lois jurgens' death
Lois Jurgens, 62, of Stillwater, chewed gum impassively as the jury announced its verdict, finding her guilty of third-degree murder in the 1965 death of her adopted son, Dennis. They attempted to mind their own business and feared retribution from Lois, who was not above threatening the lives of her family members. Is it quite customary to see a little boy with so many bruises, he was asked. Retired now for several years, he suffers from angina and does not go out much, but he recalls the 1965 hearing. You can second-guess yourself until you get an ulcer, Lindholm said recently. To view a photo in more detail or edit captions for photos you added, click the photo to open the photo viewer. She is buried at the Union Cemetery, in Maplewood, Ramsey County, Minnesota. Robert was leaving things alone at the age of 1 year. Jurgens was one of 16 children. Lois Jurgens was convicted in May 1987 of murder (by abuse) in the death 22 years earlier of her adopted son, Dennis. They carried assorted life insurance polices worth $10,000. That was not binding on the prosecutor, but the defense attorney would zero in on this. At the urging of authorities, Jerry placed Dennis for adoption after being told that he would receive good care.[1]. 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. If Votel had called it a homicide, at least that prospect would have been removed. . None of this, however, was what had killed Dennis. You see, Gingold said, I didnt have to go that far. Lois Jurgens was sentenced to 25 years in the Shakopee women's correctional facility for third-degree murder. During her several postplacement visits to the Jurgens home in the following, probationary year, Rekdahl increasingly came to judge the placement a success. 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. Star Tribune photo by Donald Black. In 1987, Jurgens was convicted of third-degree murder of Dennis. Why werent his hands burned--wouldnt he have instinctively reached down to protect himself? Did the doctor remember his thoughts on why this child died, his inner feelings that day? The coroner noted in his report that Dennis had almost zero subcutaneous fat, at the level of a person who had died of starvation. Sherwood became suspicious and persuaded authorities to investigate. Please enter your email address and we will send you an email with a reset password code. And a Dr. Peterson called at 10:09 a.m. to report a DOA--dead on arrival--at 2148 Gardenette Drive. At the funeral home, Lois Jurgens brother, Lloyd Zerwas, came to pay his respects. You need a Find a Grave account to continue. Zerwas wouldnt let the rest of his family view the body. Murder of Dennis Jurgens - Infogalactic: the planetary knowledge core Dennis and Robert Jurgens, 1965. Late in August, Lois had called Rekdahl to report the matter. There was no community pressure back then. My God, he thought, looking at the body. 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. 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. and this case
After Dennis' death, an older adopted son, Robert, was removed from the Jurgens home.
Resend Activation Email. He had lived in this home since 1953, and it gave him much pleasure. Lois Jurgens (born 1925) is an American convicted murderer. 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. Clayton Robinson Jr., a former prosecutor in the case, said Jurgens should not have been released yet. How in the heck could that happen? DC artist Dan Jurgens shares an image of an unused Electric Blue Superman design from 1996, reminiscing about what might have been. The house at 2148 South Gardenette Drive, White Bear Lake, where the Jurgenses lived from 1957 to 1967. Woman Who Killed Adopted Son Released After Eight Years in Prison 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. Still, she had never forgotten the case. Theres nothing worse, Peterson had thought, than seeing a dead child. Please check your email and click on the link to activate your account. Please contact Find a Grave at [emailprotected] if you need help resetting your password.
No one here is being punitive, Gingold told the Jurgenses and their attorney from the bench. It is fair to say that this finding raised considerable questions. Others promised that they would do so. Rekdahl expressed some concern. The specter of homicide hovered, but would not land in this hearing room in 1965. None of us knew about child abuse. Lois Jurgens had a reputation amongst her extended family and neighbors as an intense, angry woman with a short and volatile temper, but Dennis' arrival in her home provoked sadistic rages that targeted Dennis as he aged from one to .mw-parser-output .frac{white-space:nowrap}.mw-parser-output .frac .num,.mw-parser-output .frac .den{font-size:80%;line-height:0;vertical-align:super}.mw-parser-output .frac .den{vertical-align:sub}.mw-parser-output .sr-only{border:0;clip:rect(0,0,0,0);height:1px;margin:-1px;overflow:hidden;padding:0;position:absolute;width:1px}3+12 years of age. They had cited the Fifth Amendment protection against self-incrimination. The chief one involved the nature of the malady that killed Dennis. They said it was from a fall down the basement stairs. Along with the aforementioned evidence of starvation and the scarring and bite-marks on his genitalia, the coroner discovered multiple lacerations and multiple generations of bruises covering most of his body. 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. Sorry! Want more true crime books? The hearing would prove to be a curious affair. Lets not build up some fiction that now we have done everything we should do.. In the early 1980s, Jerry Sherwood went looking for the newborn son she gave up for adoption 20 years prior. It had always troubled her, more than any she handled before or since. It was as if the authorities had found a way to try Lois Jurgens for Dennis death without calling it a murder. On the other hand, he could not bring himself to embrace the notion that Lois Jurgens was a murderer. They attempted to mind their own business and feared retribution from Lois, who was not above threatening the lives of her family members. | The boy was dead by the time the doctor arrived at 9:35. The boy was obviously dead. | Try again later. Sign up for The Lineup's newsletter and get terrifying tales delivered straight to your inbox. Judge calls murder of child 'barbaric' - UPI Archives Murder Shelf Book Club: Ep 50 A Death in White Bear Lake by Barry She was cleared of second-degree . Nonetheless, when Harold Jurgens called three days later and asked when they could get their boy, Rekdahl and the Scott County officials allowed the Jurgenses to take Dennis for a preplacement visit. He was the son of teenage Jerry Sherwood (who was herself a ward of the state) and her teenage boyfriend. |
| The defense picked the doctor, and set parameters on what questions he could ask. Photo by Patrick Hendry on Unsplash. Whod listen? When Lois found him gasping and gurgling at 9 a.m., she promptly called Dr. Peterson. Even so, doctors do not usually see third-degree burns in an area that isnt covered by clothing. Lois Jurgens | Detailed Pedia 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. Translation on Find a Grave is an ongoing project. |
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. A few wondered how the Jurgenses had ever been allowed to adopt children. The question of Dennis Jurgens death next fell to the Ramsey County attorneys office. Learn about how to make the most of a memorial. A jury deliberated about five hours Friday before finding Lois Jurgens, 61, of Stillwater, Minn., guilty of third-degree murder, or an unintentional killing. On Nov. 28, 1962, members of the Scott and Ramsey counties welfare departments, including Rekdahl, had a conference in the town of Shakopee.