The man accused of assassinating the Minnesota House Speaker Emerita Melissa Hortman and her husband Mark has been on suicide watch at the Sherburne County Jail.
Vance Boelter briefly appeared in federal court in St. Paul as his attorneys asked for - and were granted - a continuance to July 3, saying Boelter is sleep-deprived and has been treated poorly in the jail.
They told the judge that Boelter has "no pillow, the lights are on around the clock, doors are constantly slamming, and it's been difficult to communicate with him."
An unshaven Boelter was brought in wearing just a green padded suicide prevention suit and orange slippers. Federal defender Manny Atwal asked Magistrate Judge Douglas Micko to continue the hearing until next Thursday. She said Boelter has been sleep deprived while on suicide watch in the Sherburne County Jail, and that it has been difficult to communicate with him as a result.
“Your honor, I haven't really slept in about 12 to 14 days," Boelter told the judge. And he denied being suicidal. "I’ve never been suicidal and I am not suicidal now.”
Atwal told the court that Boelter had been in what's known as a “Gumby suit,” without undergarments, ever since his transfer to the jail after his first court appearance on June 16. She said the lights are on in his area 24 hours a day, doors slam frequently, the inmate in the next cell spreads feces on the walls, and the smell drifts to Boelter's cell.
The attorney said transferring him to segregation instead, and giving him a normal jail uniform, would let him get some sleep, restore some dignity, and let him communicate better. The judge agreed.
Prosecutors did not object to the delay and said they also had concerns about the jail conditions.
The acting U.S. attorney for Minnesota, Joseph Thompson, told reporters afterward that he did not think Boelter had attempted to kill himself.
Boelter is accused of impersonating a police officer in the early morning hours of June 14th and killing Hortman and her husband. He also went to the home of State Senator John Hoffman and his wife Yvette who were shot but recovering from their injuries.
The Hortman's and their dog Gilbert are lying in state at the capitol on Friday.
Prosecutors say he traveled to two other lawmaker's homes before entering the Hortman's home.
He was captured some 36 hours after the shootings near his home in Green Isle, about 50 miles southwest of the Twin Cities.
The case continues
Boelter did not enter a plea. Prosecutors need to secure a grand jury indictment first, before his arraignment, which is when a plea is normally entered.
According to the federal complaint, police video shows Boelter outside the Hortmans’ home and captures the sound of gunfire. And it says security video shows Boelter approaching the front doors of two other lawmakers’ homes dressed as a police officer.
His lawyers have declined to comment on the charges, which could carry the federal death penalty. Thompson said last week that no decision has been made. Minnesota abolished its death penalty in 1911. The Death Penalty Information Center says a federal death penalty case hasn't been prosecuted in Minnesota in the modern era, as best as it can tell.
Boelter also faces separate murder and attempted murder charges in state court that could carry life without parole, assuming that county prosecutors get their own indictment for first-degree murder. But federal authorities intend to use their power to try Boelter first.