The Death of Robert Berchtold: How Did Jan Broberg’s Kidnapper Die?

The undeniably terrifying story of the kidnapping of Jan Broberg by his next-door neighbor Robert Berchtold not once, but twice when he was 12 and 14, respectively, is frankly unlike any other case which has been investigated. After all, as discussed in the Netflix documentaries “Abducted in Plain Sight” and Peacock’s “A Friend of the Family,” he brainwashed her, deceived her parents, and controlled every aspect of her life. Now, if you’re interested in knowing more about him — with particular emphasis on his transgressions, his punishments, his views on both, and its complete aftermath — we’ve got the essential facts you need for your consideration.

Who is Robert Berchtold?

Robert, his wife Gail Toyn Berchtold, and their children moved to Pocatello, Idaho, in the early 1970s. There, they make the unfortunate discovery that their new neighbors, the Brobergs, hold the same religious beliefs as they do. They began going to church regularly, having family dinners together, and going on vacations together until they got used to each other’s daily routines. As a result, they formed a tight friendship very quickly. In fact, he was finally successful in advancing Mary Ann Broberg and Robert “Bob” Broberg, and the couple’s three daughters began referring to him as “daddy,” with Jan being the oldest of the group.

However, no one understood that Robert was deeply in love with Jan. This is why he not only persuaded his parents to allow him to lie next to him in bed, but also kidnapped him in October of 1974. No one realized, however, that Robert was infatuated with Jan. After convincing the girl’s relatives to join him on horseback, he actually poisoned the girl before tying her to his motor home and driving her to Mexico in the hopes of getting married. him. There, he subjects her to extensive psychological manipulation to force her to believe that he is a half-alien who is obligated to give birth to her before she reaches 16 in order to preserve his ability to sexually abuse her forever.

Five weeks later, Jan was found safe, but Robert escaped without facing any serious charges by convincing Jan’s parents, the Brobergs, to sign an affidavit stating that they had given him permission to travel with their daughter. Therefore, he was given a five-year sentence for lesser crimes, which was later reduced to forty-five days, and in the end, he served only ten days in prison before regaining his full freedom. However, the two families continued to communicate with each other, which allowed him to kidnap Jan again in August 1976. This time, he was successful in hiding her in a Catholic girl’s school in California for four months.

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How Did Robert Berchtold Die?

In November of 1976, the FBI was the agency that tracked down Robert and Jan, but Robert avoided being charged with first-degree kidnapping a second time by successfully claiming that he suffered from mental illness during his proceedings. Therefore, despite the fact that he had moved to Salt Lake City, Utah, at this point, he was ordered to a mental health hospital for treatment, but only after less than six months. This happened despite the fact that he had moved there at this point. As a direct result of this, the Berchtolds cut ties with the Brobergs; however, it is important to point out that Robert served time in prison for sexually assaulting a child approximately ten years after the fact (an unrelated matter).

After he obtained a restraining order against her following her appearances at events she was participating in to promote her autobiography titled “Stolen Innocence” in the year 2004, Robert finally had a face-to-face encounter and Jan to each other. At a time when she was insisting that her account was full of inaccuracies as well as lies to market her book, she insisted that “she was desperate because our story was out.”

Jan was given a restraining order, and she also has the support of Bikers Against Child Abuse; because of this, there was a conflict between the two of them when Robert showed up again at an event in 2005. After showing up at Jan’s event and causing harm to BACA members, Robert was arrested and charged with five crimes, including three felonies and two misdemeanors, all of which he was found guilty of. According to the documentary ‘Abducted in Plain Sight,’ the man, who was 69 years old at the time, decided he didn’t want to spend any more time in jail, so he committed suicide by overdosing on his heart medication and Kahlua before he was sentenced. He died on November 11, 2005.

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