In October 1974, Berchtold offered to pick Jan up from her piano lesson and take her horseback riding. He wanted to talk on the phone and to go out, and Bob didn't like it. I could read the scripts. They got confirmation on Nov. 11, 1976 102 days after Jan left her home. 2 . By 2003, Jan Broberg had tried her best to move on. Monday on "The View," Broberg discussed her childhood and the steps taken by family friend Robert Berchtold, who went by the nickname B, to manipulate the family and kidnap Broberg twice. The tapes played odd, sexual messages, urging him to imagine being touched and caressed. Due to the violence at her book tour, Jan Broberg filed a restraining order against Berchtold, which she was granted for life. Mckenna Grace, 16, plays teenaged Jan Broberg opposite pedophile Robert Berchtold (Jake Lacy) in "A Friend of the Family" -- and said she wanted to "vomit from how gross it is." As Jans 16th birthday approached, Berchtolds contact became less frequent. He first kidnapped Jan when she was 12-years-old. Thank you for taking the time to have this conversation. Then, on Christmas Eve, Gail Berchtold stopped by the Brobergs house and asked them to drop any charges against her husband, presenting them with affidavits to sign. Robert Ersol "Bob" Berchtold . He never brought her home. With a corresponding friend for every family member, the families quickly grew close to one another, and B became like "a second father" to Broberg. We will do a better job. He talked incessantly about UFO sightings. Karen Campbell, one of Jans sisters, comes closest to analyzing what happened when she posits that her parents are simply experts in denial. I could do that too, but I didnt have to wear it all the time. Her dad owned Atkin Florist, while her mother was a homemaker. It was really when I was 30 years old that I had that aha moment. Its very close in every way to how it truthfully unfolded. Berchtold didnt stop tracking you over the years. His brother Joe had even visited while Jan was there, and he noted that Robert, looked happier than hed ever been.. That is the only reason we told our story. Let me inform you that Read More Robert Berchtold Wiki, Wife, Age, Family, Brother . Heidi Brewer with her son and two daughters. Bob kidnapped Jan twice, whereas he never kidnapped me. In one, her underwear is clearly visible. He explained to Bob that he had a traumatic childhood, including having sex with an aunt when he was four. Netflix documentary tells the story of how Jan Broberg was kidnapped twice at the ages of 12 and 14 by Robert 'B' Berchtold, a trusted family friend . According to an online obituary, she tied the knot with former Marine James Leslie Wadman in 1988. 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. The first abduction occurred when she was just 12 years old and the second, two years later, at the age of 14. I told my husband about what happened but he doesn't want to know the details. As we have discussed above Gail was the ex-wife of Robert Berchtold, who abducted his neighbour, Jan Broberg Felt. How is this possible? I never in a million years thought this guy was stupid enough to show his face [around me]. Her sons were quite a bit older than methe youngest was seven or eight years older than meand I don't remember them being in the house much. Not trying to sympathize with him, but just curious about his childhood. I wasn't there for Bob's sentencing. Between 1972 and 1976 he groomed Broberg and abducted her twice: once at the age of 12 and the second time when she was 14. Who would know? I felt she had dismissed me. Although Berchtold feigned ignorance regarding Jans whereabouts, Welsh and investigators knew he was responsible for her disappearance. Hows your family?. It was through a course that I did that helped me see that you have the rest of your life. 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. He found me when I lived in Florida, working for Disney World. That was heartbreaking. At home, Jan was distant. You can never blame them or their family members who didnt know. . He was a truck driver and served in the U.S. Army during the Vietnam War. I wanted to play in the dirt and toss a football. She also reveals how she managed to shake Bs grooming, what happened to B in later years, and whether her family has heard from any of the other Berchtolds since. Privacy Policy. It chronicles the peculiar kidnapping case of Jan Broberg, an Idaho. Jan was one of three daughters born to Bob Broberg, a florist, and Mary Ann. It all started in 1972 when Berchtold met the Broberg family at a church service in Pocatello, Idaho, and quickly became an esteemed family friend. Following the incident, he convinced the Brobergs that part of his therapy required him to sleep in the same bed as their 12-year-old daughter Jan while listening to tapes provided by his therapist. They consulted with me constantly. [Id get] phone calls and other scares. Berchtold killed himself in 2005, before being sentenced for simple assault, criminal trespassing, and disorderly conductcharges stemming from that conference where he showed up with the gun. Growing up Mormon, Broberg told "The View" co-hosts she was somewhat familiar with the "Mary, Jesus, and Joseph story," and B told her a similar story through the voice recordings. Berchtold, it transpires, had repeatedly tried to infiltrate other families with young girls, and had been reprimanded by the high council in his church, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, for doing so. Instead, she blames small-town navet and meticulous grooming on the part . Family, friend, or fan, this family history biography is for you to remember Robert Berchtold. The recording was a message from two aliens named Zeta and Zethra, telling Jan that she was half alien and needed to complete a mission to have a baby with Berchtold before her 16th birthday. We were in a car, and Bob pulled into a random neighborhood. In August 1976, Berchtold convinced Jan to leave her home and come with him, creating the second kidnapping. Part of the problem is that Abducted in Plain Sight, a 90-minute movie in a field populated mostly with six- or eight-hour series, is focused entirely on telling a story rather than illuminating it. According to his obituary: "Robert Ersol Berchtold, 69, of Logandale, died Nov. 11, 2005. Things That Didnt Make It Into Abducted In Plain Sight, Over the decades, popular culture has created dominant narratives of the Dominican Republic that are most often synonymous with poverty, crime, or state vi, This story contains spoilers for Ant-Man: Quantumania. I get to be the examiner. NetflixRobert Berchtold had an obsession with his 12-year-old neighbor Jan Broberg, even sleeping in the same bed as her four nights a week. And then this really deep sorrow and sadness for all the people, all the girls, his whole familyall the people who he had affected. From then on, the abuse happened dailywhenever he had the chance. Watching Jake Lacy become Berchtold was seamless. When Bob was 3 yrs old his father passed away and in 1939 his mother married Joseph Ersol Berchtold who raised Bob and . She was kidnapped and sexually assaulted by her neighbor and family friend Robert "B." Berchtold when she was 12 and again when she was 14. Robert Berchtold was born on November 6, 1920, and died at age 50 years old in August 1971. Peacock. What was it like to film that? These guys were crazy and those stupid people, then we failed. I had never taken a vitamin before and honestly, I just couldn't swallow pills. I wasnt prepared for people to blame my parents. the way she approached me and the way she smiled and the way she was like, Oh, can we hug? It was [like] watching myself. Thats not in the documentary, Broberg said. They were just extraordinary. He said he wanted me to take a vitamin. I'd been led up to that moment," Broberg said. Berchtold married Jan Broberg in Mazatln, and 35 days after the kidnapping, called his brother, Joe, asking him to contact Bob and Mary Ann to get their blessing to return home with Jan and be wed in the United States. Then, when I was 17-and-a-half, I dated a guy who wanted to have a relationship with me. People knew, or certainly had surmised, that he was a threat. The kids played together; the parents enjoyed each others company. Abducted in Plain Sight was first released as a documentary in 2017 with the title Forever B, but its gained rather more traction this month after being added to Netflixs true-crime library. If Jan wasnt pregnant and Susan refused to take Jans place, she was going to shoot Susan and then herself. Almost a decade ago, the world was gripped with anxiety as it watched the legal proceedings against a young Se. I guess, in your young head, you think, "This is just the way it is. I sat down. I looked further and found that his real Dad died when he was 1, and his mother remarried to his Dad's elder brother (common to Mormon faith). What happened to the Berchtold children? Firstly Bob and Mary Ann let Berchtold share a bed with their daughter multiple times, knowing that he was being counselled for being attracted to children. Although he ruined Jans childhood, Berchtold never fully paid for his vile crimes against Jan Broberg in prison. I didn't know it was wrong right away. Robert Berchtold was the Broberg's neighbor. I didn't learn to swim because she was afraid I would drown. We'll never know. And I could hang it up. Jan had two younger. In addition, B would consistently show Broberg's parents, Mary Ann and Bob, newspaper clippings of alleged UFO sightings around the country. Bob noticed that Berchtold had become sexually aroused. And the Broberg family, confessional to a fault, are primed more for honesty than for self-inspection. In January 1974, Robert Berchtold was rebuked by the LDS . I mean, he just never really stopped. That doesnt stop me anymore. Jamie Lee Curtis Is Both Weepy and Giddy About Her First Oscar Nomination. 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. When the BerchtoldsGail, Robert and their five childrenmoved next door, the husbands bonded over being business and family men (so Bob Broberg said), the wives naturally gravitated to each. A staff writer for All That's Interesting, Austin Harvey has also had work published with Discover Magazine, Giddy, and Lucid covering topics on mental health, sexual health, history, and sociology. I cant imagine being in their shoes either. He took her inside the motor home and abused her, while I waited outside. 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. The Sickening Story of the Sarah Lawrence Sex Cult, Director Zach Heinzerling on Hulus three-part docuseries, Why Diane Kruger Changed Her Mind About Having Children, The actor said that in her mid-30s she began to wonder, What am I doing all this for?, Marc Maron Grapples With Grief in New Stand-Up Special. Broberg, now. Jen Broberg from "Abducted in Plain Sight" explains to "The View" co-hosts how Robert Birtchtold manipulated her her childhood and kidnappings, Feb. 25, 2019. But a lot of people just didnt.. Jake Lacy as Bob Berchtold and Hendrix Yancey as a young Jan Broberg in Peacocks A Friend of the Family. When Robert Berchtold first moved to town he became extremely close with the Broberg family, but as time went on it became clear that Berchtolds end goal was to get to Jan Broberg. Because my happy, carefree world changed in an instantand that was the instant when I woke up with my arms and my feet restrained in a dark room and that voice, that was so terrifying. In the doc, he said he was sexually abused by the "help", didn't feel part of the new family (mother had other children to new husband) and slept in a separate bunkhouse. Now, Jan said, she sees that it was likely because she wasnt a little kid anymore. I was making great strides in my life and my career and my familyall the things that I am so grateful for. He had a sick obsession with Jan, which eventually led to her kidnapping when she was only 12 years old in October 1974. Ive met her and talked to her. Vanity Fairs 2023 Hollywood Issue Welcomes You to the After-Party of Our Dreams, Inside the New Rights Next Frontier:The American West, The Strange, Sexually Charged Genesis of Gloria Swansons Legendary Memoir, The One Thingthe Royal Family Never Travels Without: Blood, NetflixsMurdaugh Murders Team Say Theyve Uncovered New Crimes, Trumps Relationship With Jared and Ivanka Is About to Get a Lot More Awkward, The Cringey Sexcapades of a Horny Billionaire, What Is Cinema? He even showed up at a speaking engagement of yours with a gun. The children in the clan considered Berchtold a second father, so much so that when he fled to Mexico with a 12-year-old Jan by his side in August 1974, the family was initially unwilling to. As it turned out, Berchtold had helped Jan escape out of her bedroom window that night. "I was this special person that was going to have this special child that was going to save the world," Broberg explained. 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. Berchtold and his family often had sleepovers with the Broberg children. After being rebuked, he met with a counselor and a clinical psychologist to, he said, help overcome his obsession with Jan. He'd told me that he had slept with her, that he had kidnapped her a couple of times, and that he loved her very much. The 31-year-old Belgian filmmaker tackles the crisis of connection among teen boys in his second film, now an international feature Oscar nominee. It was Jan.. You have to have this baby by your 16th birthday. All of that brainwashingI knew that wasnt real when I [later interacted with boys] and had that moment of going, Okay, I havent been vaporized. That event would set off a series of events for a series of tragic events in the life of Jan Broberg, which she discussed in the documentary Abducted in Plain Sight as well as . All views expressed in this article are the author's own. Abducted in Plain Sight viewers learned B kidnapped Broberg a second time from her parents home in Idaho in 1976 when she was 14. After Robert befriended Bob Broberg and his wife, Mary Ann Broberg, he quickly infiltrated their family unit and cozied up to their young daughter, Jan Broberg. After picking Jan up from piano lessons and drugging her, Berchtold dragged the unconscious child into his motorhome, bound her wrists and ankles to his bed with straps, and set up a small device to play a recording. Robert Berchtold Wikipedia Bio. Berchtold had a family of his own, and his children would often play with the Broberg kids, including Jan, according to ATI. After all, as profiled in both Netflix's 'Abducted in Plain Sight' as well as Peacock's 'A . She loves movie villains (specifically Loki), Bojack Horseman, Harry Styles and writing creative fiction and poetry in her spare time. Mary Ann was involved in an eight-month affair with B post kidnapping while she was still married to Bob, even though she knew he was her daughters abductor. If she failed to do this, the aliens warned, her sister Susan would be chosen instead, and harm would come to the rest of her family. 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." I really believed it. In time, the Broberg children took to calling Robert Berchtold B, and Jan had started to think of him as a second father. The "alien" voice, which Bob pretended was coming from the car itself, said that I should be listening to Bob and doing as he told me. Before we moved to Salt Lake City, my mother had been so overprotective of me that I wasn't allowed to play in the front yard by myself. Yet only 10 minutes of my story made the documentary. Berchtold was sentenced to five years in prison anyway but served only 10 days. He brainwashed her with false narratives in order to sexually abuse her. 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. To imagine being touched and caressed guy who wanted to talk on the phone and to go,... 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