The man accused of killing his mother at a lake in Harrison Township fired his two court appointed attorneys Monday, causing a postponement of a preliminary hearing set for Wednesday.
Chase Boruch, 24, of Madison and formerly of Wausau, is charged with first-degree intentional homicide in connection with the death of his mother, 63-year-old Sally Pergolski of Wausau. Boruch is being held in the Lincoln County Jail on a $2 million bond and faces life in prison if convicted of the charge.
At a hearing Monday, Boruch asked Lincoln County Circuit Court Judge Glenn Hartley for a new attorney to replace James Lex and Joey Roeth, the two public defenders appointed for him. Lex, who is the manager of the State Public Defender’s Office in Merrill, is working to find a replacement attorney for Boruch. The preliminary hearing scheduled for Wednesday will be rescheduled at a court date on Dec. 30.
Boruch called 911 from Moraine Lake on June 6 to say Pergolski had driven his truck into the lake. He told the 911 operator that he had had trouble getting his mother from the vehicle and that CPR had not worked on her.
When deputies and paramedics arrived on the scene, they found Pergolski laying face down on the shore of the lake and the truck was barely in the water. An autopsy performed on the victim showed she had suffered a head injury that would have rendered her unconscious two hours before she entered the lake.
According to the criminal complaint, prior to the crash, Boruch had taken out almost $1 million in insurance policies on his mother listing himself as the only beneficiary.
Boruch was arrested in Madison where he was attending the University of Wisconsin.