The University of Wisconsin student accused of killing his mother in June will have to pay a hefty bond if he wants to come back to Madison for classes.
At a preliminary court hearing Wednesday, UW junior Chase Boruch was slapped with a $2 million bail. Lincoln County prosecutors said Boruch deserved the high-priced bond because of the life insurance policy taken out shortly before his mother’s suspicious death.
Boruch, a Wausau native who transferred to Madison from UW-Marathon County, is being held in Lincoln County on charges of murdering his mother, Sally Pergolski, on June 6 in Northern Wisconsin.
According to a criminal complaint, investigators began searching Boruch’s residence in Wausau just a day after he called paramedics to resuscitate Pergolski when her truck crashed into a small lake in northern Lincoln County. Boruch told investigators he was on a fishing trip with Pergolski at the time and the death was accidental.
After executing the search warrant at Boruch’s house, investigators found insurance receipts from May 2010 confirming several life insurance policies and a will for Pergolski dated May 7. Additionally, the search turned up a letter from UW-MC telling Boruch he could not appeal a decision to cut off his financial aid.
An autopsy revealed “mild features” of drowning in Pergolski, but also showed evidence that she had been beaten on the neck, limbs and head. Although Pergolski was sick, the autopsy did not suggest any evidence of a death due to natural causes, the complaint said.
Earlier this week, Madison police collaborated with Lincoln County officials to arrest Boruch at his apartment on the 300 block of West Washington Avenue. Before coming to UW, Boruch was a student leader at UW-MC and President of UW Colleges’ Student Governance Council.
In a message to The Badger Herald, Nicole Polahar, who served under Boruch as Vice President of the SGC, said Boruch was always “very put together and professional.”
“He worked very hard within the classroom and outside the classroom,” she said. “He was very well prepared and represented the student body very well.”
