In case you are a fan of Netflix’s true-crime content material, you almost certainly keep in mind the kidnapping case of Jan Broberg examined within the 2017 documentary “Kidnapped in Plain Sight.” The character of Jan’s kidnapping, in addition to the emotional turmoil it induced the Broberg household, is a harrowing and deeply unsettling story that may make you query who you belief, regardless of how shut or pleasant they could appear.
Following the documentary, Jan’s case is as soon as once more being advised, although this time by way of a dramatic lens within the Peacock sequence “A Pal of the Household,” starring Colin Hanks, Anna Paquin, and Jake Lacy. Jan, alongside along with her mom, Mary Ann Broberg, served as producers of the sequence, which premiered on Peacock on Oct. 6. Forward, learn all about what Jan is as much as at present.
Who Is Jan Broberg?
Born to Robert and Mary Ann Broberg on July 31, 1962, Jan grew up along with her two youthful sisters, Karen and Susan, within the small city of Pocatello, ID. In the summertime of 1972, the close-knit household met Robert “Bob” Berchtold when his household moved in a couple of streets away, as reported by ABC Information. The Brobergs and Berchtolds hit it off straight away, as each Roberts had so much in widespread, like their youngsters being comparable in age and attending the identical church.
Because the households grew nearer, Berchtold slowly began to achieve their belief and have become like a father determine to the Broberg women, particularly Jan. In line with the Idaho State Journal, Berchtold would frequently cease by their home and bathe Jan with consideration and presents. Jan’s seemingly harmless relationship with Berchtold, whom she typically referred to as “B,” would take a darkish flip within the fall of 1974.
How Did Jan Broberg Get Kidnapped Twice?
By October 1974, Berchtold was primarily an extension of the Broberg household and was very shut with Mary Ann, Robert, and Jan particularly. When Berchtold approached Mary Ann and Robert sooner or later to ask if he might take Jan horseback driving, the mother and father agreed to it. Berchtold, nevertheless, had different plans in thoughts. Whereas driving Jan to go horseback driving, he drugged and kidnapped her. When Jan awoke, she was in a motor house in the course of the desert (an investigation would later reveal Jan was in Mexico), in keeping with the Idaho State Journal.
Jan was brainwashed into pondering that she was kidnapped by aliens and that she needed to full a “mission” to save lots of their planet by having a baby with a “male companion,” she advised the Idaho State Journal. Whereas strapped to the mattress, Jan had a tape recorder subsequent to her, and he or she later recalled to the BBC, “The message mentioned, ‘You’ll go to the entrance of the motor house and meet the male companion.’ They’d been calling me ‘the feminine companion’ this complete time. I stand up, and who’s mendacity on the little couch of the motor house? Robert Berchtold.”
5 weeks later, the FBI tracked down the pair and Jan returned house with out telling anybody concerning the abuse and the aliens. “My dad didn’t ever let Berchtold again in our home, again into his life,” she defined to the BBC. “He knew one thing was completely unsuitable with him. However [my dad] did not know that he’d molested me or raped me as a result of I wasn’t telling.” Berchtold solely confronted a 45-day sentence and ended up serving 10 days in jail, in keeping with Folks.
Two years later in 1974, Berchtold kidnapped Jan for the second time when she was 14. This time, fairly than spend nearly all of time in his motor house, Berchtold took Jan to Pasadena, CA, and enrolled her in an all-girls Catholic boarding college beneath a distinct title, per ABC Information. She was rescued as soon as once more by the FBI after three months, however this time Berchtold was despatched to a psychiatric hospital as a substitute of jail.
The place Is Jan Broberg Now?
Jan has since been on a therapeutic journey and has sought counseling to rebuild her life, the BBC reported in June 2019. She’s additionally used her story to assist different younger youngsters, in addition to mother and father, to search for the warning indicators she and her household as soon as missed. In 2003, Jan’s mom wrote a ebook titled “Stolen Innocence: The Jan Broberg Story.” Jan advised the BBC that she hopes different survivors will really feel “empowered to maneuver ahead with their very own life and to repair what’s damaged” after listening to her story. Jan desires individuals to belief their instincts “and maintain wanting, as a substitute of turning away.”
Outdoors of bringing consciousness to her story, Jan can be lively within the movie business. Amongst her many titles, she is an actor, most recognized for starring in WB’s “Everwood” as Louise, and now a producer for “A Pal of the Household.” Concerning the impression of the present, Jan advised “Right now” in October, “This fashion of telling the story permits the viewers to change into concerned — to see themselves — to allow them to cease it in its tracks. In the event that they discover one thing that’s amiss in their very own life — it isn’t an enormous crimson flag. It is just a few spidey sense for, you recognize, 30 seconds.”
Catch “A Pal of the Household,” streaming now on Peacock, and watch the trailer for the sequence under.
