A Canadian man has been sentenced to two consecutive life sentences in prison for the attempted murders of a Salinas woman he met in an online video game and her boyfriend, Monterey County authorities said.
Devin Wolfgang Vanderhoef, 26, of North Vancouver, British Columbia, was convicted in February of posing as an Amazon delivery driver to gain access to the female victim’s house in November 2024, prosecutors said Thursday.
Vanderhoef flew to Monterey County and bought knives, handcuffs and duct tape, then conducted surveillance on the woman’s home and workplace, the Monterey County District Attorney’s Office said.
“On the night of the attack, Vanderhoef pretended to be an Amazon driver with a package delivery and ultimately forced his way into the house, where he began stabbing the female victim’s boyfriend,” prosecutors said.
Both victims fled and the boyfriend was able to disarm Vanderhoef and stab him repeatedly.
“However, Vanderhoef tackled the female victim as she attempted to flee back inside the house where he strangled her until she could not breathe,” prosecutors said. “Vanderhoef confessed that he had been planning the attack for a month before flying to California and that his plan was to ‘actually kill someone.'”
Vanderhoef and Darius Whyte, a friend who had accompanied Vanderhoef on the trip, were both arrested. Whyte, who later pleaded guilty to assault, testified against Vanderhoef at the trial.