CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa (Court TV) — A Linn County judge sentenced a 19-year-old to life without parole for the kidnapping and murder of 20-year-old Melody Hoffman, whose bound and mutilated body was found in a pond in February 2024.
In September, Dakota Van Patten was found guilty of first-degree murder, first-degree kidnapping and conspiracy to commit a forcible felony for his role in Hoffman’s murder.
Dakota Van Patten listens as a Linn County judge sentences him on Nov. 14, 2025, to life in prison without the possibility of parole for the kidnapping and murder of 20-year-old Melody Hoffman. (Court TV)
At sentencing, Judge Chad Kepros denied the defense’s motions for a new trial, ruling that the jury’s verdicts were fully supported by substantial evidence — including Van Patten’s DNA on duct tape and a knife, incriminating photos taken after the killing, and testimony showing he and codefendant McKinley Louisma acted together at every stage.
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Prosecutors argued that Van Patten celebrated the killing afterward, taking more than 200 selfies — including some wearing Hoffman’s glasses. The State urged the court to impose consecutive sentences because of the “separate cruelty and torture” inflicted on Hoffman. Defense attorneys asked for concurrent terms, but the judge ordered the murder and kidnapping sentences to run consecutively, calling the conduct “devastating” and the mandatory life term necessary to protect the community. Van Patten declined to speak when offered the chance.
Hoffman’s parents delivered emotional victim impact statements. Her father, T.J. Hoffman, told the court that “when someone does something so cruel, society has a moral obligation to remove that individual,” calling his daughter a light whose loss “tore generations apart.” Her mother, Megan Hoffman, tearfully condemned Van Patten as a “coward,” saying his own selfies and actions helped lead to his conviction: “You messed with the wrong mama… I hope she haunts you forever.”
Van Patten was also sentenced to up to 10 years on the conspiracy charge, which will run concurrently to the life sentences. Restitution will be determined at a later date.
A senior portrait taken of Melody Hoffman in 2021. (Court TV)
Hoffman’s body was found on Feb. 18, 2024, by Lily Lake in Amana. A medical examiner testified she had been strangled and had numerous stab and slash wounds.
At the time of her death, Hoffman was dating Louisma, who was friends with Van Patten. Investigators were able to determine the men were with Hoffman when she died by tracking activity on her iPhone and Apple Watch.
When confronted by investigators, Louisma admitted to kidnapping Hoffman with Van Patten and physically beating her. Video surveillance footage from a local Walmart allegedly showed the two men purchasing gloves and two machetes before they took Hoffman. Video surveillance footage from a convenience store showed them purchasing cigars after Hoffman’s body had been left at the lake. Hoffman’s glasses and a towing rope believed to have been used to kill Hoffman were also found at Van Patten’s home.
Louisma was convicted of first-degree murder and sentenced to life in prison last year, according to KCRG. A medical examiner testified at both trials that it was possible that Hoffman could’ve been pregnant or recently had a miscarriage at the time of her death.
A third man, Logan Kimpton, is facing a charge of conspiracy to commit forcible felony for allegedly purchasing gloves and a machete with Louisma and Van Patten. His trial date has not been set.
