Secrets of JD Vance’s ‘Home Attacker’: Suspect is Transgender Daughter of Wealthy Surgeon Democrat Donor as Ultra-privileged Life is Revealed
By NATASHA ANDERSON, US SENIOR NEWS REPORTER
The hammer-wielding suspect accused of smashing four windows at Vice President JD Vance’s Ohio home is a transgender woman who enjoyed a luxurious upbringing filled with privilege.
William D DeFoor, 26, was charged early Monday with one count each of obstructing official business, criminal damaging or endangering, criminal trespass and vandalism after an overnight break-in at Vance’s $1.4 million Cincinnati residence.
DeFoor – who is understood to have gone by Davis while attending an elite $27,000 per year Catholic high school – appears to have transitioned to female and now goes by the name Julia.
The Cincinnati-native grew up in the affluent Hyde Park neighborhood in a $1.3 million home with his surgeon father, William, and pediatrician mother, Catherine DeFoor, both registered Democrats, and two younger siblings, Libby and Alex.
William is a pediatric urologist at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital. His wife is a general pediatrician at a St Elizabeth Physicians primary care facility in Kentucky.
The DeFoor family appears close, with both William and Catherine having just last year paid visits to their youngest children’s universities, social media posts show.
The accused home attacker does not appear to have graduated from a traditional four-year university despite having excelled as a high schooler at The Summit Country Day School, a prestigious private school in Cincinnati.
DeFoor, then known as Davis, graduated in 2018 after being named a National AP Scholar. He was also active in the school’s drama department and even played the piano for a musical written, produced and directed by a friend.
William D DeFoor, 26, was charged early Monday for allegedly smashing four windows at Vice President JD Vance’s Ohio home. The Daily Mail can now reveal that DeFoor has apparently transitioned to female and goes by the name Julia
DeFoor is the eldest child of pediatrician Catherine DeFoor (right) and pediatric urologist William DeFoor Jr (left). The couple (pictured at their youngest son’s university in October 2025) are both registered Democrats
DeFoor grew up in Cincinnati’s affluent Hyde Park neighborhood in a $1.3 million residence, property records show. William, Catherine and DeFoor’s younger siblings also live at the home
The suspect appears to have created a Facebook page reflecting his new identity – transgender woman Julia DeFoor – just last month.
DeFoor’s first profile picture was posted on December 15, but overall, the account offers few details about the alleged home invader.
The profile highlights DeFoor’s graduation from Summit Country Day in 2018 and attendance at the University of Cincinnati’s College-Conservatory of Music beginning in August that year.
According to the profile, DeFoor left the music conservatory in 2020, suggesting that a degree was never completed. His 19-year-old brother Alex, an aspiring musician who shares his songs on social media, currently studies at that very conservatory.
DeFoor then enrolled at Cincinnati State Technical and Community College last year. It is unclear what he was studying.
The Facebook profile also highlighted his liked pages, including the Heartland Trans Wellness center, which aims to provide resources for transgender patients in the Greater Cincinnati area.
His father, William, has supported a slew of Democratic causes, including donating more than $11,600 to Kamala Harris’s campaign and the Democratic Party political action committee ActBlue in the lead-up to the 2024 election.
He also donated to Joe Biden’s presidential campaign in 2020, according to Federal Election Commission records reviewed by the Daily Mail.
William DeFoor is pictured furthest left with his father William Sr, sister and brother in an undated photo
DeFoor (pictured) is a registered Ohio voter and appears to have last voted in the 2020 election
William DeFoor, then known as Davis, graduated from the prestigious Summit Country Day School in 2018 after being named a National AP Scholar
William ‘David’ DeFoor (pictured in his senior yearbook photo) was also active in the school’s drama department and even played the piano for a musical written, produced and directed by a friend
DeFoor is a registered Ohio voter, although a party affiliation was not publicly available. He appears to have last voted in the 2020 election.
It is unclear how close DeFoor is to his parents, despite his last known address being the family home.
William has not recently posted photos with his eldest child.
The pediatric urologist and Harvard University alumnus shared snaps online of his visit to Alex’s university last fall, a European vacation with his wife, and photos from artist Libby’s graduation from the University of Iowa in May last year.
But noticeably absent from William’s publicly accessible social media pages was his eldest child.
DeFoor is accused of attacking Vance’s home in Cincinnati’s East Walnut Hills neighborhood, located roughly 3.5 miles from the DeFoor family home.
Secret Service agents heard a loud noise at the home around midnight and spotted the suspect running from the home, which is the secondary residence for Vance, his wife Usha and their three young children.
DeFoor was detained by agents shortly after, a Secret Service spokesman told the Daily Mail. He was then taken into custody by the Cincinnati Police Department.
William DeFoor Sr (pictured with Catherine in Vienna last September) has supported a slew of Democratic causes. He donated more than $11,600 to Kamala Harris’s campaign and the Democratic Party political action committee ActBlue in the lead-up to the 2024 election
William, an alumnus of Harvard University, often shares photos of his children on social media. He and Catherine are pictured alongside Libby at her University of Iowa graduation in May last year. She earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts
William shared a photo of Catherine and Alex on Sunday in a post paying tribute to his wife on her birthday. It is unclear when exactly the image was taken
The Vice President and his family were out of town at the time of the attack.
When an officer informed the suspect of his rights, DeFoor responded: ‘I don’t know,’ according to the arrest report.
He had also allegedly vandalized a Secret Service vehicle on his way up the home’s driveway.
No motive has been released.
DeFoor has been accused of trashing property before.
He pleaded guilty in April to two counts of vandalism after causing more than $2,000 worth of damage to an interior design company, court records show.
He was sentenced to treatment at a mental health facility for two years and was required to pay $5,550 in damages.
DeFoor is set to be arraigned at Hamilton County Municipal Court on Tuesday.
The Daily Mail’s calls to the DeFoor family went unanswered.
William DeFoor, 26, (pictured in his mugshot) was charged early Monday morning with one count each of obstructing official business, criminal damaging or endangering, criminal trespass and vandalism
Windows at Vice President JD Vance’s Cincinnati home were smashed on Monday morning
Police and Secret Service agents were seen surrounding the property shortly after the break-in
Following the break-in, footage was released showing large holes in the windows of Vance’s home as cops patrolled the scene and recorded evidence of the damage.
The luxurious East Walnut Hills property overlooks the Ohio River and spans 2.3 acres. The Vance family purchased the home for $1.4 million.
After taking the vice presidential oath of office in January 2025, Vance and Usha have lived with the three children at the Naval Observatory in Washington, DC.
The couple also own a property on Capitol Hill.
Vance posted on X: ‘I appreciate everyone’s well wishes about the attack at our home. As far as I can tell, a crazy person tried to break in by hammering the windows. I’m grateful to the secret service and the Cincinnati police for responding quickly.
‘We weren’t even home as we had returned already to DC.’
