Topline: A Canadian man who flew to California with an accomplice and a fake delivery package full of restraints and knives has been sentenced to two consecutive life terms after a brutal attempted murder attack in Salinas.
Published: June 30, 2026 12:00 pm ET
Randy Shaw
I cut my teeth in journalism when I began looking into what I saw as abuses of power in my local government. From then on, I was hooked on the dopamine rush of uncovering information.
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Devin Wolfgang Vanderhoef (via Monterey County Sheriff’s Office)
SALINAS, CA — Devin Wolfgang Vanderhoef, 26, of North Vancouver, British Columbia, was sentenced to two consecutive life sentences for the attempted murder of a Northern California woman he had become obsessed with after meeting her on an online gaming platform.
According to KTLA, the attack unfolded just before 10 p.m. on Nov. 25, 2024, at a home in Salinas, about 20 miles from Monterey. Investigators said Vanderhoef flew from Canada with an accomplice, bought knives, handcuffs and duct tape, and surveilled the woman’s home and workplace before carrying out the attack.
Authorities said Vanderhoef posed as an Amazon delivery driver and was met at the front door by the victim’s boyfriend. He then repeatedly stabbed the boyfriend while forcing his way inside the home.
Investigators said the woman grabbed a sharp object and stabbed Vanderhoef while trying to defend her boyfriend. Both victims ran from the home, but Vanderhoef followed them and kept attacking. At one point, authorities said, he stabbed the woman and choked her until she was unable to breathe.
The boyfriend eventually disarmed Vanderhoef and stabbed him multiple times before deputies arrived and found all three with serious injuries. All three were taken to a hospital, and both victims survived.
Vanderhoef’s accomplice, Darius Avery Whyte, was found near the scene and initially claimed he knew nothing about the attack, investigators said. He was arrested the next morning while sitting on a flight at San Jose Mineta International Airport that was bound for Canada. Investigators later said the package Vanderhoef was pretending to deliver contained the handcuffs, duct tape and knives he had purchased earlier.
During trial testimony, prosecutors said Vanderhoef became fixated on the woman shortly after meeting her through online gaming and began planning to find her after she tried to cut off communication. Prosecutors with the Monterey County District Attorney’s Office said he confessed to planning the attack a month before flying to California, and that his plan was to “actually kill someone.” A jury found him guilty in February.
In addition to the life sentences, Vanderhoef was sentenced to five more years for inflicting great bodily injury and using a weapon during the crime. Whyte pleaded guilty to assault charges and was sentenced in April.
“We hope this case serves as a powerful reminder that online interactions can carry real-world consequences,” Monterey County Sheriff Tina Nieto said in a statement highlighted by KTLA.
Presumption of Innocence: A presumption of innocence means that any defendant in a criminal trial is presumed to be innocent until they have been proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law. The defendant in this case is only accused of the charges set forth in the criminal complaint. They are innocent until proven guilty.
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Obsessed Gamer Gets Two Life Terms After He Posed as Amazon Driver and Flew From Canada to Attack Woman He Met Online
A Canadian man who flew to California with an accomplice and a fake delivery package full of restraints and knives has been sentenced to two consecutive life terms after a brutal attempted murder attack in Salinas.
By Randy Shaw
Published: June 30, 2026 12:00 pm ET
Devin Wolfgang Vanderhoef (via Monterey County Sheriff’s Office)
SALINAS, CA — Devin Wolfgang Vanderhoef, 26, of North Vancouver, British Columbia, was sentenced to two consecutive life sentences for the attempted murder of a Northern California woman he had become obsessed with after meeting her on an online gaming platform.
According to KTLA, the attack unfolded just before 10 p.m. on Nov. 25, 2024, at a home in Salinas, about 20 miles from Monterey. Investigators said Vanderhoef flew from Canada with an accomplice, bought knives, handcuffs and duct tape, and surveilled the woman’s home and workplace before carrying out the attack.
Authorities said Vanderhoef posed as an Amazon delivery driver and was met at the front door by the victim’s boyfriend. He then repeatedly stabbed the boyfriend while forcing his way inside the home.
Investigators said the woman grabbed a sharp object and stabbed Vanderhoef while trying to defend her boyfriend. Both victims ran from the home, but Vanderhoef followed them and kept attacking. At one point, authorities said, he stabbed the woman and choked her until she was unable to breathe.
The boyfriend eventually disarmed Vanderhoef and stabbed him multiple times before deputies arrived and found all three with serious injuries. All three were taken to a hospital, and both victims survived.
Vanderhoef’s accomplice, Darius Avery Whyte, was found near the scene and initially claimed he knew nothing about the attack, investigators said. He was arrested the next morning while sitting on a flight at San Jose Mineta International Airport that was bound for Canada. Investigators later said the package Vanderhoef was pretending to deliver contained the handcuffs, duct tape and knives he had purchased earlier.
During trial testimony, prosecutors said Vanderhoef became fixated on the woman shortly after meeting her through online gaming and began planning to find her after she tried to cut off communication. Prosecutors with the Monterey County District Attorney’s Office said he confessed to planning the attack a month before flying to California, and that his plan was to “actually kill someone.” A jury found him guilty in February.
In addition to the life sentences, Vanderhoef was sentenced to five more years for inflicting great bodily injury and using a weapon during the crime. Whyte pleaded guilty to assault charges and was sentenced in April.
“We hope this case serves as a powerful reminder that online interactions can carry real-world consequences,” Monterey County Sheriff Tina Nieto said in a statement highlighted by KTLA.
Presumption of Innocence: A presumption of innocence means that any defendant in a criminal trial is presumed to be innocent until they have been proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law. The defendant in this case is only accused of the charges set forth in the criminal complaint. They are innocent until proven guilty.
Editor's Note: ThePo makes every effort to accurately transcribe the contents of affidavits of probable cause contained in criminal complaints. Often, the complaints themselves are copies of copies of faxed copies, and are difficult to read. To confirm the accuracy of our transcription, contact the Magisterial District Court listed above and request a copy of the criminal complaint. It's a public record to which you are entitled.
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Latest Articles
Obsessed Gamer Gets Two Life Terms After He Posed as Amazon Driver and Flew From Canada to Attack Woman He Met Online
A Canadian man who flew to California with an accomplice and a fake delivery package full of restraints and knives has been sentenced to two consecutive life terms after a brutal attempted murder attack in Salinas.
By Randy Shaw
Published: June 30, 2026 12:00 pm ET
Devin Wolfgang Vanderhoef (via Monterey County Sheriff’s Office)
SALINAS, CA — Devin Wolfgang Vanderhoef, 26, of North Vancouver, British Columbia, was sentenced to two consecutive life sentences for the attempted murder of a Northern California woman he had become obsessed with after meeting her on an online gaming platform.
According to KTLA, the attack unfolded just before 10 p.m. on Nov. 25, 2024, at a home in Salinas, about 20 miles from Monterey. Investigators said Vanderhoef flew from Canada with an accomplice, bought knives, handcuffs and duct tape, and surveilled the woman’s home and workplace before carrying out the attack.
Authorities said Vanderhoef posed as an Amazon delivery driver and was met at the front door by the victim’s boyfriend. He then repeatedly stabbed the boyfriend while forcing his way inside the home.
Investigators said the woman grabbed a sharp object and stabbed Vanderhoef while trying to defend her boyfriend. Both victims ran from the home, but Vanderhoef followed them and kept attacking. At one point, authorities said, he stabbed the woman and choked her until she was unable to breathe.
The boyfriend eventually disarmed Vanderhoef and stabbed him multiple times before deputies arrived and found all three with serious injuries. All three were taken to a hospital, and both victims survived.
Vanderhoef’s accomplice, Darius Avery Whyte, was found near the scene and initially claimed he knew nothing about the attack, investigators said. He was arrested the next morning while sitting on a flight at San Jose Mineta International Airport that was bound for Canada. Investigators later said the package Vanderhoef was pretending to deliver contained the handcuffs, duct tape and knives he had purchased earlier.
During trial testimony, prosecutors said Vanderhoef became fixated on the woman shortly after meeting her through online gaming and began planning to find her after she tried to cut off communication. Prosecutors with the Monterey County District Attorney’s Office said he confessed to planning the attack a month before flying to California, and that his plan was to “actually kill someone.” A jury found him guilty in February.
In addition to the life sentences, Vanderhoef was sentenced to five more years for inflicting great bodily injury and using a weapon during the crime. Whyte pleaded guilty to assault charges and was sentenced in April.
“We hope this case serves as a powerful reminder that online interactions can carry real-world consequences,” Monterey County Sheriff Tina Nieto said in a statement highlighted by KTLA.
Presumption of Innocence: A presumption of innocence means that any defendant in a criminal trial is presumed to be innocent until they have been proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law. The defendant in this case is only accused of the charges set forth in the criminal complaint. They are innocent until proven guilty.
Editor's Note: ThePo makes every effort to accurately transcribe the contents of affidavits of probable cause contained in criminal complaints. Often, the complaints themselves are copies of copies of faxed copies, and are difficult to read. To confirm the accuracy of our transcription, contact the Magisterial District Court listed above and request a copy of the criminal complaint. It's a public record to which you are entitled.
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