{"id":378232,"date":"2026-06-28T13:23:16","date_gmt":"2026-06-28T13:23:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/378232\/"},"modified":"2026-06-28T13:23:16","modified_gmt":"2026-06-28T13:23:16","slug":"obsessed-gamer-posing-as-amazon-driver-learns-fate-for-attempted-murder-of-california-couple","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/378232\/","title":{"rendered":"\u2018Obsessed\u2019 gamer posing as Amazon driver learns fate for attempted murder of California couple"},"content":{"rendered":"

It\u2019s game over for this guy.<\/p>\n

A Canadian gamer<\/a> who allegedly became obsessed with a woman he met online crossed the border, disguised himself as an Amazon delivery driver and launched a brutal home invasion<\/a> in California \u2014 will now spend the rest of his life behind bars.<\/p>\n

Devin Wolfgang Vanderhoef, 26, of North Vancouver, British Columbia, was sentenced Thursday to two consecutive life terms after a jury convicted him in February of attempted murder<\/a> in connection with the shocking November 2024 attack in Salinas.<\/p>\n

Prosecutors said Vanderhoef spent about a year fixating on the woman before meticulously plotting the cross-border assault.<\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

A Canadian gamer who allegedly became obsessed with a woman he met online crossed the border, disguised himself as an Amazon delivery driver and launched a brutal home invasion in California \u2014 will now spend the rest of his life behind bars. Monterey County Sheriff’s Office<\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

A Canadian gamer who allegedly became obsessed with a woman he met online crossed the border, disguised himself as an Amazon delivery driver and launched a brutal home invasion in California \u2014 will now spend the rest of his life behind bars. KSBW<\/p>\n

Authorities said he traveled from Canada to California, dressed as an Amazon delivery driver<\/a> to gain access to the home, and carried out the violent attack.<\/p>\n

Before flying to California, he allegedly spent more than a month preparing, purchasing knives, handcuffs and duct tape, and surveilling both the woman\u2019s home and workplace.<\/p>\n

He also did not come alone. <\/p>\n

Vanderhoef traveled with Darius Avery White, who was later arrested while sitting on a flight back to Canada.<\/p>\n

White pleaded guilty to assault charges, testified against Vanderhoef, and was sentenced in April.<\/p>\n

On the night of the attack, Vanderhoef allegedly posed as an Amazon delivery driver and approached the home.<\/p>\n

When the woman\u2019s boyfriend answered the door, the situation turned violent almost immediately.<\/p>\n

Vanderhoef forced his way inside and stabbed the boyfriend, prosecutors said.<\/p>\n

The violence spilled outside as both victims attempted to escape, and the boyfriend managed to disarm Vanderhoef and stab him during the struggle.<\/p>\n

\"Vanderhoef<\/p>\n

Vanderhoef forced his way inside and stabbed the boyfriend, prosecutors said. KSBW<\/p>\n

\"When<\/p>\n

When the woman\u2019s boyfriend answered the door, the situation turned violent almost immediately. Facebook\/Monterey County District Attorney’s Office<\/p>\n

But the attack did not stop there.<\/p>\n

Vanderhoef then tackled the female victim and choked her until she could not breathe. <\/p>\n

Miraculously, both victims survived the assault.<\/p>\n

Investigators said Vanderhoef later admitted his intent was to \u201cactually kill someone.\u201d<\/p>\n

In addition to the two consecutive life sentences for attempted murder, he received five additional consecutive years for inflicting bodily injury and using a weapon during the crime.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe hope this case serves as a powerful reminder that online interactions can carry real-world consequences,\u201d Monterey County Sheriff Tina Nieto said. \u201cWe encourage parents and community members to remain engaged, informed, and proactive in protecting themselves and their children.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"It\u2019s game over for this guy. A Canadian gamer who allegedly became obsessed with a woman he met…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":378233,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[8487,5526,7,9,8,153086,22156,153085,18366,152876],"class_list":["post-378232","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-california","tag-amazon","tag-attempted-murder","tag-california","tag-california-headlines","tag-california-news","tag-consecutive-life-terms","tag-delivery-driver","tag-devin-wolfgang-vanderhoef","tag-home-invasion","tag-vanderhoef"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/378232","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=378232"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/378232\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/378233"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=378232"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=378232"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=378232"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}