Diane Borchardt: ‘Scorned’ TV Series To Air Case Of Wisconsin Teacher Who Seduced Students To Kill On Investigation Discovery
Diane Borchardt, the teacher’s aide who seduced her students to kill her husband, Ruben Borchardt, in his Wisconsin home over two decades ago, is the next engrossing true-crime story to be profiled on ID’s Scorned. Each week, Scorned: Love Kills brings you the most shocking stories of love gone wrong. The episode, titled “Shot For Teacher,” tells the story of a substitute teacher who lured her male students to murder her unfaithful husband. The story will be told through reenactments and the commentary of police and others who have inside knowledge. The case of Diane Borchardt has fascinated viewers and readers since the story hit the press in the spring of 1994. Today, Diane K. Borchardt, aka Diane Pfister, is still serving out a life sentenced in a Wisconsin correctional facility.
Ruben Borchardt Knew He Needed To Get Away But Couldn’t
On Easter Sunday, 1994, 40-year old Ruben Borchardt was found critically wounded by his son at their home located on Bear Hole Road in Jefferson, according to Community News. The time was about 3:51 a.m. In the beginning, it appeared that some unknown intruders had entered the home. But, police determined rather quickly that this was a targeted attack. The prime suspect in the case was the man’s wife, Diane Borchardt–a popular teacher’s aide at the local high school.
A look into their turbulent relationship confirmed that the couple was going through a divorce, and that Diane Borchardt was jealous that Ruben Borchardt was seeing another woman. Ruben Borchardt’s children stated that for years, they watched in horror as their stepmother physically and emotionally abused their father, according to People.
“For years, say Brook and Chuck, Ruben tried to avoid fights, and for the sake of domestic tranquillity he urged his children to respect Diane. But recently he had begun dating a local woman, a home-maker in her 30s. Diane reacted, say authorities, by asking Jefferson students to spy on the two.”
She was also mean and ugly to her stepchildren while favoring the youngest child that was conceived with Ruben.
Ruben Borchardt worked as a cabinet maker and general carpenter. He married Diane after his first wife died in a tragic accident. Authorities say the carpenter thought he’d found someone nice to help him raise his two children from the previous marriage. Instead, he got an evil and violent woman who terrified him so much that he had to sleep with objects lining the stairs, in order to hear her approaching him.
Mrs. B. The Teacher
The investigation revealed that when Diane Borchardt learned that she had lost her stepchildren and the marital home, she devised a plan to murder her husband. To carry it out, she spoke with two high-school teens, telling them that her husband was beating her.
Authorities say Diane Borchardt deliberately sought out students who she knew were from troubled homes. She played on their emotions by crying in class and telling the students very personal information suitable for adults only, People continues.
“At Jefferson High, students began to notice a change in Diane. While always capable of being either ‘real nice or a b***h,’ as one student put it, she now often seemed depressed… ‘You could tell she was stressed out last year,’ said Cory Bloomer, 16, a junior who was in her study hall. ‘She’d be crying in class, and everyone knew about the divorce.’ “
To murder Ruben, she offered to pay the boys money, jewelry, and cars, if they could go through with the plan. When she didn’t ‘pony up the dough,’ one of the boys turned on her and confessed. The teen killers were identified as 17-year-old Douglas Vest Jr., 16-year-old Michael Maldonado, and 17-year-old Joshua Yanke.
Diane Borchardt was a manipulative woman who was proud of the cool reputation she had among the students. A movie about the tragedy first aired in February 1996 on NBC, before being shown for years on the Lifetime Television Network. The movie, Seduced By Madness: The Diane Borchardt Story, portrayed Diane Borchardt as a sultry and sexy teacher who had the admiration of all the male students at the high school. Actress Ann Margret played the role of Diane Borchardt.
Scorned airs tonight at 10/9 p.m. central on Investigation Discovery (ID).
[Image via YouTube]
