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Murder of Ruben Borchardt

In 1994, 45-year-old Diane Borchardt was estranged from her 40-year-old husband, Ruben Borchardt. The couple had been married for 15 years, but the relationship was rocky, and Ruben finally had enough.

He spent most of 1994 living in the basement of their Jefferson County, Wisconsin home to avoid conflict with Diane as they resolved custody and property disputes with the court.

With Diane seeming unhinged at times and making threats, Ruben would sometimes set up empty jars in the basement as a makeshift alarm just in case she tried to sneak up on him.

At some point, the court ordered Diane to vacate their shared home by April 15th, 1994.

Instead of packing her things, the Jefferson High School teacher decided to get rid of Ruben so she could stay in the home and collect on his six-figure life insurance policy.

She thought a gullible teen would be the perfect hitman. After analyzing the students she saw daily, she zeroed in on 17-year-old Douglas Vest Jr.

She agreed to give him six hundred dollars and a ring before the murder and an additional twenty thousand dollars from the life insurance payout in the future.

After declining four or five times, Vest agreed to her offer. He recruited two other Jefferson High School students to help him commit the murder. 17-year-old Joshua Yanke and Vest’s cousin, 16-year-old Michael Maldonado.

On April 2nd, 1994, Diane went out of town to visit her mother, who lived 200 miles away. She also took the 14-year-old daughter she shared with Ruben and the couple’s dog, who barked anytime anyone entered the home.

On April 3rd, 1994, the teens put their plan into action. Maldanado and Vest entered the Borchardt home, knowing Ruben would be in the basement. One of them shot him twice with a shotgun before the two fled the scene.

Ruben’s son and Diane’s stepson, 16-year-old Charles Borchardt, was sleeping on the home’s first floor and woke when he heard moaning. He went to the basement and found his dad was seriously injured but still alive and able to communicate.

Ruben told his son that two males came in and shot him. He also accused Diane of being behind the shooting. His last words before he passed away were, “I can’t believe she would do this to me.”

Five months later, someone tipped off the police that Vest might have been involved. He was brought in for questioning and started singing like a bird.

Soon, Diane and the two other teens were in custody.

Legal Proceedings For The Three Teens

Yanke got an 18-year sentence after pleading guilty to second-degree intentional homicide. He was released from prison in 2006.

Prosecutors offered Vest the same deal as Yanke, but he turned it down. That turned out to be a bad decision. A jury convicted him of first-degree intentional homicide at trial and sentenced him to 25 years to life in prison. He was released in 2021.

When Maldonado went to trial, both Yanke and Vest testified that he was the shooter. Maldonado was convicted of murder and sentenced to 50 years to life.

Diane’s Trial

Diane’s defense team said the boys acted alone because they wanted to rob the Borchardt home. Her lawyers claimed they were blaming her to save themselves.

Since nothing was taken during the murder, her story didn’t make sense to the jury, and they convicted her of conspiracy to commit first-degree intentional homicide.

She was given a 45-year-to-life sentence.

Aftermath

In August 2025, Vest admitted that he was the shooter, not Maldonado, WISN reported. This led to a chain of events that may help him get out early.

WMTV15News reported in October 2025 that a judge ruled Maldonado would be eligible for parole early. At a hearing, his attorneys convinced the court that the judge at his initial sentencing lacked the evidence to prove he was the shooter.

WisconsinExaminer reported that his first parole hearing was in March 2026, but he was not granted parole and must wait another 18 months to try for release again. They also reported that he was seeking a commutation from Wisconsin Governor Tony Evers.