Boruch sentenced to life in prison

A Wausau man convicted of homicide in the death of his mother was sentenced Monday to life in prison with no possibility of parole.

Lincoln County Circuit Court Judge Glenn Hartley sentenced Chase Boruch after a two-and-a-half hour hearing, during which Boruch spoke on his own behalf. He claimed he suffered from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder following his military service in Iraq.

"I've done some horrible things, some reprehensible things, and I've also seen some horrible things," he said. "At some point I lost touch with reality."

Boruch, 25, was found guilty of homicide by a Lincoln County jury in November . Sally Pergolski, 63, of Wausau, was found dead at Moraine Lake in the Harrison Hills June 6, 2010, after Boruch called 911. He told investigators at the time that the pair were on their way to go fishing when Sally lost control of the vehicle and drove into the lake. Boruch's vehicle was found in the water and Pergolski's body was found on shore.

Investigators with the Lincoln County Sheriff's Department determined Pergolski's death to be suspicious and Boruch was charged with her murder in December 2010. A key piece of evidence was the fact that Boruch had taken out a large accidental death insurance policy on his mother, naming himself as sole beneficiary, shortly before her death.

Taking the stand in his own defense at trial, Boruch told a completely different story than what he had initially told investigators. Boruch said he had staged the accident at Moraine Lake in an attempt to collect on Pergolski's accidental death insurance policy. He said he had found his mother dead at her Wausau home earlier that morning, adding that she had apparently choked on a piece of meat. That's when he decided to drive her body up to Lincoln County to make it look like she had died in an accident.

Boruch said his mother was chronically ill and had talked about taking her own life. He said they had also discussed the accidental death insurance and how he could benefit financially from her death.

"My mother wanted me to gain financially from her death, and I wanted to as well," Boruch testified. "A pathologist who performed the autopsy on Pergolski testified during the trial that the exact cause of her death could not be determined.

The 12-member jury deliberated less than 3 hours before returning the guilty verdict.

Boruch's sister, Jamie Pergolski, spoke at the sentencing hearing via telephone. She said Chase learned greed from their mother, and how to get what he wanted at the expense of others.

"He learned, to get what you want you have to scheme and deceive people," she said. "Sally taught him well and he ultimately followed the same path."

Jamie Pergolski said that, despite his upbringing, Chase had served in the military and was enrolled in law school at Madison prior to being arrested in his mother's death.

The 1st Degree Intentional Homicide conviction carries a mandatory life sentence, but the possibility of supervised release could be allowed after 20 years.

Given the gravity of the offense and the need to protect the public, Hartley ruled that Boruch should spend the rest of his natural life in prison without the right to petition for extended supervision. Hartley said he believed Boruch would commit the same type of crime again, given the opportunity.

"There's nothing here to indicate that anybody's life is worth anything to you in comparison to your own life," Hartley said. "There's no assurance to this court that that's ever going to change."

Hartley didn't buy the explanation of PTSD as a factor in the crime.

"I don't see pre-meditated murder as a risk of PTSD," he said. "This was a calculated, planned out execution for the money. There's no other way these crimes add up."

At the start of the sentencing hearing, Hartley considered a motion from Boruch and his attorney John Voorhees for a mistrial. They contended that jurors were inattentive or sleeping during the trial. Hartley ruled that the issue should have been addressed during the trial, but wasn't brought to his attention until a week later.