State case had been on hold during federal prosecution
Monday’s hearing in Minnesota state court was procedural, according to the Associated Press, and came less than two weeks after Boelter was sentenced to two life terms plus 40 years in federal court. The state case had been on hold during the federal proceedings.
The federal case stemmed from attacks in the Minneapolis area that killed former House Speaker Melissa Hortman and her husband, Mark, and critically wounded state Sen. John Hoffman and his wife, Yvette. Boelter, 59, pleaded guilty in June to federal charges related to the killings.
Under the plea agreement, federal prosecutors agreed not to seek the death penalty. Minnesota abolished capital punishment in 1911, and the state has never had a federal death penalty case, the Associated Press reported.
The charges Boelter faces in state court are similar to those resolved in federal court. A conviction could carry mandatory life in prison without the possibility of parole.