Courts release Rosendale man who killed wife

A man who shot his wife to death at the couple's Rosendale home almost 17 years ago has been released from a state mental health facility.

Keith VandeBerg was released from a court-ordered commitment into the Madison community on Nov. 1, said his attorney Mark Hazelbaker. The 66-year-old plans to live alone and will remain under the supervision of a community treatment program.

Two of his three sons, now with families of their own, say the court system has failed them. They were told their father would spend his life confined to a mental health treatment center.

"Our mother's rights have been trampled and we are in shock," said Chad VandeBerg of Rosendale. "Instead of living with justice, we will now live in fear."

The request to release VandeBerg was granted by Fond du Lac County Circuit Court Judge Richard Nuss. Several previous petitions for conditional release have been denied through the years. The last time was by Nuss in 2011.

Plans for a quiet life

"Keith is going to try and build a life for himself," Hazelbaker said. "He is elderly and wants to live a quiet life and serve other people. He has made it plain to me that he knows he has to keep taking his medication."

Keith VandeBerg was found guilty but not guilty due to mental disease/defect of first degree intentional homicide in January 1999 and was ordered under a criminal health commitment through the Department of Health and Social Services. He has been undergoing treatment at Mendota Mental Health Institute in Madison.

He was diagnosed with schizophrenia, a severe brain disorder in which people interpret reality abnormally. Schizophrenia may result in some combination of hallucinations, delusions, and extremely disordered thinking and behavior, according to the Mayo Clinic. It is a chronic condition, requiring lifelong treatment.

Under the law a criminal commitment lasts as long as the sentence of the crime and Keith VandeBerg will remain under the control of the state for the rest of his life, Hazelbaker said.

"Back when these unfortunate events occurred, Keith was found not responsible for killing his wife because he was severely mentally ill at the time," he said.

The crime

On Feb. 8, 1998, Fond du Lac County Sheriff's Officers found Terrie VandeBerg, 42, shot dead in the family's home at W10882 Schmolt Road, about two miles south of Rosendale in the town of Springvale.

Keith VandeBerg, then 49, had called 911 around 9 that evening to report that he had found his wife dead. When questioned about his mental condition, he said he was no longer taking his medication due to undesirable side effects.

Family members told authorities that Keith VandeBerg was suspicious that his wife was having an affair. They said they were concerned about what they described as his deteriorating mental health. Terrie VandeBerg had filed for divorce in 1995, but the case was later dismissed when the couple reconciled. The deceased had been employed at Ripon Foods Inc. and owned and operated the "Quilt Lady" at her home.

The youngest son, Daniel VandeBerg of Oakfield, said his father needs to remain in a controlled environment for everyone's safety. By court order Keith VandeBerg is not allowed in Fond du Lac County.

A matter of time

"We don't want any association with him after all we have been through – all the hills and valleys," Daniel VandeBerg said. "He was always so concentrated on not taking his medication and this is the struggle my mom and all of us had with him. It's only a matter of time before he stops taking them again."

Through the years, Daniel VandeBerg only received one letter from his father, and he said he never heard an apology or saw signs of remorse. The brothers had asked then District Attorney Tom Storm to have their father committed, rather than imprisoned, because they felt strongly their mother would have wanted him to get treatment.

"In one of the court cases he said he was sorry how things turned out, but I don't see that as an apology," he said. "We are all trying to move on with our lives as best we can and now this happens."

Since his commitment, Keith VandeBerg has been successfully treated with prescription drugs for schizophrenia and has not had any infractions of institution rules at Mendota, his attorney said. He has no prior criminal history.

For the last several years Keith VandeBerg has been living in the forensic treatment unit, sharing a residence in the least restrictive environment at Mendota. He is employed part-time at Goodman Community Center in Madison and is being considered for the role of a peer counselor in a release program, his attorney said.

Fond du Lac County Sheriff's Office Chief Deputy Mark Strand was a lieutenant at the time of the shooting and recalls the drive to the VandeBerg residence on that foggy, winter night in 1998. He said it was a tragic night for the couple's three adult sons, who came to the scene and witnessed their mother lying at the bottom of a stairway.

When tragedies occur that involve mental illness it is often difficult to grasp the family dynamics at the time, he said.

"It's highly unlikely anything like this would ever happen again, I am confident of that," Strand said. "He is not the same individual at this stage in his life. He has served his time and gotten the treatment he needed."

Endless court process

Chad VandeBerg's business, T.J. Construction, is named after his mother. It has been a difficult and endless court process, he said, with his father petitioning for parole nearly every six months during his commitment, which required the family to go back to court again and again.

"We never were given the chance to move past it and had to go through the emotional rollercoaster over and over," Chad VandeBerg said. "Before he killed our mother he was committed several times but it could only happen if he threatened to hurt himself or others. This was the cycle we lived with."

During an initial three-year commitment at Winnebago Mental Health Institute in Oshkosh, Keith VandeBerg was permitted unsupervised release with siblings, his oldest son said.

"We were floored and they were telling us he was a model inmate. Then we told them our side of the story and they had never heard it. Our father had basically lied to them about everything. He has manipulated people his whole life," he said.

During the petition for release hearing held in May, Hazelbaker said Keith VandeBerg told him he would trade his own life to have his wife back.

"I think it shows he has come a long way," Hazelbaker said. "He is not responsible for what happened and still he would make that sacrifice. He is haunted by what happened."

The brothers say because they are Christians they have forgiven their father, and because of their faith, they believe his judgment is not in their hands. Being the oldest, Chad VandeBerg said he recalls his father going after his mother for having him committed. He stood by his mother's side every step of the way.

Terrie Jean VandeBerg worked a factory job so the family would have insurance but she dreamed of someday opening a craft store.

"My mom was first and foremost about family, us boys. She would want us to be happy in life and live our lives fully, as if she were here," he said.

Conditions sealed

The state has the authority to revoke Keith VandeBerg's release if he violates any conditions. Nuss has sealed the conditions of release as confidential.

Hazelbaker said his client has lost a big part of himself and paid a high cost.

"Keith prays someday his sons will be willing to talk with him again," he said.

There are still some things that his father taught him that were good, Chad VandeBerg said. He does not want to throw away all his childhood memories.

"The three of us brothers agreed to try and live lives without regret, to make our mother proud. I think of how my mom would have loved all her grandchildren and I feel like she is with them — with us all," he said.

Contact Sharon Roznik at sroznik@fdlreporter.com or (920) 907-7936; on Twitter: @sharonroznik.