They were on their feet clapping when the police came in and said, Okay, were going to get you out of this room and away from this window. Set in the 1970s, Robert and Mary Ann Broberg and their three young daughters, Jan, . After the war, he returned to Utah, got married, had children, and settled in the small town of Pocatello, Idaho, where he ran a furniture store. These guys were crazy and those stupid people, then we failed. Click Manage settings for more information and to manage your choices. In 1972 in Pocatello, Idaho, when the Broberg family met the Berchtold family at church, immediately the . I entered into a homosexual relationship with her father in order to have access to Jan, Berchtold later admitted. But he kept pushing it until I finally explained to him that I couldn't swallow it, so he crushed it up and mixed it in some sugar and gave it to me. I got to have meetings with the art department, the costume departmentI went to the location of the home they found. It was an interesting thing. My mom was divorced, lonely and didn't want to be alone anymore. Posted: 21 August 2021. Berchtold eventually moved to Jackson Hole, Wyoming, where he bought a family fun center. Nonetheless Berchtold, even after his conviction and his briefest of interludes in prison, was able not only to be around children, but also to purchase and run a family-fun center as a business. He wouldn't talk directly to young Broberg, but she would curiously listen to conversations about UFOs that B and her parents had in the kitchen. Cunning child predator Robert Berchtold would be accused of sexually abusing Jan Broberg over several years, but he would see little time behind bars for a multitude of reasons.. Peacock's original series, "A Friend of the Family," is based on the stranger-than-fiction story of the Broberg family, whose young daughter was twice kidnapped by trusted family friend Robert Berchtold. The following two years, B kept in contact with Broberg, who said she felt she loved him. I found out from Jan that Bob died by suicide in 2005. How was that? Grace M. Galarraga is a writer based out of Southern California. Average Age & Life Expectancy Robert E Berchtold lived 5 years shorter than the average Berchtold family member when he died at the age of 69. By 2003, Jan Broberg had tried her best to move on. It felt like we were meeting dad. We will find the advocacy and the legal ways to put serial predators behind bars. Rian Johnson, Halle Berry, and More Share Their Inspiration, From the Archive:Who Stole the Oscars? He said because we wanted to come home, they would not let me come back across the border if I did not have her married to me. Broberg continued to believe the make-believe alien story up until her 16th birthday. In 1976, he spent 10 days in jail after accepting a plea deal based on the first kidnapping, then was sentenced to a mental facility for 6 months. "It's the smokescreen that a master manipulator creates," Broberg warned. Vanity Fair: Your story is so complicated, but the show does a great job at laying out this elaborate abduction plan beat by beat to show how Berchtold targeted your whole family. Their home energy was quite ordinary for a few years, as per reports, yet everything changed shortly . I actually got this little message [from a woman who was] the little girl he abused right after me. 18 months later, while out on bail & awaiting trial for kidnapping, Robert Berchtold abducted Jan for the 2nd time, triggering FBI manhunt. Its too painful for them to realize that they allowed that to happen to her.. I was shy, so I didn't really speak to him a whole lot. "That's a story I heard at Christmas time.". Information about your device and internet connection, like your IP address, Browsing and search activity while using Yahoo websites and apps. If you can see yourself in this story, then we succeeded. We think hes in the parking lot. Im like, What? B blackmailed Brobergs parents, Bob and Mary Ann, into signing affidavits claiming he had consent to bring their daughter to Mexico after the first kidnapping, according to the documentary. He holds a bachelor's degree in screenwriting (widely considered to be a bad move) from Point Park University. I had a fixation for Jan. She was drugged on numerous occasions; I was only drugged once. By clicking Accept all you agree that Yahoo and our partners will process your personal information, and use technologies such as cookies, to display personalised ads and content, for ad and content measurement, audience insights, and product development. He wanted to talk on the phone and to go out, and Bob didn't like it. I really did find a way to hang up that very heavy coat of abuse and have it be outside of me. That womans two daughters had been raped and molested [by him], and they ran away from home. I really believed it. Yet, despite the wealth of content, many viewers continue to have questions over exactly what happened to Robert Berchtold after the traumatic events. According to his obituary: "Robert Ersol Berchtold, 69, of Logandale, died Nov. 11, 2005. I think he just knew that I cared about her. Robert Berchtold and Jan Broberg. Oh my goodness, Mary Ann replies, in a steady, even tone, as if hes just told her that seasonal allergies might be worse than usual this summer, or that two people brought potato salads to the potluck. Everybody gets hurt. When I went to the premiere with my sisters and mother, they all got to meet Colin Hanks and spent some time with him, a little more than just a hello. The Corpsewood Manor Murders: A Story Of Satanism, Sex Parties, And Slaughter, Denver Man Convicted Of Gunning A Woman Down With An AK-47 Because Her Dog Pooped Outside His Home, What Stephen Hawking Thinks Threatens Humankind The Most, 27 Raw Images Of When Punk Ruled New York, Join The All That's Interesting Weekly Dispatch. The abuse went on for seven-and-a-half years. I mean, he just never really stopped. The film tells the story of Jan Broberg, who, as a child in the 1970s, was kidnapped twice and sexually abused by Robert "B." Berchtold, a family friend who grew close with her parents. He explained to Bob that he had a traumatic childhood, including having sex with an aunt when he was four. It unpacks too many bizarre events in a short time frame to allow for much additional analysis. "Everybody loved him.". He said he wanted me to take a vitamin. It wasnt until 30 years later, after Mary Ann had published her book Stolen Innocence: The Jan Broberg Story, that they heard from him again. The movie includes pictures Berchtold took of Jan as a 12-year-old girl, all straw-colored hair, wide eyes, and freckles. The affidavits compromised the FBIs case against B, according to the documentary. When they showed up at the front door, my dad would stick his hand out and go, Hello, doctor. And then they would come in and he would give them the corsage that he had made for me, to give to them, so they could give it to me for free. In the doc, Brobergs recount the emotional & sexual manipulation, insidious schemes & depraved actions that allowed church-going Idaho family to fall under the spell of a sociopathic neighbor, who would stop at nothing to be with their daughter. Berchtold died in 2005, according to an obituary, which says he was a truck driver. I think people get [now how] we were so close to the [Berchtold] family.. Related: Dahmer Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story Sparked An Important True Crime Debate. At least I can keep telling my story without feeling like hes going to show up or hes stalking me. Because hed showed up [occasionally]. She was rescued by the FBI, who found Broberg and B in his mobile home in Mexico, according to the documentary. Truth is, you don't really want to know what happens to Robert Berchtold after the events of the series. The Berchtold family also had a baby girl when they met in the Peacock dramatization. For viewers watching at home, though, judging the Brobergs is easier, even if its hard to ever feel fully informed, or to believe that the family knew what they were getting into by airing everything so publicly. [It was] something that my dad did to every boy I ever dated. More than 50 years ago, Jan was kidnapped and abused by a family friend, Berchtold, who had affairs with both her parents in order to cover up his actions. And this 10% experience, you cant let it ruin the rest of your life. In one, her underwear is clearly visible. But I could see Bob playing the tape, so I didn't believe him. Jan Broberg went on to be the subject of her mothers retelling of her story, Stolen Innocence: The Jan Broberg Story and was part of the 2019 Netflix true-crime documentary Abducted in Plain Sight, detailing the twisted affair. But six other women came forward with their own stories about Berchtold, and Jan Broberg filed a stalking injunction against him after he was arrested at one of her speaking engagements. Broberg woke up strapped to a bed in an unidentifiable confined space that she learned years later was B's mobile home. The series stars McKenna Grace as Jan, along with Jake Lacy as Robert "B" Berchtold, . Heidi Brewer with her son and two daughters. Born in 23 Oct 1924 and died in 7 Dec 1980 Erie, Pennsylvania Robert F Berchtold I didn't know it was wrong right away. Robert Ersol Berchtold, 69, of Logandale, died Nov. 11, 2005. "When people ask me about the brainwashing, I'm like, 'It took 10 seconds.' In a new book, Stolen Innocence: The Jan Broberg Story, Felt's mother reveals the details of the actress's childhood memories. Then, when I was 17-and-a-half, I dated a guy who wanted to have a relationship with me. He brought her to California and enrolled her in a Catholic school, posing as her father and a CIA agent, according to the documentary. Years later, Bob told me that he gave me the sleeping pill to physically manipulate me so he would be able to have intercourse with me without tearing. You have to believe victims. What happened to the Berchtold children? Ive been doing, Hello, doctor with a couple of my friends for about 20 years. I about passed out. I kept it all to myself and kept going. After being rebuked, he met with a counselor and a clinical psychologist to, he said, help overcome his obsession with Jan. How is this possible? I never in a million years thought this guy was stupid enough to show his face [around me]. The older sister reached out and found my mother when they saw my book with pictures of him in it. I guess she wanted a little girl who she could dress up like a doll, but I was a tomboy. A recording began to tell her the story of how she was half-alien, and the extra-terrestrial species' survival depended on her to procreate with the male companion of their choosing. The [A Friend of the Family team] were sensitiveThey wanted it to be told in an honest, complete, and realistic way. Jan, now 56,. Privacy Policy. S, Welcome to Love Like This?, a romance column where we, Kathleen Newman-Bremang and Ineye Komonibo, revisit some of the most romantic or not, in hindsig, Whether its the iconic early-aughts film Love Dont Cost a Thing or her 2021 Netflix hit Resort to Love, Christina Milian has solidified herself in th, This story contains spoilers for Netflixs You People. After Jan threatened to find her own way there, Mary Ann bought her a plane ticket and sent her to Berchtold. She divorced him and took her kids and moved., Gail was not featured in the documentary. You can never blame them or their family members who didnt know. As a result of his death, many feel that Robert Berchtold never fully faced justice for kidnapping Jan. Later episodes of A Friend of the Family (whose cast includes Colin Hanks) will cover one of the most astonishing facts about this case which is that Jan Broberg was kidnapped twice by Robert Berchtold within a two-year period. It did. In actuality, though, Jan explained that Berchtold had just been careful. Robert Berchtold and Jan Broberg. and our The Disturbing Story Of Robert Berchtold, The Pedophile Who Kidnapped And Assaulted His Neighbors Daughter Twice. I was good around adults and I was a people pleaser. It was like he was talking about an ex-girlfriend. Their childhood was . Pete Welsh, the lead FBI agent investigating Jans disappearance, had to drill that into our minds, Mary Ann explains in an interview. It's hard to say what impact the abuse had on my life. It really was amazing. I didn't learn to swim because she was afraid I would drown. Both parents claimed in the documentary that if they didnt do this, B would expose a sex act that Bob and B engaged in prior to the kidnapping. When Brobergwas 12, Robert Berchtold kidnapped her and played a recording that told that she was half-alien, and that she had to have a baby with Berchtold by the time she was 16 to save the extra-terrestrial species]. "But I knew they had been groomed and manipulated too.". He was born February 7, 1936, in Tremonton, Utah to Leonard N. and Lucille Grover Berchtold. Berchtold was sentenced to five years in prison anyway but served only 10 days. I didn't know the abuse was wrong until I was 12 or 13. My little sisters not missing. Family, friend, or fan, this family history biography is for you to remember Robert Berchtold. In 1974 at the age of 12, Broberg was taken on a special trip alone with B to go horseback riding. A friend sent it to them. But Jan became even more withdrawn, and all the while, she was still thinking about what would happen to her family when she failed to complete the mission.. Robert Berchtold passed away at age 69 years old on November 11, 2005. The drama series, A Friend of the Family, was released on Peacock, and many fans are talking about its true story. And so many adults knew, but nobody did anything. Jan Broberg: I was very involved. Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our User Agreement and Privacy Policy and Cookie Statement and Your California Privacy Rights. Jan had two younger. This is happening everywhere right now in 2022. But at the time, she said, they didnt suspect she had been kidnapped they thought she and Berchtold might have been in a car accident. He got very angry. All views expressed in this article are the author's own. How involved were you with the making of the show? Around the same time, Berchtold went on a drive with Bob Broberg where he complained about his sex life with his wife and expressed that his needs werent being met. Was your deprogramming gradual over the years, or was there one turning point in your life where everything clicked? He took us to science-fiction movies. Within a couple of months, we moved from our home in Texas to Salt Lake City, Utah, which was 45 minutes from where Bob lived. Who would know? Mary Ann Broberg described Berchtold as having a charisma that Bob didnt possess., Jan Broberg works as an actress, known for roles in. By accepting all cookies, you agree to our use of cookies to deliver and maintain our services and site, improve the quality of Reddit, personalize Reddit content and advertising, and measure the effectiveness of advertising. Your family was so close to the Berchtolds for years. In the beginning, he would say, "Do what you're told," and then, when I was 13, he said, "If it's not you, it's going to be somebody else." It didn't take long before Bob had his own key and could come and go as he pleased. I found my mother's cold reaction to be just what I expected from her. That was a really crazy little period of time. I wanted to play in the dirt and toss a football. I could look at the coat. 2 . His mother was still alive during the whole ordeal, she would have been 60 years old or so when he abducted Jan, Must have been hard for her witnessing this of her son. Every episode of ABC's award-winning talk show "The View" is now available as a podcast! Jake Lacy in A Friend of the Family (Image credit: Peacock ) In the summer of 1972, Robert Berchtold moved a few blocks away from the Brogberg family in Pocatello, Idaho. In particular, the fact that the Berchtolds and the Brobergs were all part of the same faith community seems to merit more analysis than it receives. Robert, his wife Gail Toyn Berchtold, and their children moved to Pocatello, Idaho, perhaps in the early 1970s, only to live next door to the equally religious Broberg family. I already knew of Jan, before I was an adult, because Bob had talked about her. Berchtold would show up to the events and pass out fliers denying anything the Brobergs had to say about him. Jannow Jan Broberg Felt, an actor whos appeared in Criminal Minds and Everwoodhas subsequently defended her mother and father. Jan was one of three daughters born to Bob Broberg, a florist, and Mary Ann. NetflixBerchtold and his family often had sleepovers with the Broberg children. I didnt want to marry her, Broberg said. He talked incessantly about UFO sightings. 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