Villains also abound, but they remain less noticed. They were informed they would not be allowed to foster or adopt any additional children. And her release from the states prison for women in Shakopee only angered the biological mother whose search for her child led to the discovery of the crime. That will make you swallow, Lois had said. 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. 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. Thank you for fulfilling this photo request. last 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. . Throughout the years of frequent abuse, it has been reported that while Harold Jurgens made little effort to curb his wife's abuse of young Dennis, he personally never mistreated the boy. Death 7 May 2013 (aged 87) . She was predeceased by : her parents, Leslie Stowell and Margaret Stowell. He was shaken. Pitera stared at the body. There was no possibility that Dennis had died from a blow to the head. Lois A. Jurgens (92) of Petersburg passed away September 25, 2019. I tried to assure her that these things happen in any family.. Learn how and when to remove this template message, "ANGELIZD's Place - Child Abuse Pages - Dennis Craig Jurgens", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Lois_Jurgens&oldid=1133446799, Articles lacking in-text citations from December 2022, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0, This page was last edited on 13 January 2023, at 21:13. Then there were the neighbors and relatives who had seen incidents and evidence of abuse. I think my son is dying, Harold Jurgens had told the doctor on the phone that morning. Peter Korolchuk yielded a good deal of information. Lois Jurgens (at left) appeared with her attorney Doug Thomson in Ramsey County Courthouse Monday May 4, 1987. 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. She died aged 87 on May 7, 2013. Lois Jurgens released after serving eight years, The Winona Daily News, June, 7, 1995. 0 cemeteries found in Maplewood, Ramsey County, Minnesota, USA. Is it quite customary to see a little boy with so many bruises, he was asked. At this time there are a number of persons yet to be contacted who supposedly have information and are relatives of the family, Korolchuk wrote on Thursday, April 15, four days after the death. One might get a first impression that Lois was cold and indifferent, but to Rekdahl, this seemed a defense for insecurities. Other testimony and evidence was more troubling. Harold's testimony in 1965 showed he was in Wisconsin from the evening of Friday, April 9, until 9 or 9:30 p.m. on Saturday, April 10. Your new password must contain one or more uppercase and lowercase letters, and one or more numbers or special characters. In the minute she was gone, she said, he turned on the hot water. 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. . The Jurgenses were delighted. Dennis nose was blood-red--VanderWyst thought it looked as if you just wiped it once more youd probably take the rest of the skin away. The way Lindholm figured it, instead of prosecuting Lois Jurgens for murder, lets move to take Robert away. Man held is death of retarded foster child, Minneapolis Star, May 21, 1971. She had talked about this with the whole family, but not with the authorities.
In early December, 1963, Rekdahl paid her last postplacement visit to the Jurgenses. She died aged 87 on May 7, 2013. On this Wikipedia the language links are at the top of the page across from the article title. 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. It was full of redwood and log railings, and the lawn and trees ran almost to the waters edge, a good hundred feet of lake frontage in all. On the stand, the Jurgenses had refused to answer questions about Dennis. Harold (Harry) Jurgens, 76 of Filley passed away at Gold Crest Retirement Center in Adams on January 7, 2018. Doug Thomson, who defended Jurgens, said his client did not get out early.
But how did such an infection occur in the first place? She was sentenced to a maximum of 25 years in prison and was paroled in 1995. In the 1960s, the term child abuse had not yet been coined and no one, not even medical professionals and teachers, was required to report suspicions. Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information, Desperate mountain residents trapped by snow beg for help; We are coming, sheriff says, Hidden, illegal casinos are booming in L.A., with organized crime reaping big profits, Look up: The 32 most spectacular ceilings in Los Angeles, This fabled orchid breeder loves to chat just not about Trader Joes orchids, Elliott: Kings use their heads over hearts in trading Jonathan Quick, 19 cafes that make L.A. a world-class coffee destination, Newsom, IRS give Californians until October to file tax returns, 12 reasons why Sycamore Avenue is L.A.s coolest new hangout, Best coffee city in the world? or don't show this againI am good at figuring things out. She died aged 87 on May 7, 2013. No prosecution was taken at that time. After all, Dorothy Engfer more than once had seen Lois smack Dennis so hard the blood flowed from his nose, and Gladys DeMars had watched Dennis over two summers wither from a husky, jolly baby to a wan little boy covered with bruises and black eyes and split lips. 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. Her secret was revealed after Sherwood began searching for the son she gave up for adoption and learned in 1983 that he had died of a bowel injury. The suspicious death of Dennis Jurgens wasnt properly investigated for 20 years. No, she explained. . Their flight, coupled with the lingering suspicions surrounding Dennis' death, resulted in the termination of Lois and Harold Jurgens' parental rights. They had a son--a 2-year-old named Robert, whom they had adopted at birth through private channels. Aside from the incident when Dennis was hospitalized with burns on his genitals, there were many other incidents of abuse that fell under the category of sexual sadism. convicted of murder This treatment, along with the exertion as he struggled, sickened Dennis to the point of vomiting, which further enraged Jurgens, who then forced him to eat his vomit. All photos appear on this tab and here you can update the sort order of photos on memorials you manage.
Though the name of the adoptive family was not given, many suspected that the story was about Lois Jurgens. The only witness to Lois's final abuse of Dennis was Robert, who was 5 years old at the time. Robert would remain in county custody for the time being. You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times. They were of varying colors--black and blue, yellowish green, reddish--which meant that some were fresh, some old. Lois Jurgens at the time that she had custody of Dennis. He was born on September 29, 1941 in rural Adams, and was later baptized and confirmed at Zion Lutheran Church of rural Pickrell. . 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. Peterson did not give us any conclusive answers about the condition of Dennis or about his death, VanderWyst wrote in his report for that night. . Are you adding a grave photo that will fulfill this request? We didnt believe it was possible in nice, middle-class suburban families.. He was the son of teenage Jerry Sherwood (who was herself a ward of the state) and her teenage boyfriend. 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. Peterson departed soon after. Her brother, Jerome Zerwas, was the police lieutenant of the town of White . No prosecution was taken at that time. They beat my baby to death, Sherwood told Buzz Harvey. He liked them. Saint Paul, Ramsey County, Minnesota, USA. In 1987, testifying 22 years later, Peterson was questioned again about the bruises. Soon after, Jerry Puckett dropped her plan to convert--but by then Dennis was already registered as Catholic on the adoption rolls. . She grew up and attended school in Malvern, graduating in 1947. Petersburg, ILLois A. Jurgens (92) of Petersburg passed away September 25, 2019. Share this memorial using social media sites or email. She thought the postplacement period had been quite successful. VanderWyst, visiting him after the autopsy the night of Dennis death, told the family physician what Woodburn had found. . Lois had grown up in an impoverished family of sixteen siblings and used her marriage to the middle-class Harold Jurgens as a means to improve her social standing. Four days after he drafted this analysis, on April 30, he and VanderWyst were pulled off the case. Dennis had thrown up then. Lois had a question: Would Father Riser write a letter in support of their present effort to adopt another child, a third child? Try again. How could a kid fall down the steps and die? 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. With the advent of highways, White Bear Lake has become a suburb of St. Paul, about 12 miles to the south. They felt sad, and also naggingly disturbed. 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. HH at the best online prices at eBay! Heroes abound now in White Bear Lake, visible and proud of their roles in unraveling the mystery of Dennis death. I remember very clearly the pathologist coming in and saying it had to be a blow, not a fall, but I think the prosecutor felt he couldnt prove it, and I was on the same wavelength as the prosecutor. . He was frequently starved, to rid him of "sloppy fat," as Lois called it (she also called him "Sloppy Fat" as a nickname). In addition, Lois took to tying Dennis' limbs to the bedposts to keep him in bed and tied him to the toilet to force a bowel movement. GREAT NEWS! By the second week, the investigation began to encounter obstacles. Lois Jurgens agreed, but seemed scared that she would not be offered another child. called, 'A Child Lost Though the specific cause of that fatal blow is not known, it is known that it was Lois who had given it to Dennis. What was to be the core of the case against Lois Jurgens 22 years later essentially came out then, albeit in a less detailed, more muted fashion. He never wanted to say a bad word about anyone. The doctors eyes slid to a corner of the room. Harold Jurgens suggested that perhaps they should not go forward with the adoption of Dennis, but Lois refused out of concern that it would discourage the authorities from allowing them to adopt further children. This was the situation that Gerane Rekdahl, a Ramsey County welfare case worker, found when she visited the Jurgens home on March 1, 1962. She was 61 when she went to prison and served eight years before being paroled.. Dennis was now fully accepted and loved in the family, she decided. Lois Jurgens, it turns out, was from the start a poor parental bet. they figured.
| Harold Jurgens, an electrical foreman, made $10,000 in 1962, and this placed his family a cut above many of their friends and neighbors. Rekdahl was developing real doubts about this placement, but the Jurgenses decided to go see Dennis that afternoon. Jurgens was one of 16 children. They attempted to mind their own business and feared retribution from Lois, who was not above threatening the lives of her family members. The Jurgenses are not being attacked anywhere along the line.
remarkable Beverly D'Angelo as Jerry Sherwood
My deputy reassured me from time to time.
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 house at 2148 South Gardenette Drive, White Bear Lake, where the Jurgenses lived from 1957 to 1967. A family friend, Barbara Venney, saw the bruises through the flowers. As he viewed the body, he thought: This boy has been murdered. Dennis struggled with such training and was forced to pray and recite his Rosary kneeling on a broomstick for extended periods, until he did it correctly. Please ensure you have given Find a Grave permission to access your location in your browser settings. +C $33.27 shipping estimate. of Lois Jurgens are considered landmarks in the history of He feared finding himself alone. Rekdahl found him friendly and talkative--perhaps too much so, for he often strayed widely from the subject at hand. I just examined him to see that he was in fact dead. Adopted just after his first birthday, Dennis suffered years of abuse at the hands of his adoptive mother, Lois Jurgens. She died aged 87 on May 7, 2013. 
in the third degree and sent to prison. The victim
DEATH OF SUPERMAN 30TH ANNIVERARY SPECIAL- 1:100 JURGENS & BREEDING FOIL VARIANT. If you notice a problem with the translation, please send a message to [emailprotected] and include a link to the page and details about the problem. 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. Whod listen?
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. And a Dr. Peterson called at 10:09 a.m. to report a DOA--dead on arrival--at 2148 Gardenette Drive. He pulled the file on the ancient case and began leafing through the yellowing pages. But neither the judge nor anyone else was willing to face the implications of such findings. The Jurgenses had wanted a younger child and Dennis was almost a year old. With Lois's mental health deteriorating, a hearing explores the question, should Lois and Harold Jurgens keep custody of their 5 year old adopted son, Robert after the death of this brother, Dennis. I did my best.. Most simply remain hidden. 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. To this end, she forced religious training on her young sons; reports had young Robert flawlessly reciting the Rosary at 2. She knew that Lois came from a large, poor, Catholic family of 16 children, a family that at times survived on welfare. At that time, the battered-child syndrome was just beginning to be recognized. Failed to report flower. Retrieved 12 February 2015. ``She did a lot more than she should have.. He would wait until the police investigation could resolve the matter. Jurgens who says he still has the yellow legal pad on which he did his quick sketch was the victor. Rekdahl thought Lois Jurgens, then almost 37, to be a rather attractive woman, although she was short and a trifle on the chubby side. DC artist Dan Jurgens shares an image of an unused Electric Blue Superman design from 1996, reminiscing about what might have been. The victim You see, Gingold said, I didnt have to go that far. There were at least a dozen bruises on the face alone, some large and others small. She was the adoptive mother of six children in the 1960s and 1970s, and brutally abused them all, killing one of them, 3-year-old Dennis Jurgens, in 1965. Three-year-old Dennis Craig (Puckett) Jurgens was tortured to death in the wee hours of April 11th, 1965. Votel went through living hell, one local judge said. charles edward ed holland memorial park funeral homes and cemeteries. Why werent his hands burned--wouldnt he have instinctively reached down to protect himself? You may not upload any more photos to this memorial, This photo was not uploaded because this memorial already has 20 photos, This photo was not uploaded because you have already uploaded 5 photos to this memorial, This photo was not uploaded because this memorial already has 30 photos, This photo was not uploaded because you have already uploaded 15 photos to this memorial. From the bench, he said he hoped that they could find something to explain the mistreatment of Dennis. Innhold. According to reports from family members who eventually testified at the murder trial, Dennis turned purple from being force-fed the bitter and spicy horseradish and also having his oxygen supply cut off when Jurgens covered his mouth and nose. | | Mrs. While visiting one Thanksgiving, she saw Lois force-feed Dennis, in a highchair, by shoving a fork full of food into his mouth. 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. In fact, they remain strangely forgotten. The autopsy report mentioned bruises head to toe. It was as if the authorities had found a way to try Lois Jurgens for Dennis death without calling it a murder. She said she had set Dennis in the sink to wash him after he had wet his diaper, then had gone into another room to get a clean diaper. That will require a juvenile hearing on neglect. Lets not build up some fiction that now we have done everything we should do.. The case drew widespread publicity and was the subject of a book and a made-for-television movie.
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