The Twin Cities home where Democratic Minnesota House Speaker Emerita Melissa Hortman and her husband were fatally shot Saturday was broken into overnight Wednesday, police say.
Melissa Hortman and her husband Mark were killed in their home in Brooklyn Park, Minnesota, at about 3:30 a.m. Saturday in what Gov. Tim Walz called a “political assassination.”
Brooklyn Park police say the home had been boarded up early Sunday after investigators processed all of the evidence at the scene, and family members had removed “items of value” from the residence on Tuesday.
“It was discovered that the plywood covering the rear window of the home had been pried off and the window broken to gain entry,” police said in a statement released late Wednesday morning.
Police say crime scene investigators searched the home again, and family members say “they don’t believe anything was missing.” Police are still searching for the suspect.
Anyone with information on the break-in, including neighborhood residents who have surveillance cameras, are asked to contact the Brooklyn Park Police Department at 763-493-8222. Â
Melissa Hortman’s neighbors express disbelief, sarrow
Geoff Olinyk, a longtime neighbor of the Hortmans, says he’s outraged by the break-in.
“Whoever it was that broke in has no respect for the deceased couple that lived here,” Olinyk said. “It’s a horrible deal that people would come now and desecrate their memory by breaking into the house.”
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Christine Cole-Finch says she and her dog Libby would join Melissa Hortman and her dog, Gilbert, on neighborhood walks. Gilbert was also shot in the attack and had to be put down by the Hortmans’ children.
“It’s horrible. I think it’s really horrible. It’s hard to put words to it,” Cole-Finch said. “Even days later we’re still struggling with it.”
Some say the break-in feels as if the Hortmans are being attacked again. Â
“It’s just very disturbing to know that someone would want to break into a house after a tragedy like this,” said neighbor Sarah Abuisnaineh.
As the investigations continue, neighbors have already started to tend the Hortmans’ gardens, as well as the growing memorial in their front yard.
“Melissa was really taking care of her gardens whenever she wasn’t doing her legislative work,” Olinyk said.
In an interview with CBS News, Melissa Hortman’s mother, Linda Haluptzok, said the pain of her daughter’s death is “mind-numbing.” Her brother, Patrick Haluptzok, says his family is “just trying to get by.”
“It’s been very hard the last few days, in what seems unfair and tragic, the way her last night was spent,” said Patrick Haluptzok.
A candlelight vigil for the Hortmans is scheduled for Wednesday at the Minnesota State Capitol in St. Paul from 8 p.m. to 9:30 p.m., which Gov. Tim Walz plans to attend. People are asked to bring their own candles, but do not bring signs.
“This senseless violence came to my door as well”
The man accused in the killings, 57-year-old Vance Boelter, is in custody and facing federal and state murder charges following a 36-plus-hour manhunt that authorities say was the largest of its kind in state history.
Investigators accuse Boelter of also shooting and seriously wounding Democratic Minnesota state Sen. John Hoffman and his wife Yvette inside their Champlin home about an hour before killing the Hortmans. Â
Authorities also believe Boelter visited the homes of two other state lawmakers in the metro that same morning. State Sen. Ann Rest, DFL-New Hope, announced on Monday she was targeted while at home, but Boelter was reportedly scared off by a police officer before approaching the residence.
On Wednesday, state Rep. Kristen Bahner, DFL-Maple Grove, confirmed she too had been targeted on Saturday but was not at home, citing “divine intervention” that led her family to change their plans.
“This senseless violence came to my door as well, placing me and my family in harm’s way,” Bahner said. “I do not know why this man was filled with such hatred that he would come to my door.”
This story will be updated.
Lilia Luciano and
contributed to this report.
