They were independent of each other. Please enter your email and password to sign in. 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. Soon the word spread from house to housethered been a death, the younger Jurgens boy had died. Thank you for fulfilling this photo request. Rekdahl decided to call on the Jurgenses. Harold and Lois Jurgens, a middle-class, churchgoing couple in picturesque White Bear Lake, Minnesota, had adopted Dennis and five other foster children.

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. Two or three couples signed written statements. 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.
At the funeral, a crown of roses rested on Dennis head. Tragically, just a few years after the adoption, Dennis died from peritonitis. For that reason, Dennis, a week after his birth, was baptized a Catholic. They covered the face, the head, the arms. Dennis and Robert Jurgens, 1965. new content, we kindly appreciate any donation you can give to help ?Tadeusz: I never remember pretty women. A few wondered how the Jurgenses had ever been allowed to adopt children. Lois Jurgens headed to trial. Year should not be greater than current year. Lois Jurgens, it turns out, was from the start a poor parental bet. There was obviously going to be trouble, and he didnt want to get involved. +C $33.27 shipping estimate. In 1951, some 14 years before Dennis's death, a psychiatrist at the Mayo Clinic entered this assessment in her file: "It is . Lois Jurgens served eight years of her sentence and had a quiet life as a widow in Stillwater, Minnesota.

 

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The suspicious death of Dennis Jurgens wasnt properly investigated for 20 years. There is no evidence we are dealing with any people here who have any demon-like motives. The county had filed a custody petition, alleging neglect. Though the specific cause of that fatal blow is not known, it is known that it was Lois who had given it to Dennis. Those in the station familiar with the downtown strip joints in nearby St. Paul might have recognized Jerry Ann Sherwood from her earlier tenure at Alarys Club Bar. 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. The term is relative. Three-year-old Dennis Jurgens is murdered by his adoptive mother. I want photos of this, he thought. This memorial has been copied to your clipboard. . The specter of homicide hovered, but would not land in this hearing room in 1965. Lois Jurgens.

On the other hand, he could not bring himself to embrace the notion that Lois Jurgens was a murderer. The next day, Dennis brother, Robert, was picked up and taken to a local hospital, on order of Juvenile Court Judge Archie Gingold. 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. Moments later, VanderWyst, rising to leave, asked Lois if there was anything else he could do, such as call her brother Jerome. Years later, Peterson would say much the same to the police who were reopening the case, but he did not do so in 1965. Are you sure that you want to remove this flower? Much of the testimony related to Dennis, not Robert. There appeared to be a number of discrepancies in the Jurgenses story, he noted. 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. Lt. Clarence (Buzz) Harvey at first did not know what to make of the blonde 42-year-old woman who appeared at the front desk of this towns solitary police station on the morning of Sept. 18, 1986. Dr. Peterson said he saw nothing unusual in Dennis life or death. charles edward ed holland memorial park funeral homes and cemeteries. The only part of him that I saw was his chest and his face. Dennis died that evening of Peritonitis due to a perforation of his small bowel. The Jurgenses returned to their house on Gardenette Drive, childless but free of any charge. Get up to speed with our Essential California newsletter, sent six days a week. 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. The next day, Rekdahl phoned the Jurgenses family physician, Dr. Roy Peterson, who was treating Dennis.

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.   Lois Jean (Jones) Jurgens Obituary We are sad to announce that on June 13, 2022 we had to say goodbye to Lois Jean (Jones) Jurgens of Arvada, Colorado. Lois Lane (Phyllis Coates). 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. There was a problem getting your location. 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. There was no community pressure back then. in the third degree and sent to prison. Harold Jurgens, an electrical foreman, made $10,000 in 1962, and this placed his family a cut above many of their friends and neighbors. She thought the postplacement period had been quite successful. She wanted assurances. Failed to report flower. Try again later. She died aged 87 on May 7, 2013. . This post is sponsored by Open Road Media. Lois Jean Jurgens, the daughter of Lawrence A. and Marjorie V. (Johnson) Jones, was born on May 26, 1929 in Malvern, Iowa. 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. The only witness to Lois's final abuse of Dennis was Robert, who was 5 years old at the time. Rekdahl expressed some concern. Star Tribune photo by Donald Black. He liked them. The victim View Obituary & Service Information It is fair to say that this finding raised considerable questions. 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. You can always change this later in your Account settings.

What had happened--and how--and why? Oops, we were unable to send the email. But, at a hearing just one month after Dennis death, Peterson, when asked if there was anything unusual about the burn accident, said: No, not in particular.. Search above to list available cemeteries. He looks like a boy of 10. The lawyers danced around the matter, leaving much unspoken. Resend Activation Email, Please check the I'm not a robot checkbox, If you want to be a Photo Volunteer you must enter a ZIP Code or select your location on the map. He could be a battered child, Votel said he reasoned, and still his death could have been caused by a fall, an accident. Dan Jurgens on how The Death of Superman has "withstood that test of time" By Grant DeArmitt published 27 July 2022 The creator best known for The Death of Superman explains its impact 30. He eats well. Lois was mean to DennisCam Brass and Donna Neely and the othersCam Brass and Donna Neely and the others understood that much. 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. Dennis had died of peritonitis. She died aged 87 on May 7, 2013. There was an error deleting this problem. There was enough evidence to sustain child abuse and neglect charges. When Harold took him to the bathroom at about 7:30 or 8 in the morning, Dennis had seemed fine. This browser does not support getting your location. The psychiatrist thought it fortunate that Lois Jurgens could not get pregnant because a child would only compound and complicate her emotional disturbances. They said it was from a fall down the basement stairs. He felt that she needed psychiatric help very badly and, without it, might become psychotic. Sherwood also told D'Angelo that Dana Ivey's interpretation of Lois Jurgens is eerily accurate. The testimony from Dr. Woodburn, the pathologist who did the autopsy on Dennis, was unequivocal. 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. . 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. After seeing newspaper reports about the death, she was convinced that he had been beaten to death and demanded the case be re-opened. Lois also was not pleased to learn how active Dennis was. 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 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. Lois had a question: Would Father Riser write a letter in support of their present effort to adopt another child, a third child? Several told of having seen Dennis bruised and battered. In the early 1980s, Dennis' birth mother, Jerry Sherwood, looked for Dennis, only to find out he had died in 1965. or don't show this againI am good at figuring things out. He wanted others to go first. 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. Lois Jurgens, 93, of Arvada, Colorado, formerly of Malvern and Glenwood, Iowa, passed away June 13, 2022. 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. She thought they had a lovely home.

She was sentenced to a maximum of 25 years in prison and was paroled in 1995. As it happened, Peterson at the time was deputy coroner in Ramsey County. She was a good dozen years younger than the Jurgenses. He had one great friend, his world's Lois, but she died and now he sees another version of her still alive and pregnant. He was shaken. 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.

Donohue was not inclined to relax such controls. How could a kid fall down the steps and die? Youve got to worry about tomorrow. Lois had talked to them all about her toilet training methods. 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.