How could a kid fall down the steps and die? This was the first child-abuse case he had handled. The St. Paul Pioneer Press ran a cover story about the investigation on Sunday, October 12, 1986. Lois considered herself a devout Catholic and believed she was doing "God's work" by making Dennis "perfect" in her eyes. Four days after he drafted this analysis, on April 30, he and VanderWyst were pulled off the case. We will review the memorials and decide if they should be merged. 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. Dennis was now fully accepted and loved in the family, she decided. In the decade preceding the adoption of Dennis, Lois Jurgens had suffered bouts of depression and psychosis, including an extended stay at a psychiatric institution where electroconvulsive therapy was administered. She knew the agencys policy was not to place children with couples who were over 40, an age they were approaching. To the casual observer, the Jurgens' seemed to be a normal, church-going family with a perfectly maintained house and yard. The investigation, trial, and conviction are considered landmarks in the history of child abuse law. With the exception of the severe burns, his health remained quite good. In 2005, playwright Brian Vinero wrote a theatre piece, The Jurgens File, which was developed at New York City's 78th Street Theatre Lab; it told the story from the perspective of the community. Eventually, all four of the siblings from Kentucky and Robert escaped the home by running away and getting help from concerned neighbors. Toddler murdered by abusive adoptive mother - Horror History .net Many years later, at his mother's trial, by then 27-year-old Robert recounted the events of that evening, testifying that his mother had beaten Dennis extensively and had thrown him down the stairs. Top Rated Seller. Edit a memorial you manage or suggest changes to the memorial manager.
In 1951, some 14 years before Dennis's death, a psychiatrist at the Mayo Clinic entered this assessment in her file: "It is . 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. She also describes him as a clown, always laughing at himself or other people when they are around.
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. I looked down. Harold and Lois Jurgens, a middle-class, churchgoing couple in picturesque White Bear Lake, Minnesota, had adopted Dennis and five other foster children. It was highly unlikely that a fall on a flat surface could have caused this. 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. English 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. 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. 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. According to Rekdahls written log, that was the sum of what Peterson said to her. In early December, 1963, Rekdahl paid her last postplacement visit to the Jurgenses. Dennis had died of peritonitis. He is able to turn himself over and is extremely strong, almost ready to stand by himself. Harold told relatives he was going to be out of town the weekend of April 10 and 11, 1965. 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. Our kids have fallen down steps and not died. ``If she had been convicted of this in 1965 she probably would have done about three years, Thomson said. Ivey's Lois Jurgens is a woman so proud and righteous, her sense of morality . . When they cleared land for his basement, theyd found old rolls of amusement park ticketsthree rides for a nickel. Please enter your email and password to sign in. . The perforation, he judged, had occurred one to two days before the childs death.
He looks like a boy of 10. cemeteries found within kilometers of your location will be saved to your photo volunteer list. We thought it would be no use.. . The official cause of death was Peritonitis due to perforation of the small bowel. 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 thought that would be a good idea. GREAT NEWS! Jurgens and Weeks joined CBR to discuss launching Lois & Clark 2 and spoilers for its first installment. Lois is survived by her husband, Floyd Jurgens; children Gary Jurgens and Caron Klein (Bruce);. . Rekdahl found him friendly and talkative--perhaps too much so, for he often strayed widely from the subject at hand. 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. Found more than one record for entered Email, You need to confirm this account before you can sign in. Please enter your email address and we will send you an email with a reset password code. Blankets covered him to the waist. This is a carousel with slides. Lois Jurgens served eight years of her sentence and had a quiet life as a widow in Stillwater, Minnesota. The case is described in detail in Barry Siegel's true-crime novel, A Death in White Bear Lake. 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". The first few days of the police investigation by VanderWyst and Sgt. No one proposed handing the investigation to some other body--to, say, the county sheriffs office. Find many great new & used options and get the best deals for The Death of Superman By Jurgens, TPB, DC Comics 1993, New, Sealed. 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. Murder of Dennis Jurgens - Wikipedia or don't show this againI am good at figuring things out. He naps both in the forenoon and the afternoon. Share this memorial using social media sites or email. Child Murder : The Town Confronts Its Past - Los Angeles Times They had just buried the body, and that was all. He knew that parents otherwise free of major symptoms of psychotic illness could abuse children. When you judge a case, you dont do so in a vacuum, Lindholm would explain years later in an interview. We would like to have done something, but it was none of our business.
Lois Jurgens. Retrieved 12 February 2015. He wrote deferred in the box where he was to specify the manner of death, and put the certificate aside. 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. She demanded to know the truth about her son's death. Many years later, he explained why: I was quite certain it was a homicide, quite certain, Gingold said recently in an interview. No prosecution was taken at that time. He liked them. Notification of death or terminal illness, Office of Revisor of Statues . Several told of having seen Dennis bruised and battered. It looked to her as if the roses were placed there to cover up the dark blue markings. convicted of murder 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. She died aged 87 on May 7, 2013. Lois Jurgens served only eight years of her sentence, released early for good behavior, and lived a secluded life in Stillwater, Minnesota, until her death in 2013. Lois Jurgens (born 1925) is an American convicted murderer.
Judge calls murder of child 'barbaric' - UPI Archives If the doc cant figure this out, hed say, well. Please reset your password.
Dennis and Robert Jurgens, 1965. She was cleared of second-degree . Lois Jurgens headed to trial. He was born on September 29, 1941 in rural Adams, and was later baptized and confirmed at Zion Lutheran Church of rural Pickrell.He would testify that he had talked to some lady down there. Other than that, nothing remarkable.. 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. Its easy today to say, Why didnt they prosecute? but it was a different time, a different time. I thought you might like to see a memorial for Lois Germaine Josephine Zerwas Jurgens I found on Findagrave.com. Though autopsy photos showed Dennis body was covered in bruises at the time of his death, the coroner never declared it an accidentor rather, what it really was: murder. 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. In fact, it appalled and amazed her because she herself thought the baby extremely appealing, very friendly, with very beautiful blue eyes and a very nice smile. It was hard to believe that the Jurgenses had noticed nothing. 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. 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. Petersburg, ILLois A. Jurgens (92) of Petersburg passed away September 25, 2019. . The rows of neatly kept houses, the modern police station and the shopping strips all reflect a level of modest comfort rather than affluence. Strange, he thought, that she hadnt called her brother, the police lieutenant.
The defense picked the doctor, and set parameters on what questions he could ask. Nor had his arrival two hours before. The prosecutor had a different attitude back then, Votel said recently. 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 three and one-half years. The policeman did not, so they carried the body to the coroners van. The night Dennis died, Robert was riding his trike in the basement, and all the sudden he heard Dennis screaming. From the bench, he said he hoped that they could find something to explain the mistreatment of Dennis. Certain neighbors and family members knew there were problems with Lois' treatment of Dennis but did nothing to prevent it. If you throw up, you are going to eat it. In the minute she was gone, she said, he turned on the hot water. They had shocked James Nelson. She was predeceased by : her parents, Leslie Stowell and Margaret Stowell. Lois A. Jurgens (92) of Petersburg passed away September 25, 2019. He returned to the Jurgens home in time to meet the coroners investigator, Saveiro Pitera. 1 Bakgrunn; 2 Innhold; . They wanted to do something, but felt it was none of their business. 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. Murder of Dennis Jurgens Wiki & Bio - everipedia.org Family and friends are welcome to leave their condolences on this memorial page and share them with the family. During his short life, Dennis . He couldnt comprehend anyone torturing a kid, Peterson would explain many years later. Rekdahl was a little concerned, since the accident actually had happened seven days before the phone call, but her main inclination was to soothe Lois Jurgens. Do I think this happened just here, just this one? Maybe we can get more evidence from there. A Death in White Bear Lake: Notorious crime in city history marks 50 The specter of homicide hovered, but would not land in this hearing room in 1965. The Lineup's Most Disturbing True Crime Bestsellers I was advised that the information was being obtained, that there was an ongoing investigation, Votel said recently. View Obituary & Service Information . Harold and Lois Jurgens, on the advice of their attorney, no longer would make themselves available for questioning. He had one great friend, his world's Lois, but she died and now he sees another version of her still alive and pregnant. 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. The doctor did not want to be there. Sadly, the mother-son reunion was not meant to be; Jerry's child had died just before his fourth birthday. Youve got to worry about tomorrow. the Murderpedia project stay alive. The victim We didnt believe it was possible in nice, middle-class suburban families.. . There was a large, swollen scrape on the forehead. I had doubts, and I didnt like Lois, but I felt I couldnt react personally like that, she said. A system error has occurred. Murderpedia has thousands of hours of work behind it. This drove Lois further into madness, as she felt she needed children to complete the "perfect picture" of her life. Homicide was not the issue at the hearing. To use this feature, use a newer browser. He found bruises running the length of the body--50 to 100 of them, he would say later, the exact number hard to judge because many were overlapped. VanderWyst was not close social friends with the Jurgenses, but he knew them well enough to greet them on the street. . Remove advertising from a memorial by sponsoring it for just $5. They just werent going to get any damaging information from him. 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. They had seen Lois yank Dennis violently by the ears. At 2 p.m. on that Palm Sunday, Dr. Robert Woodburn, the coroners chief pathologist, conducted the autopsy. Dennis Craig Jurgens - Wikipedia Article | Pound Pup Legacy Try again later. No. There was a time when White Bear Lake was an exclusive watering hole for people from Chicago as well as the Twin Cities. based on information from your browser. Murder of Dennis Jurgens - After The Murder
Allen's Minties Vegan, Icon Golf Cart Dealer Near Me, San Ramon Preschool Programs, Articles L