employer said, without elaborating.
“We would like to extend our thoughts and condolences to the families of Rep. Hortman and Sen. Hoffman,” Metro First Call funeral home said in a statement to KARE 11 after Boelter’s arrest.
“This is devastating news for all involved. As far as Vance Boelter is concerned, he worked for our company from August 28, 2023, until he voluntarily left on February 20, 2025.”
ACCUSED FACING DEATH PENALTY
Boelter has been hit with federal murder and stalking charges and could face the death penalty, prosecutors said Monday — as they detailed how he carried out the cold-blooded shootings that rocked Minnesota.
Acting US Attorney Joseph Thompson gave a rundown of the six federal charges against Boelter at a press conference Monday morning, stemming from Sunday’s ambush attack of the Minnesota politicians and their spouses, which he called “the stuff of nightmares.”
Included among the charges are two counts of stalking, two firearms offences for the non-fatal shootings of Mr Hoffman and his wife Yvette, and two counts of murder for the killings of former state House Speaker Melissa Hortman and her husband Mark.
The penalties for the six counts range from 20 years in prison to life, with the death penalty on the table for the federal murder charges, despite Minnesota abolishing it in 1911.
Thompson said Boelter meticulously planned his attack, researching the victims and their families and conducting surveillance of their homes.
When police searched his black SUV — which was outfitted with police lights and a police license plate — they found five additional firearms, including assault-style rifles and a “large quantity” of ammunition.
Boelter allegedly disguised himself as a police officer, then shot and killed the Democratic state representative and her husband at their home early Saturday.
DRAMATIC CAPTURE CAUGHT ON CAMERA
He was captured in Sibley County, a rural area about an hour southwest of the Minneapolis suburbs where the killings occurred, police and state officials said.
“After (a) two-day manhunt, two sleepless nights, law enforcement have apprehended Vance Boelter,” Minnesota Governor Tim Walz told a late-night news conference.
Police said he was taken into custody without the use of force after the largest manhunt in the state’s history, with 20 SWAT teams and several agencies working to find him.
A Sibley County resident reported their camera captured an image that “was consistent with Boelter”, local media reported citing authorities.
SWAT teams converged on the area and used drones to identify the suspect’s location. Boelter attempted to evade arrest but officers crawled through ditches in the area’s farm fields to confine him, the Minnesota Star Tribune reported.
POLITICIANS NAMED IN HITLIST
A notebook containing the names of other politicians and potential targets was found inside a car left by Boelter at the Hortmans’ home, which Drew Evans, head of the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension, said Sunday was not a “traditional manifesto.”
The attacks renewed fears of persistent political violence in America.
“(This is) a moment in this country where we watch violence erupt,” Walz said after the arrest.
“This cannot be the norm. It cannot be the way that we deal with our political differences.” US President Donald Trump has condemned the attacks in Minnesota on the politicians and their spouses. The president was asked in a Sunday interview with ABC News if he planned to call Walz, who was Kamala Harris’s running mate in the election Mr Trump won last year.
“Well, it’s a terrible thing. I think he’s a terrible governor. I think he’s a grossly incompetent person,” Mr Trump said.
“But I may, I may call him, I may call other people too.”
PHOTO OF BOELTER IN HALLOWEEN MASK RELEASED
At the height of the search the FBI released a chilling image of the Halloween mask-wearing Boelter — who was a former appointee of Democratic Minnesota Governor Tim Walz.
Boelter lists himself on LinkedIn as the CEO of the Red Lion Group, which is based in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
He left behind a “manifesto” in his car listing the names of 70 politicians, including Mr Walz and his deputy Peggy Flanagan, and a stack of papers stating “No Kings” in reference to the nationwide anti-Trump protests, according to police
The apparent hit list included abortion providers, clinics and Planned Parenthood, sources told The New York Post. Both of the Democrats he targeted were pro-choice.
ASSASSIN’S WIFE DETAINED
The wife of Boelter was detained and questioned after police found a weapon, ammunition, cash and passports in her car during a traffic stop.
Jenny Boelter was stopped by police while driving in a car with several relatives near Onamia, Minnesota, late Saturday morning around 10am, local KTSP reported.
In the car she had a weapon, ammunition, cash and passports, according to law enforcement officials.
Boelter was held for questioning but was not arrested.
It is not clear whether the Boelters lived with each other, as Vance Boelter was known to live at a residence in Camden, Minnesota, which was raided by SWAT teams on Saturday afternoon.
The couple previously ran the company Praetorian Guard Security.
– Additional reporting by Tiffany Bakker, Zoe Smith, Adella Beaini
More Coverage
Originally published as Accused US assassin Vance Boelter ‘extracted eyeballs from corpses for a living’
‘Tell the truth’: Meghan’s dig at royal family
Meghan Markle appears to have made another swipe at the royal family with a pointed remark, as she revealed the advice she was given by a superstar friend.
Read more
Albo could get face-to-face with Trump within days
Anthony Albanese is set to get a second chance at meeting with Donald Trump – as soon as next week – after the US President’s sudden exit at the G7 summit left the PM high and dry.
Read more