lois jurgens' death

Basically, she thought that Lois was content and happy, especially with Robert. The chief one involved the nature of the malady that killed Dennis. based on information from your browser. It did not occur to him to question Robert. A parade of neighbors and relatives called to the stand by the Jurgenses attorney, Edward Donohue, all denied seeing any evidence of abuse. . They were of varying colors--black and blue, yellowish green, reddish--which meant that some were fresh, some old. Lois Germaine Josephine Zerwas Jurgens (August 12, 1925 - May 7, 2013) was an American convicted murderer responsible for one of the most unusual child murder cases in history in Minnesota. It was hard to believe that the Jurgenses had noticed nothing. Verify and try again. That was all Gingold had to concern himself with. A dead boy, though, was something else. The official cause of death was Peritonitis due to perforation of the small bowel. Published by Bantam Books, 1990. Aside from the incident when Dennis was hospitalized with burns on his genitals, there were many other incidents of abuse which fell under the category of sexual sadism. Our kids have fallen down steps and not died. The same day that she spoke to the priest--Aug. 30, 1962--Rekdahl informed the Jurgenses that they were going to be approved for a second adoption. One day, Zerwas walked into the squad room and found the two officers investigating Dennis death. Placement with the paternal grandparents ended due to a house fire that occurred at a time when Robert was hospitalized with pneumonia, and his grandmother burned to death. Rekdahl thought that Lois speech betrayed a bit of cynicism. Dennis had fallen and hit his head on the wet basement floor the day before, the Jurgenses said, and he also had been suffering from a bad cold. . A common belief amongst witnesses and neighbors at the time of the murder, and among the investigators who eventually re-opened the case, is that he interfered with the investigation and destroyed incriminating evidence. The Jurgenses returned to their house on Gardenette Drive, childless but free of any charge. roger w. tufte sr, 76, resident of lakota, nd died saturday, february 26, 2022 at the lakota good samaritan center. It was not his job to do anything other than pronounce the boy dead. Robert fit in well at the Jurgens household, as he learned from a young age not to get in his mother's way or cause an undue mess that would likely send Lois Jurgens into a rage. No one here is being punitive, Gingold told the Jurgenses and their attorney from the bench. Failed to remove flower. Peter Korolchuk yielded a good deal of information. 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]. There was an error deleting this problem. Lois Jurgens (at left) appeared with her attorney Doug Thomson in Ramsey County Courthouse Monday May 4, 1987. There was no community pressure back then. Barry Siegels chilling true crime book, A Death in White Bear Lake, chronicles the chilling case of a family from a picturesque town in Minnesota, and the cover up of a horrific crime that lasted for 20 years. Notes [ edit] ^ "ANGELIZD's Place - Child Abuse Pages - Dennis Craig Jurgens". He has no teeth yet, but they are coming. To use this feature, use a newer browser. Death 7 May 2013 (aged 87) . The psychiatrist thought it fortunate that Lois Jurgens could not get pregnant because a child would only compound and complicate her emotional disturbances. This flower has been reported and will not be visible while under review. 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. The coroner noted in his report that Dennis had almost zero subcutaneous fat, at the level of a person who had died of starvation. Most simply remain hidden. She wanted assurances. Lt. Clarence (Buzz) Harvey at first did not know what to make of the blonde 42-year-old woman who appeared at the front desk of this towns solitary police station on the morning of Sept. 18, 1986. How could a kid fall down the steps and die? Retrieved 12 February 2015. 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. . But neither the judge nor anyone else was willing to face the implications of such findings. They had checked on him throughout the night. . I have several children about that age with this same problem.

During the early morning hours of April 11, 1965, Dennis Jurgens died at the hands of Lois Jurgens. Maybe we can get more evidence from there.

The victim

Vachss uttalte at boken ikke forklarer begrunnelsen for at Harold er passiv, mens den har tilstrekkelig informasjon om Lois Jurgens. The way Lindholm figured it, instead of prosecuting Lois Jurgens for murder, lets move to take Robert away. They were independent of each other. of Lois Jurgens are considered landmarks in the history of Are you adding a grave photo that will fulfill this request? Brand New. Even so, doctors do not usually see third-degree burns in an area that isnt covered by clothing. 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. Lois Jurgens served eight years of her sentence and had a quiet life as a widow in Stillwater, Minnesota. Robert would remain in county custody for the time being. Photos larger than 8Mb will be reduced. VanderWyst, visiting him after the autopsy the night of Dennis death, told the family physician what Woodburn had found. She committed one of the most unusual child murder cases in history in Minnesota. There is 1 volunteer for this cemetery. Sherwood's tenacity, along with the tragedy of her personal loss, kept the story in the public eye. Three-year-old Dennis Craig (Puckett) Jurgens was tortured to death in the wee hours of April 11th, 1965. . he told the grand jury last year. You can customize the cemeteries you volunteer for by selecting or deselecting below. Several told of having seen Dennis bruised and battered. . 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. ``I prayed for eight years that shed die in there. 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. Lois Jurgens had not one good thing to say about Dennis.

 

The case is described in detail in Barry Siegel's true-crime novel, A Death in White Bear Lake. Though there was an investigation, society and law enforcement of the mid-1960s did not accept the concept that a child in a middle-class home could be the target of abuse. Top Rated Seller. Try again later. No, Lois said, sounding definite. We would like to have done something, but it was none of our business. To him, that was close to frightening. . Lois was mean to DennisCam Brass and Donna Neely and the othersCam Brass and Donna Neely and the others understood that much. They wanted an infant under a year old, and they wanted a Catholic child. 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. He returned to the Jurgens home in time to meet the coroners investigator, Saveiro Pitera. The topic under consideration was the possible placement of Dennis Puckett with the Jurgens family.

There was a television movie broadcast in 1992 on NBC entitled A Child Lost Forever that told the story from the perspective of Jerry Sherwood (played by Beverly D'Angelo).

The volume of business coming down the pipeline doesnt allow for regrets. Get up to speed with our Essential California newsletter, sent six days a week. Lois Jurgens agreed, but seemed scared that she would not be offered another child. ``You have to understand this child is only 3 1/2 years old and virtually every day Lois Jurgens had him he was a victim of some kind of physical or mental abuse, and I dont think eight years was quite enough to compensate society for the act she committed, Robinson said. Gladys and Dorothy talked frequently to each other about what they had seen, not unaware that theyd recommended the Jurgenses to the welfare department caseworker. A Death in White Bear Lake er en sann krimbok av journalisten Barry Siegel, utgitt i 1990, som forteller om drapet p Dennis Jurgens. . the Murderpedia project stay alive. and this case
Connect with the definitive source for global and local news. When Lois found him gasping and gurgling at 9 a.m., she promptly called Dr. Peterson. 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. This was a murder. Harold told relatives he was going to be out of town the weekend of April 10 and 11, 1965. What had happened--and how--and why? I was advised that the information was being obtained, that there was an ongoing investigation, Votel said recently.

Dennis and Robert Jurgens, 1965.

Jurgens who says he still has the yellow legal pad on which he did his quick sketch was the victor. The boy would be gasping and choking for breath until she would fear that he would drown. . . At the funeral, a crown of roses rested on Dennis head. Judge Archie Gingold, in his findings at the close of the hearing, ruled that Dennis had been subjected to many incidences of cruel and severe abuse. He liked them. Strange, he thought, that she hadnt called her brother, the police lieutenant. There is in the Scott County records a description of Dennis in the foster home where he lived his first year: He is solidly built, with blue eyes and blond hair. Please try again later. Innhold. she grew up and attended school in malvern, graduating in 1947. lois attended cosmetology school in des moines, iowa. After Dennis' death, an older adopted son, Robert, was removed from the Jurgens home. He has had all his baby shots. If you have questions, please contact [emailprotected]. Donna Neely wondered, as she studied the Jurgenses now-silent house from her front window. She grew up and attended school in Malvern, graduating in 1947. There was no possibility that Dennis had died from a blow to the head. Her brother, Jerome Zerwas, was the police lieutenant of the town of White . He never wanted to say a bad word about anyone. Whod listen? In 1951, some 14 years before Dennis's death, a psychiatrist at the Mayo Clinic entered this assessment in her file: "It is . Buy It Now. "There are certainly problems," says Jurgens, one of the main architects of . They would have to find out. She always proclaimed her innocence. The foster mother thinks him a little wild one, but she means this appreciatively and derives pleasure from his antics. In the 1960s, the term child abuse had not yet been coined[citation needed][2] and no one, not even medical professionals and teachers, was required to report suspicions. Dennis had thrown up then. Lois Jurgens served eight years of her sentence and had a quiet life as a widow in Stillwater, Minnesota. Your new password must contain one or more uppercase and lowercase letters, and one or more numbers or special characters. . I thought you might like to see a memorial for Lois Germaine Josephine Zerwas Jurgens I found on Findagrave.com. They just buried the body in St.. . They had a son--a 2-year-old named Robert, whom they had adopted at birth through private channels. When she was 17 and living in a juvenile home, she said, she gave birth to a boy, Dennis, who was quickly taken from her and eventually adopted by a family named Jurgens who lived in White Bear Lake. Other testimony and evidence was more troubling. As Peterson followed Wildwood Avenue west along the lakes shore toward Gardenette Park, hed rehearsed in his mind the resuscitation techniques he knew from the rescue squad. On bare skin, the heat just flashes off. 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. C $186.13. Lois' remedy for the toddler wetting his diaper too frequently was to place a spring-action clothespin upon the end of his penis. . from United States. In our family you dont dare say much.. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate, or jump to a slide with the slide dots. The boy was dead by the time the doctor arrived at 9:35. Why werent his hands burned--wouldnt he have instinctively reached down to protect himself? Retrieved 12 February 2015. There was a deep, ulcerous lesion at the base of the penis and dark bruises on the tip. Lois Jurgens was convicted in May 1987 of murder (by abuse) in the death 22 years earlier of her adopted son, Dennis. People were not then inclined to believe that middle-class families in suburban homes killed their children. Robert was returned to the Jurgens home and, going through new channels, the couple was eventually able to adopt four school-aged siblings from Kentucky. She was cleared of second-degree . .   Donohue was not inclined to relax such controls. That isnt an issue at all. Donna Marlene Norton, Lois sister, was there that day and saw the same thing. The hole had allowed a fifth of a quart of infectious, purulent fecal material to flow into the abdominal cavity. Include gps location with grave photos where possible. He could never forget how Lois Jurgens looked at those photos stoically, showing no emotion. They would not know for two weeks whether Dennis would need skin grafts, he had told Rekdahl. Lois Jurgens was at home alone with the children much of the weekend of Dennis' death. Building a general history of abusive conduct would not be sufficient. They beat my baby to death. Lois Jurgens, 93, of Arvada, Colorado, formerly of Malvern and Glenwood, Iowa, passed away June 13, 2022. He would later learn much more, would attend seminars and organize a county task force on the problem, but it cannot be said that Gingold knew nothing in 1965 about the battered-child syndrome. I can recall seeing some, but its not very clear. He would testify that he had talked to some lady down there. No, nothing struck me, the doctor replied, except for these bruises. The suspicious death of Dennis Jurgens wasnt properly investigated for 20 years. The email does not appear to be a valid email address. On the night of his death, Lois was in an extremely bad mood due to flooding which was filling up the basement with water. She is buried at the Union Cemetery, in Maplewood, Ramsey County, Minnesota More Alchetron Topics References Lois Jurgens Wikipedia (Text) CC BY-SA Topics The Suspicions of Mr Whicher Toz (film) Steve McAnespie Problems arose within the police department as well. 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". By all accounts, Lois was obsessed with abusing Dennis, and she wanted the world to know he was a "bad child"; she made no apologies about the inappropriate way she was disciplining him. In 1987, Jurgens was convicted of third-degree murder of Dennis. "There was obviously going to be trouble, and he didnt want to get involved.". ?Tadeusz: I never remember pretty women. The coroner noted in his report that Dennis had almost zero subcutaneous fat, at the level of a person who had died of starvation. Thank you very much in advance. Try again later.

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. Harvey had been a rookie cop here in 1965, but Sherwoods story triggered no memories. Rekdahl found her judgment confirmed by the Jurgenses priest. 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. He wrote deferred in the box where he was to specify the manner of death, and put the certificate aside. Read more about this topic: Murder Of Dennis Jurgens, But Ive heard mankind abuse thee;And perhaps its rather strange,But I thought that I would choose theeFor encomium, as a change.Charles Stuart Calverley (18311884), Mily: You must remember me! The case drew widespread publicity and was the subject of a book and a made-for-television movie. Lois Jurgens served eight years of her sentence and had a quiet life as a widow in Stillwater, Minnesota. and Judith Ivey as Harold and Lois Jurgens, on the advice of their attorney, no longer would make themselves available for questioning. There was also the matter of community attitudes. To receive the type of severe burns he suffered, Dennis would have had to be exposed to steaming-hot water for a significant length of time. On the other hand, he could not bring himself to embrace the notion that Lois Jurgens was a murderer. There is some suspicion that Lois Jurgens herself set the fire, given that it occurred while Robert was hospitalized, and that Lois had been known to threaten burning down the homes of several neighbors and family members who had spoken to authorities. She talked about it all the time, in fact. No prosecution was taken at that time. During the internal autopsy, Woodburn found a quarter-inch hole in the boys small bowel. Others promised that they would do so. Years later, Peterson would say much the same to the police who were reopening the case, but he did not do so in 1965. Doug Thomson, who defended Jurgens, said his client did not get out early. Lois is survived by her husband, Floyd Jurgens; children Gary Jurgens and Caron Klein (Bruce);. The house at 2148 South Gardenette Drive, White Bear Lake, where the Jurgenses lived from 1957 to 1967. There was enough evidence to sustain child abuse and neglect charges. Lois obsessed about Dennis' weight, which according to medical records was appropriate for a child of his age and build at the point of his adoption. He could be a battered child, Votel said he reasoned, and still his death could have been caused by a fall, an accident. Statements in the police logs were riddled with discrepancies. By the second week, the investigation began to encounter obstacles. He is able to turn himself over and is extremely strong, almost ready to stand by himself. After seeing newspaper reports about the death, she was convinced that he had been beaten to death and demanded the case be re-opened. 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. 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 1960 to 1975.The trial of Lois Jurgens for the murder of 3-year-old Dennis made national . The official cause of death was peritonitis due to perforation of the small bowel wich even 1965 was treatable if he'd been brought to the hospital . Sherwood became suspicious and persuaded authorities to investigate. roger w. tufte sr. was born on march 22, 1945 in lakota, nd the son of clarence and esther (johnson. 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. Lois Jurgens headed to trial. The investigation, trial, and conviction are considered landmarks in the history of child abuse law. When Dennis Jurgens died at the age of 3 in 1965, authorities here never ruled whether his death was an accident, a homicide or the result of natural causes. She is buried at the Union Cemetery, in Maplewood, Ramsey County, Minnesota. Forever' w/ the No, she explained. The next day, Rekdahl phoned the Jurgenses family physician, Dr. Roy Peterson, who was treating Dennis. Some had seen or heard Dennis being beaten. She remembered the names, the faces--she particularly remembered Dennis. In the minute she was gone, she said, he turned on the hot water. He pulled the file on the ancient case and began leafing through the yellowing pages. During his short life, Dennis . Other than that, nothing remarkable.. This woman was no crank. It was awful. . She is buried at the Union Cemetery, in Maplewood, Ramsey County, Minnesota. Blankets covered him to the waist. He assured that it was going on, that this would be his responsibility to get the information, bring it back to me so I could complete the certificate. He was an outgoing child, as happy and adjusted as could be expected under the circumstances. Lois had a question: Would Father Riser write a letter in support of their present effort to adopt another child, a third child? Two or three couples signed written statements. You are only allowed to leave one flower per day for any given memorial. Lois Germaine Josephine Zerwas Jurgens (August 12, 1925 May 7, 2013) was an American convicted murderer[1] responsible for one of the most unusual child murder cases in history in Minnesota. Matt McMillan, White Bear Lake true crime page-turner turns 30, White Bear Press Club, June 17, 2020. Dennis died that evening of Peritonitis due to a perforation of his small bowel. Opens in a new window or tab. 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. She was right. He would wait until the police investigation could resolve the matter. Prosecutors contended little Dennis died after numerous beatings and abuse, which including making the child eat food covered with horseradish and tying him spread-eagle in his crib.

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