Borchardt-Robertson receives sentence for 2018 attack

Michael Anthony Borchardt-Robertson, implicated in the stabbing of a local man in 2018, was sentenced this week to 40 years in the care of the state Department of Public Health and Human Services.

Borchardt-Robertson, 26, pleaded no contest in Lincoln County District Court earlier this year to attempted deliberate homicide. The plea came as part of a deal struck with prosecutors, who acknowledge the Yakima, Wash., man suffered from a mental disorder or illness at the time of the attack.

District Judge Matthew Cuffe, sticking to Deputy County Attorney Jeff Zwang’s recommendation as he handed down the sentence June 28, described the punishment as befitting the circumstances.

“I think its an appropriate sentence given the defendant is suffering from a mental disorder that affects his understanding or perception of reality,” he said.

The Nov. 11, 2018 attack on a walking path beyond Kootenai River Road shocked the community and left a beloved local teacher hospitalized with multiple wounds. The victim was on the path when another man, later identified by authorities as Borchardt-Robertson, began following him with a knife.

The attack, unprovoked, came soon after. The victim fended off the assailant using bear spray, but not before suffering at least 10 stab wounds. Despite the injuries, the victim walked back to his vehicle, reported the attack and drove home. He was later taken to a local medical center.

Authorities, meanwhile, began investigating the scene of the attack. As they recovered the victim’s ripped orange vest and a used can of bear spray, a man matching the description of the assailant — Borchardt-Robertson — emerged from the woods. He wore clothing stained with blood and he smelled “strongly of pepper spray,” court documents said.

The victim later identified Borchardt-Robertson as his assailant in a photo lineup.

During Borchardt-Robertson’s sentencing, Zwang told the court that he had weighed the crime committed against the man’s mental state while determing a recommended sentence. Although Borchardt-Robertson was “unable to appreciate the criminality” of his actions, he still broke the law.

“The victim survived through a combination of luck, fighting back both physically and with bear stray, and the victim’s own physical and mental strength and sheer will to live,” Zwang said. “I’ve commented to a number of people during the pendency of this case — and I really believe it — that most people probably, including myself, would have been killed by that attack.”

Speaking to the court via videoconferencing software, Borchardt-Robertson apologized to the victim and his wife.

“I understand that my actions have impacted their lives in a way that I can’t change, that I can’t help anymore, but I hope in their hearts they find their own way of forgiving me,” he said.

He said he hoped to earn a second chance and expressed an interest in going back to school if given the opportunity.

Borchardt-Robertson’s grandmother, Susan Borchardt, told the court that he suffered from bipolar schizophrenia. They unsuccessfully tried to find treatment for him prior to the attack, she said.

“We could not get mental help until it was too late,” she said.

Borchardt-Robertson’s attorney, Sean Hinchey, posited that the case exposed a flaw in the criminal justice system while arguing for a lessened sentence. Borchardt-Robertson’s mental wellbeing had improved dramatically in the intervening years, he said. He was a different person.

“Having been through this case with [Borchardt-Robertson], I see the changes from someone who was off the charts to someone who is very pleasant,” Hinchey said. “He was not the same person he is today. But this is the system we have and that’s why we negotiated the outcome.”

Cuffe acknowledged Borchardt-Robertson’s improvement, but disagreed with Hinchey’s critique.

“Whether it’s a perfect [mechanism] or not, I think it’s an appropriate one,” Cuffe said.