After seeing newspaper reports about the death, she was convinced that he had been beaten to death and demanded the case be re-opened. The sponsor of a memorial may add an additional. The adoption should be approved. The psychiatrist thought it fortunate that Lois Jurgens could not get pregnant because a child would only compound and complicate her emotional disturbances. My deputy reassured me from time to time. In 1965, it was a private general practitioner, Dr. Thomas Votel, who handled the coroners duties on a part-time basis for $6,300 a year. In a town like White Bear Lake, apparently no one thought it problematic that the assistant police chief, Lt. Jerome Zerwas, was Lois Jurgens brother. Innhold. Rekdahl decided to call on the Jurgenses. He would testify that he had been suspicious enough to call the welfare department. The roller coaster had been just to the west of his lot, the water slide just to the east, and the dance pavilion exactly where his house now stood, the old foundation still there below his lawn and patio. There is 1 volunteer for this cemetery. She knew the agencys policy was not to place children with couples who were over 40, an age they were approaching. Dennis & Robert From the patio off his living room and the balcony off his bedroom, he could look across the lake to Manitou Island, and beyond, to the town of White Bear. He liked them. Rekdahl was developing real doubts about this placement, but the Jurgenses decided to go see Dennis that afternoon. There was a problem getting your location. A vivid portrait of an all-American town that harbored a killer, A Death in White Bear Lake is also the absorbing story of two detectives who refused to give up until they had the killer cold. At first Bob Brass thought the squad car was Loiss brothers, but then they saw VanderWyst in the driveway. ``If she had been convicted of this in 1965 she probably would have done about three years, Thomson said. Jerry Puckett was a Protestant by background, but at the time Dennis was born she was intending to take instruction in the Roman Catholic faith. +C $33.27 shipping estimate. Opens in a new window or tab. charles edward ed holland memorial park funeral homes and cemeteries. No. The welfare department case work was very limited. Jurgens, now 69, was convicted of third-degree murder in 1987 in what at the time was the oldest homicide to go to trial in Minnesota. A jury deliberated about five hours Friday before finding Lois Jurgens, 61, of Stillwater, Minn., guilty of third-degree murder, or an unintentional killing. She was 61 when she went to prison and served eight years before being paroled.. She grew up and attended school in Malvern, graduating in 1947. Lois Jurgens had a reputation amongst her extended family and neighbors as an intense, angry woman with a short and volatile temper, but Dennis' arrival in her home provoked sadistic rages that targeted Dennis as he aged from one to three-and-a-half years of age. There was no community pressure back then. Please try again later. Jurgens' other adopted son, Robert, testified at the trial, at which Lois Jurgens (then in her 60s) was convicted of third-degree murder and sentenced to prison.[4]. ``She did a lot more than she should have.. Ivey's Lois Jurgens is a woman so proud and righteous, her sense of morality . Dr. Peterson said he saw nothing unusual in Dennis life or death. There was a large, swollen scrape on the forehead. Harold and Lois Jurgensa middle-class, churchgoing couple who had been unable to have children of their ownhad adopted Sherwood's son, Dennis, in 1962. Though the specific cause of that fatal blow is not known, it is known that it was Lois who had given it to Dennis. On the other hand, she realized the improbability of being offered another Catholic baby in the near future. The only part of him that I saw was his chest and his face.
Years later, Peterson would say much the same to the police who were reopening the case, but he did not do so in 1965. Just past one year of age, Dennis was placed in the Jurgens' home in 1962, in anticipation of an adoption after spending much of his first year in foster care. The Jurgenses are not being attacked anywhere along the line. They were independent of each other. Novel and Adaptations: Barry Siegel's true-crime novel A Death in White Bear Lake recounts the story via extensive research and oral history. Sorry! He feared finding himself alone. Dennis Craig Jurgens was an American 3-year-old boy who was murdered in White Bear Lake, Minnesota in April 1965. During her several postplacement visits to the Jurgens home in the following, probationary year, Rekdahl increasingly came to judge the placement a success. In 1984, Jurgens was the artist for the Sun Devils limited series (July 1984 - June 1985), with writers Gerry Conway and Roy Thomas. Lois Jurgens served eight years of her sentence and had a quiet life as a widow in Stillwater, Minnesota. Our kids have fallen down steps and not died. At 2 p.m. on that Palm Sunday, Dr. Robert Woodburn, the coroners chief pathologist, conducted the autopsy. memorial page for Lois Germaine Josephine Zerwas Jurgens (12 Aug 1925-7 May 2013), Find a Grave Memorial ID 134346102, citing Union Cemetery, Maplewood, Ramsey County . Clothing retains the heat. The defense attorney was still thinking about a criminal prosecution--even if no one else was. Due to this frequent starvation, Dennis gained only three pounds in a two and a half-year period as he aged from one year old to three and a half years old. Their flight, coupled with the lingering suspicions surrounding Dennis' death, resulted in the termination of Lois and Harold Jurgens' parental rights. If you have questions, please contact [emailprotected]. Donohue was not inclined to relax such controls. Father Riser told her he definitely would. . My God, he thought, looking at the body. This memorial has been copied to your clipboard. I also want to get Early Bird Books newsletter featuring book deals, recommendations, and giveaways. Drag images here or select from your computer for Lois Germaine Josephine Zerwas Jurgens memorial. Thanks for your help! They had checked on him throughout the night. The coroner noted there was evidence of adult human bite marks on his penis, and scarring all over his scrotum; he was also found to be wearing two diapers and a pair of rubber pants at the age of 3+12 years. Due to this frequent starvation, Dennis gained only three pounds in a 2+12-year period as he aged from one year old to 3+12 years old. She was a good dozen years younger than the Jurgenses. Many years later, he explained why: I was quite certain it was a homicide, quite certain, Gingold said recently in an interview. The policeman did not, so they carried the body to the coroners van. roger w. tufte sr. was born on march 22, 1945 in lakota, nd the son of clarence and esther (johnson. Rekdahl did not know that a psychiatrist at the Mayo Clinic had diagnosed Lois Jurgens as having a longstanding psychoneurosis dating to her childhood--a childhood spent in a tension-filled home with an alcoholic, abusive father. Do you have a camera in the car, he asked VanderWyst. That was not binding on the prosecutor, but the defense attorney would zero in on this. Failed to remove flower. A family friend, Barbara Venney, saw the bruises through the flowers. To keep creating Peterson departed soon after. Learn more about managing a memorial . [2] She is buried at the Union Cemetery, in Maplewood, Ramsey County, Minnesota . You need a Find a Grave account to continue. He had lived in this home since 1953, and it gave him much pleasure. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate, or jump to a slide with the slide dots. A Mrs. Charles reported a car blocking a driveway at 823 5th St. A Mrs. Krugger reported that children were damming the street at Elm and Ebba (there had been heavy rain the night before). Dennis had thrown up then. . If I had it to do over again--well, in 1987 I wouldnt approve, but if it were 1965, I dont know what I would do. Dennis Craig Jurgens, 3.
There appeared to be a number of discrepancies in the Jurgenses story, he noted. From the death certificate she had learned that the coroner never ruled whether the death was an accident, a homicide or the result of natural causes. or don't show this againI am good at figuring things out. Her attorney Doug Thomson (left) follows, and Harold Jurgens is behind him. The official cause of death was Peritonitis due to perforation of the small bowel. The night Dennis died, Robert was riding his trike in the basement, and all the sudden he heard Dennis screaming. They saw the hearse sitting in the Jurgenses driveway, and a big blue convertible, and the police car parked awkwardly, askew, as if the officer had been in a hurry. The first came now. Your new password must contain one or more uppercase and lowercase letters, and one or more numbers or special characters. Are you sure that you want to remove this flower? Lois Jurgens headed to trial. child abuse law. We would like to have done something, but it was none of our business. That will make you swallow, Lois had said. Dennis Craig Jurgens (December 6, 1961 - April 11, 1965) was an American 3-year-old boy who was murdered in White Bear Lake, Minnesota in April 1965. Rekdahl by now had quite a dim outlook on this placement. Together they went into Dennis room to inspect the body. On Nov. 28, 1962, members of the Scott and Ramsey counties welfare departments, including Rekdahl, had a conference in the town of Shakopee. An email has been sent to the person who requested the photo informing them that you have fulfilled their request, There is an open photo request for this memorial. Father Bernard Riser of the St. Mary of the Lake Catholic Church had known the Jurgenses for years and considered them to be among his parishs best families. By this point, Lois' rage and mania had gone beyond her ability to maintain an appearance of normalcy, and she and Harold had relocated to rural Stillwater, Minnesota, possibly to escape the gossip of their former neighborhood where Dennis was killed. The policemen were led to understand that an attorney representing the Jurgenses had visited them and threatened them with civil lawsuits if they spoke out. It was not his job to do anything other than pronounce the boy dead. There was also a great deal of suspicion surrounding Jerome Zerwas, the brother of Lois Jurgens, who was a police lieutenant in the city of White Bear Lake, Minnesota. To this end, she forced religious training on her young sons; reports had young Robert flawlessly reciting the Rosary at 2. The autopsy report mentioned bruises head to toe. | Then there was the coroners report. Please reset your password. Lois considered herself a devout Catholic and believed she was doing "God's work" by making Dennis "perfect" in her eyes. Vachss uttalte at boken ikke forklarer begrunnelsen for at Harold er passiv, mens den har tilstrekkelig informasjon om Lois Jurgens.
But this death didnt look as though it was from natural causes. Use Escape keyboard button or the Close button to close the carousel. Last week, Judge David Marsden sentenced. It did not occur to him to question Robert. Did the doctor remember his thoughts on why this child died, his inner feelings that day? She was right. She was the adoptive mother of six children in the 1960s and 1970s, and brutally abused them all, killing one of them, three-year-old Dennis Jurgens, in 1965. Strange, he thought, that she hadnt called her brother, the police lieutenant. Three-year-old Dennis Jurgens is murdered by his adoptive mother. There was no possibility that Dennis had died from a blow to the head. Donna Neely wondered, as she studied the Jurgenses now-silent house from her front window. She is buried at the Union Cemetery, in Maplewood, Ramsey County, Minnesota. Along with the aforementioned evidence of starvation and the scarring and bite-marks on his genitalia, the coroner discovered multiple lacerations and multiple generations of bruises covering most of his body. Woodburn could find no subcutaneous fat at all, something everyone normally has in varying degrees. Martin fritz obituary. Peter Korolchuk yielded a good deal of information. VanderWyst didnt push the matter. I was advised that the information was being obtained, that there was an ongoing investigation, Votel said recently. . Donna Marlene had seen other things. Almost immediately, Lois felt a severe, obsessive dislike of the child, who was a normal, rambunctious, and spirited toddlerunlike Robert, who in Lois' eyes, was the "good son." While he waited for the coroners investigator to arrive, he asked Lois Jurgens if there was anything he could do--such as take Robert to his own home, to be cared for by his wife. She had a story to tell. On January 13, 2000, she was initially suspected of poisoning her husband, Harold. cemeteries found within kilometers of your location will be saved to your photo volunteer list. On January 13, 2000, she was initially suspected of poisoning her husband, Harold. In the minute she was gone, she said, he turned on the hot water. . I felt we actually checked out the concerns quite carefully.. Over the course of several visits to the Jurgens home, Rekdahl saw the matter differently. Dan Jurgens on how The Death of Superman has "withstood that test of time" By Grant DeArmitt published 27 July 2022 The creator best known for The Death of Superman explains its impact 30. The boy was dead by the time the doctor arrived at 9:35. Years later, the attorney representing Roberts interests at the 1965 custody hearing would still remember those photos. White Bear Lake, a picturesque American town where kids freely ride bikes, play two-square and parents throw neighborhood BBQsand where 3 year old Dennis Jurgens died on Palm Sunday 1965. plans and enthusiasm SHAKOPEE, Minn. (AP) _ A mother who beat her adopted son to death and then covered up the crime for two decades was released from prison today after serving eight years. There was enough evidence to sustain child abuse and neglect charges. The official records say 1,200 children died of abuse in 1986, but many experts believe the figure would reach 5,000 if closer attention were paid to some deaths attributed to accident or blamed on sudden infant death syndrome. He felt that Lois mental breakdown was not extremely serious and that she had completely recovered. Please ensure you have given Find a Grave permission to access your location in your browser settings.
Now VanderWyst was looking at him, asking a question: What was the cause of death?. She did not want this to influence their decision, but in all truthfulness, that was the reality. In her effort to make Dennis "right" in her eyes, Lois embarked on a series of sadistic and corporal punishments: Angered at Dennis for rejecting certain foods, she responded by placing horseradish on the food and then force-fed it to him. 0 cemeteries found in Maplewood, Ramsey County, Minnesota, USA. Los Angeles, ICE detainees allege retaliation for speaking about medical conditions at Otay Mesa center, Downtown L.A stabbing sends six to hospital; 1 arrested, San Diego Roman Catholic diocese facing yet another lawsuit from its insurance company, K-Pop isnt the only hot ticket in Koreatown how trot is captivating immigrants, Los Angeles is suddenly awash in waterfalls. Why was there no disposition of this case? It was hard to believe that the Jurgenses had noticed nothing. All photos appear on this tab and here you can update the sort order of photos on memorials you manage. This flower has been reported and will not be visible while under review. There was also talk years earlier of her having started the fire at her in-laws' home which killed her mother-in-law, with whom she never got along. I have several children about that age with this same problem. That doctor (Peterson) also presented problems--he was a typical doctor, couldnt believe his patient was killed.. DC artist Dan Jurgens shares an image of an unused Electric Blue Superman design from 1996, reminiscing about what might have been.
She had talked about this with the whole family, but not with the authorities. Photo by Patrick Hendry on Unsplash. Dennis was adopted by the Jurgens, of White Bear Lake, Minnesota, a suburb of Saint Paul: Harold Robert Jurgens, a former bandleader turned electrician, and Lois Germaine Josephine Zerwas Jurgens, a homemaker. He had served as a reference when they adopted Robert. https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/134346102/lois-germaine_josephine-jurgens. He had read the early articles that by then had been published. She had not noticed anything was wrong until sometime later, when Dennis began holding himself and saying, Owie! It was then she saw that his genitals were burned and called the doctor. None of us knew about child abuse. The trial of Lois Jurgens for the murder of 3-year-old Dennis made national headlines and was the top news story of the . 
He was frequently starved, to rid him of "sloppy fat," as Lois called it (she also called him "Sloppy Fat" as a nickname). The county had filed a custody petition, alleging neglect. Its not unusual, the doctor said. Lois thought that would be a good idea. Its kind of hard to believe., ``How can you take a babys life like that and beat it for two years and then walk free? she said. Their investments and savings totaled $2,200. called, 'A Child Lost Searching him out, she discovers he died at 3 1/2, though the death certificate does not show what killed him. Dennis was now fully accepted and loved in the family, she decided. On April 26, Korolchuk drafted an analysis of the information they had gathered. I was young then, just out of college, the social worker said recently in an interview. . She died aged 87 on May 7, 2013. He was shaken. The neighbors talked among themselves that afternoon. Fittingly for a major anniversary like . They had just buried the body, and that was all.
| The cause of death was peritonitis, but the autopsy photos showed him covered in bruises with an anguished expression on his face and the coroner had not determined a mode of death, accident, natural causes, or homicide. Lois Jurgens agreed, but seemed scared that she would not be offered another child.
Jurgens was the only fatal victim of Lois Jurgens, his adoptive mother and a prolific child abuser, who abused a total of six adopted children from 1950 to 1970. Obituary. In spite of extensive physical evidence pointing towards severe abuse, the medical examiner did not classify the death under any of the standard classifications of accident, suicide or murder; he simply marked it "deferred". A condition of neglect did exist. Resend Activation Email.
The victim How could the hot water splashing down on the baby have burned only his penis and scrotum? There was obviously going to be trouble, and he didnt want to get involved. We are sad to announce that on September 25, 2019, at the age of 92, Lois Jurgens (Petersburg, Illinois) passed away. When Lois found him gasping and gurgling at 9 a.m., she promptly called Dr. Peterson.
| The boys mouth was getting full, he wasnt swallowing, so Lois put horseradish on the fork. Camille Brass knew the blue convertible belonged to Dr. Peterson. They had cited the Fifth Amendment protection against self-incrimination. Testimony from neighbors and family members told of young Dennis showing up to public events wearing sunglasses at the age of two to hide his frequent black eyes. That was why the judge wanted Lois Jurgens to consent to a thorough, inpatient examination by a psychiatrist he knew and trusted. The term is relative. ?Tadeusz: I never remember pretty women. Include gps location with grave photos where possible. This account already exists, but the email address still needs to be confirmed. Whod listen? No, she explained. They wanted an infant under a year old, and they wanted a Catholic child. and this case