Rekdahl thought Lois Jurgens, then almost 37, to be a rather attractive woman, although she was short and a trifle on the chubby side. Judge Gingold would not back down either. Several relatives now told the investigators they would not sign statements. Rekdahl found him friendly and talkative--perhaps too much so, for he often strayed widely from the subject at hand. The prosecutor wasnt getting help from the White Bear Lake police--her brother was on the force. HH at the best online prices at eBay! My God, he thought, looking at the body. Harold and Lois Jurgens, a middle-class, churchgoing couple in picturesque White Bear Lake, Minnesota, had adopted Dennis and five other foster children. She also describes him as a clown, always laughing at himself or other people when they are around. Lois Jurgens - Alchetron, The Free Social Encyclopedia

Child Murder : The Town Confronts Its Past - Los Angeles Times VanderWyst climbed into his patrol car and backed down the Jurgens driveway at 11:48 A.M. VanderWysts departure did not go unnoticed. Lois Jurgens Obituary (2019) - Petersburg, IL - Legacy.com She was diagnosed as having mixed psychoneurosis and also unable to conceive a child with Harold. In early December, 1963, Rekdahl paid her last postplacement visit to the Jurgenses. 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. He felt that she needed psychiatric help very badly and, without it, might become psychotic. As the new adopted children were older, there were many first-hand histories (recounted to the media during the 1987 trial of Lois Jurgens) describing the severe abuse they suffered at their adoptive mother's hands. No animated GIFs, photos with additional graphics (borders, embellishments. They wanted to do something, but felt it was none of their business. Donna Marlene Norton, Lois sister, was there that day and saw the same thing. You dont know what to think, Donna Marlene said. That doctor (Peterson) also presented problems--he was a typical doctor, couldnt believe his patient was killed.. There are no volunteers for this cemetery. 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. Korolchuk would never get the chance to answer such questions. Lois Jurgens, the sadistic baby torturer and killer! - Amino Remove advertising from a memorial by sponsoring it for just $5. Her features were still attractive, although the years had added a certain hardness and fleshiness. The case drew widespread publicity and was the subject of a book and a made-for-television movie. they figured. During his short life, Dennis . Blankets covered him to the waist. I did my best.. The situation had made him uncomfortable, so uncomfortable that he hadnt pulled down the blankets or examined the body further. The Jurgenses are not being attacked anywhere along the line. 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. Last week, Judge David Marsden sentenced. or don't show this againI am good at figuring things out. This post is sponsored by Open Road Media. For memorials with more than one photo, additional photos will appear here or on the photos tab. 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. This was a murder. 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.

One of Lois Jurgens responses was to call Father Riser, the priest who had so warmly recommended them to the county welfare worker. It is not known specifically what caused the fatal blow, though the injury was later found to have been, beyond a reasonable doubt, inflicted by Lois Jurgens owing to evidence of her constant physical abuse. Sorry! Lois Jurgens at the time that she had custody of Dennis. Woman Who Killed Adopted Son Released After Eight Years in Prison A Mrs. Hansen called to report a lost wallet, which resulted in an officers checking a phone booth at Fourth and Washington streets, next to the Avalon Jewelers. When he wouldnt have a bowel movement, she said, she pulled the feces from his rectum with her hands. You can second-guess yourself until you get an ulcer, Lindholm said recently. Much of the testimony related to Dennis, not Robert. There was a time when White Bear Lake was an exclusive watering hole for people from Chicago as well as the Twin Cities. The defense picked the doctor, and set parameters on what questions he could ask. How in the heck could that happen? Please try again later. A jury deliberated about five hours Friday before finding Lois Jurgens, 61, of Stillwater, Minn., guilty of third-degree murder, or an unintentional killing. It was not his job to do anything other than pronounce the boy dead. On the stand, the Jurgenses had refused to answer questions about Dennis. She knew the agencys policy was not to place children with couples who were over 40, an age they were approaching. Homicide was not the issue at the hearing. She talked about it all the time, in fact. Rekdahl was developing real doubts about this placement, but the Jurgenses decided to go see Dennis that afternoon. It is one of a few crimes that FBI agent Kenneth Lanning argues can legitimately be described as "ritual abuse". This account already exists, but the email address still needs to be confirmed. Instead, Dorothy Engfer began telling others in the neighborhood what shed seen. 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.

The afflicted look and act very sick for a matter of hours, sometimes days. Eventually Lois Jurgens was arraigned, and her identity released by the media. . This sort of thing happened back then.. What had happened--and how--and why? 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. The next day, Rekdahl phoned the Jurgenses family physician, Dr. Roy Peterson, who was treating Dennis. She died aged 87 on May 7, 2013. He knew Peterson as a man always willing to help others, as a doctor very much for his patients. 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. At first Bob Brass thought the squad car was Loiss brothers, but then they saw VanderWyst in the driveway. 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. 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. While visiting one Thanksgiving, she saw Lois force-feed Dennis, in a highchair, by shoving a fork full of food into his mouth. Harold and Lois Jurgensa middle-class, churchgoing couple who had been unable to have children of their ownhad adopted Sherwoods son, Dennis, in 1962. To all appearances, they were a normal midwestern family, but Jerry suspected that something sinister had happened in the Jurgens household. True Crime Coven hausoftruecrime: Woman Tortures Adoptive Son To He wrote deferred in the box where he was to specify the manner of death, and put the certificate aside. Initial placement was with a licensed, unrelated foster family, but Robert was then moved to his paternal grandparents at his parents' request. Dennis died that evening of Peritonitis due to a perforation of his small bowel. The suspicious death of Dennis Jurgens wasnt properly investigated for 20 years. On January 13, 2000, she was initially suspected of poisoning her husband, Harold. Oops, something didn't work. Lois' remedy for the toddler wetting his diaper too frequently was to place a spring-action clothespin upon the end of his penis. Youve got to worry about tomorrow. Donna Neely wondered, as she studied the Jurgenses now-silent house from her front window. 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. The body was severely undernourished, nearly emaciated. My deputy reassured me from time to time. 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. . Its easy today to say, Why didnt they prosecute? but it was a different time, a different time. Use Escape keyboard button or the Close button to close the carousel. A Death in White Bear Lake: Notorious crime in city history marks 50 Years later, the attorney representing Roberts interests at the 1965 custody hearing would still remember those photos. They owed $6,000 on the house and $930 on the truck. She always proclaimed her innocence. VanderWyst drove the mile to his house in silence, the young boy sitting beside him. Then he began to look terrible--his face so old, like a little old man. . The boy would be gasping and choking for breath until she would fear that he would drown. Harold Jurgens died in 2000; at the time of his death, there was suspicion that Lois had poisoned him, but this was investigated and ruled out. They also caught crappies and smallmouth bass and northern pike, but the sunfish were the best. This story changed a lot about the Superman line of booksincluding introducing iconic '90s heroes like Superboy and Steeland DC Comics writ large. Please ensure you have given Find a Grave permission to access your location in your browser settings. In the early 1980s, Jerry Sherwood went looking for the newborn son she gave up for adoption 20 years prior. From their patio, they could see huge bass jumping in the water. . I tried to assure her that these things happen in any family.. A few wondered how the Jurgenses had ever been allowed to adopt children. . When Dennis cried, Lois would force his head under the cold water faucet at the kitchen sink. Donohue, their attorney, had allowed Lois before the hearing to be examined by a psychiatrist only under the strictest conditions. It just made me sick. Notes [ edit] ^ "ANGELIZD's Place - Child Abuse Pages - Dennis Craig Jurgens". To the casual observer, the Jurgens seemed to be a normal, church-going family with a perfectly maintained house and yard. During her several postplacement visits to the Jurgens home in the following, probationary year, Rekdahl increasingly came to judge the placement a success. . 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. A system error has occurred. Lois Jurgens | Detailed Pedia 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. .. Lois Jurgens Obituary Visitation Funeral Information 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. We are sad to announce that on September 25, 2019, at the age of 92, Lois Jurgens (Petersburg, Illinois) passed away. In 1992 A made-for-TV movie was made based on both Jerry's story and this case called, ' A Child Lost Forever ' w/ the remarkable Beverly D'Angelo as Jerry Sherwood and Judith Ivey as Lois Jurgens. She believed that Lois Jurgens was accepting and embracing Dennis, and he seemed healthy and adjusted. Her brother, Jerome Zerwas, was the police lieutenant of the town of White Bear Lake, Minnesota, where she lived at the time. Jurgens was one of 16 children. The trial of Lois Jurgens for the murder of 3-year-old Dennis made national .

I would question him. Superman Writer Confirms Which Villains Almost Killed the - ScreenRant Maybe we can get more evidence from there. In spite of extensive physical evidence pointing towards severe . Dan Jurgens Returns to Death of Superman | DC A parade of neighbors and relatives called to the stand by the Jurgenses attorney, Edward Donohue, all denied seeing any evidence of abuse. Lois Jurgens Obituary - Visitation & Funeral Information We came very close to trying to do something. Paul Lindholm, the assistant county attorney, considered it. Sadly, the mother-son reunion was not meant to be; Jerry's child had died just before his fourth birthday. 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. new content, we kindly appreciate any donation you can give to help Lois Jurgens (born 1925) is an American convicted murderer. Murder Shelf Book Club: Ep 50 A Death in White Bear Lake by Barry ``May God strike her dead, thats what I have to say to Lois Jurgens, Jerry Sherwood said. [citation needed][3]. 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.

 

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. Learn about how to make the most of a memorial. In 1992 A made-for-TV movie was made based on both Jerry's story and this case called, ' A Child Lost Forever ' w/ the remarkable Beverly D'Angelo as Jerry Sherwood and Judith Ivey as Lois Jurgens. 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. Lois Jurgens was disappointed about Dennis age. The victim Woman Tortures Adoptive Son To Death Lois Jurgens (40) was variously described as both short-tempered and vindictive by her neighbours and others who encountered her in the town of White Bear Lake, Minnesota, and it was well known that she experienced bouts of severe depression and psychosis. Nbc Night at the Movies a Child Lost Forever - Variety To perforate a bowel, the doctors agreed, there had to be severe, concentrated trauma applied to the abdomen--the sort of injury that could be expected in a high-speed automobile accident. There were at least a dozen bruises on the face alone, some large and others small. 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. With the advent of highways, White Bear Lake has become a suburb of St. Paul, about 12 miles to the south. But how did such an infection occur in the first place? Lois Jurgens served eight years of her sentence and had a quiet life as a widow in Stillwater, Minnesota. He couldnt push Votel on this.

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