Jurgens was one of 16 children. She thought Dennis was sloppy fat. This particularly surprised Rekdahl. Harold and Lois Jurgensa middle-class, churchgoing couple who had been unable to have children of their ownhad adopted Sherwoods son, Dennis, in 1962. Dennis lay in the ground at St. Marys Cemetery, no name given to his death.

 

Published Jan 18, 2023. She was born February 25, 1927 to Leslie and Margaret Stowell in Cass County IL. Father Riser told her he definitely would. Her features were still attractive, although the years had added a certain hardness and fleshiness. 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. She demanded to know the truth about her son's death. Ep 50-52 A Death in White Bear Lake by Barry Siegel- Sources, Photos 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 . There is 1 volunteer for this cemetery. This month is the 30th anniversary of the release of "A Death in White Bear Lake," a book by then-Los Angeles Times reporter Barry Siegel. Lois Jurgens was disappointed about Dennis age. This account already exists, but the email address still needs to be confirmed. When he arrived at the Jurgens home, though, hed realized all that was pointless. She talked about it all the time, in fact. Lois Jurgens - Alchetron, The Free Social Encyclopedia 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. Robert was leaving things alone at the age of 1 year. Within months of Dennis' arrival, he was rushed to the hospital with first and second-degree burns on his genitalia, which were reported and accepted as accidental. 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. It was hard to believe that the Jurgenses had noticed nothing. In the early 1980s, Jerry Sherwood went looking for the newborn son she gave up for adoption 20 years prior. undefined Notes ^ http://www.angelizdsplace.com/ http://www.angelizdsplace.com/child43.htm. Lois considered herself a devout Catholic and believed she was doing "God's work" by making Dennis "perfect" in her eyes. 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. 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. She had a pathological need for control over her environment and obsessively cleaned and tended to her home and garden, desperate to appear the picture of the perfect housewife. Lois' remedy for the toddler wetting his diaper too frequently was to place a spring-action clothespin upon the end of his penis. Still it is fair to say that the story Lois Jurgens told required a considerable imagination to embrace. ``May God strike her dead, thats what I have to say to Lois Jurgens, Jerry Sherwood said. No, she explained. A woman was convicted Friday of third-degree murder in If you throw up, you are going to eat it. The word homicide remained unspoken. Resend Activation Email. She died aged 87 on May 7, 2013.

After Dennis' death, an older adopted son, Robert, was removed from the Jurgens home. Lois Lane (Phyllis Coates). Peterson departed soon after. . Several relatives now told the investigators they would not sign statements. . Try again later. Votel went through living hell, one local judge said. She is buried at the Union Cemetery, in Maplewood, Ramsey County, Minnesota. Sherwood's tenacity, along with the tragedy of her personal loss, kept the story in the public eye. We didnt believe it was possible in nice, middle-class suburban families.. child abuse law.

roger w. tufte sr. was born on march 22, 1945 in lakota, nd the son of clarence and esther (johnson. Homicide was not the issue at the hearing. Deferred, Votel had written. With the exception of the severe burns, his health remained quite good. Lois Jurgens headed to trial.
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 told the grand jury last year. 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. Whod listen? After The Murder. At that time, the battered-child syndrome was just beginning to be recognized. My biggest feeling was that it was a sad situation and I wanted to get out of there as soon as I could. Edit a memorial you manage or suggest changes to the memorial manager. None of us knew about child abuse. The boys mouth was getting full, he wasnt swallowing, so Lois put horseradish on the fork. 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]. Leave a sympathy message to the family in the guestbook on this memorial page of Lois Jean (Jones) Jurgens to show support. So it was that Dennis Jurgens death resulted not in a murder prosecution but, rather, in a juvenile court hearing over custody of his brother, Robert. Murder of Dennis Craig Jurgens | Mystery & Crime AminoLois Jurgens Obituary Visitation Funeral Information In 1965, Votel said, he thought this was certainly a battered-child case, but the reports indicated that the child had fallen down some stairs. Jurgens was one of 16 children. His intensely angry adoptive mother, Lois Jurgens, know for her short, volatile temper, murdered him. They covered the face, the head, the arms. Dennis had died of peritonitis. Lois attended cosmetology school in Des Moines, Iowa. For that reason, Dennis, a week after his birth, was baptized a Catholic. At the hearing a month later, Peterson was asked whether he saw anything unusual as he viewed the body in the crib. Lois Jurgens was at home alone with the children much of the weekend of Dennis' death. The body was severely undernourished, nearly emaciated. Lois Jurgens, it turns out, was from the start a poor parental bet. To this end, she forced religious training on her young sons; reports had young Robert flawlessly reciting the Rosary at 2. There was a time when White Bear Lake was an exclusive watering hole for people from Chicago as well as the Twin Cities. This is the story of a small boys murder that went undeclared and unprosecuted for 22 years in a community full of people who knew what had happened. Oops, something didn't work. There he had been loved and well cared for by an experienced foster mother. Sherwood also told D'Angelo that Dana Ivey's interpretation of Lois Jurgens is eerily accurate. The topic under consideration was the possible placement of Dennis Puckett with the Jurgens family. Harvey had been a rookie cop here in 1965, but Sherwoods story triggered no memories. updates He looks like a boy of 10. Basically, she thought that Lois was content and happy, especially with Robert. There was enough evidence to sustain child abuse and neglect charges. When Dennis cried, Lois would force his head under the cold water faucet at the kitchen sink. On the stand, the Jurgenses had refused to answer questions about Dennis. Mornings there were wonderful, but the dusk was the doctors favorite time, for the sun set each evening over the water and trees, falling behind Manitou Island, leaving behind a fiery orange sky. He was the son of teenage Jerry Sherwood (who was herself a ward of the state) and her teenage boyfriend. About: Lois Jurgens This was a murder. Search above to list available cemeteries. [citation needed], Dennis Jurgens was born Dennis Craig Puckett in Sauk Centre, Minnesota. The doctor did not want to be there. You couldnt get action from the prosecutor and police. Quickly see who the memorial is for and when they lived and died and where they are buried.

A Death in White Bear Lake: The Child Abuse Case That Led to Murder The just announced 80-page Death of Superman 30 th Anniversary Special will find Superman, his friends and his family revisiting his death, while dealing with a destructive new threat known as Doombreaker. He could be a battered child, Votel said he reasoned, and still his death could have been caused by a fall, an accident. None of this, however, was what had killed Dennis. . 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. Judge calls murder of child 'barbaric' - UPI Archives 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. need your help for this. Share this memorial using social media sites or email. DENNIS JURGENS WAS ONLY 3-YEARS-0LD WHEN HIS LIFE ENDED AT THE CRUEL HANDS OF HIS MOTHER LOIS JURGENS AND SHE WOULD HAVE GOT AWAY WITH IT, BUT HIS BIOLOGICAL MOTHER JERRY SHERWOOD STARTED. 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. 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." He was shaken. 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 Jean (Jones) Jurgens Obituary (2022) | Arvada, Colorado 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. No one here is being punitive, Gingold told the Jurgenses and their attorney from the bench. 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! No prosecution was taken at that time. Lois Jurgens - en-academic.com In early December, 1963, Rekdahl paid her last postplacement visit to the Jurgenses. VanderWyst drove the mile to his house in silence, the young boy sitting beside him. 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. At the funeral, a crown of roses rested on Dennis head. . Nine months earlier, on Dec. 6, 1961, Dennis Craig Puckett, 8 1/2 pounds, had been born at St. Michaels Hospital in Sauk Centre, in nearby Scott County. The question of Dennis Jurgens death next fell to the Ramsey County attorneys office. Saint Paul, Ramsey County, Minnesota, USA. She knew that Lois came from a large, poor, Catholic family of 16 children, a family that at times survived on welfare. Korolchuk wondered: Why wasnt a doctor called to the home in the day before Dennis died, when he must have been extremely and obviously ill? The term is relative. This sort of thing happened back then.. We have many 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. There were many fateful moments in Dennis brief life, moments in which his destiny could have been changed.

At first Bob Brass thought the squad car was Loiss brothers, but then they saw VanderWyst in the driveway. Camille Brass knew the blue convertible belonged to Dr. Peterson. You can customize the cemeteries you volunteer for by selecting or deselecting below. She thought they had a lovely home. charles edward ed holland memorial park funeral homes and cemeteries. so its not unusual.. Minnesota Woman Found Guilty of Killing Adopted Son in 1965 I was willing to wait. Votel was still waiting about two years later, when he retired from office. It would be no use. 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. En dd i White Bear Lake - A Death in White Bear Lake In Broad Daylight The suspicious death of Dennis Jurgens wasnt properly investigated for 20 years. ``She did a lot more than she should have.. Rekdahl, who graduated from St. Pauls Hamline University in 1957 with a bachelors degree in social work, had been in adoption services for less than one year. Votel could not take the first step. I looked down. "There was obviously going to be trouble, and he didnt want to get involved.". She died aged 87 on May 7, 2013. On January 13, 2000, she was initially suspected of poisoning her husband, Harold. . They would have to find out. Blankets covered him to the waist.

 

A dead boy, though, was something else. 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. It was awful. Pitera would take photos later that day. Lois Germaine Josephine Zerwas Jurgens was an American convicted murderer. This post is sponsored by Open Road Media. Our kids have fallen down steps and not died. 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. Lois Jurgens served eight years of her sentence and had a quiet life as a widow in Stillwater, Minnesota. last [citation needed][3]. Last week, Judge David Marsden sentenced. 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. He liked them. 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. Why was there no disposition of this case? He was frequently starved, to rid him of "sloppy fat," as Lois called it (she also called him "Sloppy Fat" as a nickname). The investigation, trial, and 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. 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. . 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. Late in August, Lois had called Rekdahl to report the matter. Add to your scrapbook. She did not want this to influence their decision, but in all truthfulness, that was the reality. In the minute she was gone, she said, he turned on the hot water. White Bear Lake, Minnesota. ANGELIZD's Place - Child Abuse Pages - Dennis Craig Jurgens 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 was born February 25, 1927 to Leslie and Margaret Stowell in Cass County Il. Her brother, Jerome Zerwas, was the police lieutenant of the town of White Bear Lake, Minnesota, where she lived at the time.
D'Angelo Puts Her Heart Into Nbc'S 'A Child Lost Forever' There was obviously going to be trouble, and he didnt want to get involved. Many years later, asked in court how this placement was approved, Rekdahl--by then a psychotherapist and psychiatric social worker in Napa, Calif., remarried and using the name Gerane Wharton-Park--said: We finally had really no exacting reasons why we could turn this family down. . Judge Gingold would not back down either. Dennis Craig Jurgens was an American 3-year-old boy who was murdered in White Bear Lake, Minnesota in April 1965. During his short life, Dennis . Fittingly for a major anniversary like . The autopsy report mentioned bruises head to toe. Villains also abound, but they remain less noticed. 0 cemeteries found in Maplewood, Ramsey County, Minnesota, USA. That doctor (Peterson) also presented problems--he was a typical doctor, couldnt believe his patient was killed.. ``If she had been convicted of this in 1965 she probably would have done about three years, Thomson said. In 1951, some 14 years before Dennis's death, a psychiatrist at the Mayo Clinic entered this assessment in her file: "It is . The defense attorney was still thinking about a criminal prosecution--even if no one else was. Donna Marlene had seen other things. Jurgens would make his debut as a comic book writer with Sun Devils he began scripting from Conway's plots with #8 and fully took over the writing duties on the title with #10. She would be a poor candidate for adopting a child at this time, the psychiatrist in 1955 had advised St. Pauls Bureau of Catholic Charities, where the Jurgenses for years had vainly sought children. We reached a point where we could not find any new leads or pick up any new information . One might get a first impression that Lois was cold and indifferent, but to Rekdahl, this seemed a defense for insecurities. They had a son--a 2-year-old named Robert, whom they had adopted at birth through private channels. they figured. You see, Gingold said, I didnt have to go that far. 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. Then there were the neighbors and relatives who had seen incidents and evidence of abuse. Free shipping for many products! 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. There was testimony from other officers that he impeded the investigation into the child's death. 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. Harold (Harry) Jurgens, 76 of Filley passed away at Gold Crest Retirement Center in Adams on January 7, 2018. Photo by Patrick Hendry on Unsplash. 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. Lois Jurgens, 93, of Arvada, Colorado, formerly of Malvern and Glenwood, Iowa, passed away June 13, 2022. Ivan and Gladys Demars, neighbors who had served as references when Dennis was adopted, over the fence had seen the boy with bruises, black eyes, split lips. 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. Learn more about managing a memorial . The coroner noted in his report that Dennis had almost zero subcutaneous fat, at the level of a person who had died of starvation. . On the night of his death, Lois was in an extremely bad mood due to flooding which was filling up the basement with water. Theres nothing worse, Peterson had thought, than seeing a dead child. It is fair to say that this finding raised considerable questions. There was a bluish mark on the right side of the head that started at the temple and extended to behind the right ear. J. was a little nervous today and I felt was probably upset for fear of what we would think of such a thing happening to Dennis, she wrote in her log. . 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. During this period, Lois was once again placed in a psychiatric facility. During her several postplacement visits to the Jurgens home in the following, probationary year, Rekdahl increasingly came to judge the placement a success. 1 Bakgrunn; 2 Innhold; . Lois Jurgens served eight years of her sentence and had a quiet life as a widow in Stillwater, Minnesota. Clayton Robinson Jr., a former prosecutor in the case, said Jurgens should not have been released yet. By all accounts, Lois was obsessed with abusing Dennis, and she wanted the world to know he was a "bad child," and made no apologies about the inappropriate way she was disciplining him. No animated GIFs, photos with additional graphics (borders, embellishments. 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. 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. A Death in White Bear Lake: Notorious crime in city history marks 50 Mrs. 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. Rekdahl decided to call on the Jurgenses. She was diagnosed as having mixed psychoneurosis and also unable to conceive a child with Harold. But in 1962, before the developers and high-speed roads came, this was more truly a small town, inbred and insular, with a population just reaching 15,000. Three-year-old Dennis Craig (Puckett) Jurgens was tortured to death in the wee hours of April 11th, 1965. Novel and Adaptations: Barry Siegel's true-crime novel A Death in White Bear Lake recounts the story via extensive research and oral history. Soon after, Jerry Puckett dropped her plan to convert--but by then Dennis was already registered as Catholic on the adoption rolls. . Get up to speed with our Essential California newsletter, sent six days a week. However, he was in failing health and his autopsy results did not indicate poisoning. We will review the memorials and decide if they should be merged. She died aged 87 on May 7, 2013. Tragically, just a few years after the adoption, Dennis died from peritonitis. Lois Jurgens served eight years of her sentence and had a quiet life as a widow in Stillwater, Minnesota. 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. From their patio, they could see huge bass jumping in the water. . 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. Lois Jurgens reaction to Dennis during the visit was less than enthusiastic. Sadly, the mother-son reunion was not meant to be; Jerry's child had died just before his fourth birthday. 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. home
 
We wanted to tell someone, she said. Doug Thomson, who defended Jurgens, said his client did not get out early. Continuing with this request will add an alert to the cemetery page and any new volunteers will have the opportunity to fulfill your request. Lois Germaine Josephine Zerwas Jurgens (1925-2013) - Find a Grave Rekdahl expressed some concern. 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. Family members immediately begin whispering "she killed him" , referring to his adoptive moth 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. She was 61 when she went to prison and served eight years before being paroled.. 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. Lois Jurgens, One of The Most Terrible Moms in America! I didnt examine him further.. 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. . For memorials with more than one photo, additional photos will appear here or on the photos tab. They beat my baby to death. In 1987, Jurgens was convicted of third-degree murder of Dennis. Death 7 May 2013 (aged 87) . Four days after he drafted this analysis, on April 30, he and VanderWyst were pulled off the case. When it froze, hed hang lights on the seven surrounding elm trees, put out snow sculptures of bears and seals tinted with food coloring, and invite all the neighborhood kids to join his own two children in skating and hockey games. The White Bear Lake police log for the morning of April 11, 1965--Palm Sunday--included the sort of events to be expected in such a town. According to sworn testimony by both Korolchuk and VanderWyst before a grand jury last year, Zerwas at the time warned the investigating officers that he would do everything in his power to keep his sisters name clear. 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. 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. They covered the legs, the arms, the hands, the head, the shoulders, the back of the head, the buttocks, the small of the back, the middle of the back, the back of the left leg.

 

All photos appear on this tab and here you can update the sort order of photos on memorials you manage. 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. There was a problem getting your location. Lois Jurgens at the time that she had custody of Dennis. If hes notified there would be fifty people at her house, and she didnt want that many people around. This woman was no crank. It just made me sick. She died aged 87 on May 7, 2013. Do you have a camera in the car, he asked VanderWyst.