Leah Gustafson’s Murder — A Decade Later

Mother, Father Police Chief Reflect

On Jan 7th a decade ago, Superior was rocked by one of the worst murder cases to affect the community in such a personal way.

A vigil was held on the steps of the Douglas County Courthouse Thursday night for Leah Gustafson.

Gustafson was the 29-year-old woman who was randomly murdered in her own home by Jason Borelli.

Borelli was the deranged neighbor across the street who used the infamous samurai sword in the killing.

But at the vigil, family and friends were just thinking about Leah.

“I think it gives her friends and family a peace of mind. I think it’s most important that her parents have the positive memories instead of the negative,” said Denise DeVogel, a close friend of Leah.

Meanwhile in an exclusive interview, FOX 21’s Dan Hanger sat down with Leah’s mother and father, as well as Superior Police Chief Nick Alexander — from the awful night of the crime to the healing process, and now even some form of forgiveness.

“I view it as probably the most profound case that I’ve ever been involved in,” said Superior Police Chief Nicholas Alexander.

For Alexander, nothing has affected his life more than the random murder of Leah.

“It was a winter — 2006. It was January 7th. It was roughly 4:50 in the morning,” Alexander said.

At the time of the 911 call at 1910 John Avenue, Alexander was the patrol sergeant on duty.

“There, the officers find Leah Gustafson in critical condition from what appears to be stab wounds and head trauma,” Alexander said.

Alexander ended up being the first to find Leah lifeless in her apartment, beaten by a metal ash tray and stabbed with her own souvenir samurai sword.

“Always brings a tear to my eye. I kind of think of a young innocent gal who’s kind of branching out on life and independence — and it gets ended so swiftly,” Alexander explained.

But what doesn’t bother Alexander is the quick action and methodical thinking of his officers who helped led him face to face with the killer inside the home directly across the street from Leah’s apartment.

Alexander explains:

“Door handle seems to have red smears consistent with blood on it.”

“Somebody is coming out of that room.”

“That door opens and I am greeted with Jason Borelli.”

At the time of the encounter, 32-year-old Borelli was drunk and on cocaine.

“Did he go there to see Leah? Did he go there to see the other person, possibly? There’s a lot of unknowns, and Jason never clarified those details with us,” Alexander explained.

But what was overwhelmingly certain was the trail of blood and other evidence right to Borelli’s face – the face Leah fought in the struggle.

“I distinctly remember seeing, ya know, redness and injuries to his face and on his hands and seeing some markings on his shorts that he’s wearing that appear to be – to me — to be blood,” Alexander said.

“It was really hard to grasp when we lost her. How could someone so alive now be gone so suddenly,” asked Sharon Gustafson, Leah’s mother.

While the emotions are still strong, Sharon says she’s finally beginning to heal after 10 years of serious pain.

“There’s a part of me that’s actually starting to come to a place of piece about it,” Sharon said.

And thanks to her Christian faith, she’s learned to let go of any evil.

“When I thought about how much I loved her, then I could feel some sense of connection. If I thought about how angry I was, immediately I was disconnected from that, and I wanted to hold on to that,” Sharon explained.

Leah’s father, Dick, has also moved his energy in a positive way.

“She was at my house a week before she passed away and that last thing she said as she went out the door to go home was I love you dad. And I always remember that,” Dick said.

Both parents remember Leah as beyond friendly, accepting of everybody and the true life of any room she walked into.

“She had a wonderful sense of humor. Just really, really funny. She was very knowledgeable — very sweet,” Dick said.

“Caring; great hugger, and she had this marvelous belly laugh that just made you feel good listening to her laugh,” Sharon said.

A murder like no other in Superior – 10 years later – but with justice served and Leah’s memories still very much alive.

“Jason is being held accountable and will spend the rest of his life in prison where he belongs,” Alexander said.

“The world is full of suffering. Everybody is going to die. But it’s how we approach life is what’s important. The time we are here,” Dick said.

“Tell the people you have in your life while you have them how you feel about them,” Sharon said.

From the Gustafson family down to the prosecutor Dan Blank, all attribute the success to this case from the initial police officer and their ability to not compromise crucial evidence during such a fluid 20 to 30 minutes from the time of the crime to the arrest.

Borelli is serving a life sentence in Green Bay without parole.