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And it was not my position to do anything other than to pronounce him dead.. need your help for this. Lois Jurgens headed to trial. He could never forget how Lois Jurgens looked at those photos stoically, showing no emotion.

Instead, Dorothy Engfer began telling others in the neighborhood what shed seen. I didnt look after that; I couldnt, she said. 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. 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. Rekdahl by now had quite a dim outlook on this placement. Lois is survived by her husband, Floyd Jurgens; children Gary Jurgens and Caron Klein (Bruce);. Weve updated the security on the site. She is buried at the Union Cemetery, in Maplewood, Ramsey County, Minnesota. White Bear Lake, Minnesota. You dont know what to think, Donna Marlene said. 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. They covered the face, the head, the arms. Add to your scrapbook. DC artist Dan Jurgens shares an image of an unused Electric Blue Superman design from 1996, reminiscing about what might have been. In 1984, Jurgens was the artist for the Sun Devils limited series (July 1984 - June 1985), with writers Gerry Conway and Roy Thomas. Photos larger than 8Mb will be reduced. Family members immediately begin whispering "she killed him" , referring to his adoptive moth The prosecutor had a different attitude back then, Votel said recently. Years later, the attorney representing Roberts interests at the 1965 custody hearing would still remember those photos. Lois Jurgens, know for her short, volatile temper, murdered him. Still it is fair to say that the story Lois Jurgens told required a considerable imagination to embrace.

 

Thanks for using Find a Grave, if you have any feedback we would love to hear from you. Peterson, a slender 6-footer, was a respected local doctor, a University of Minnesota medical graduate who had served in the Marines before opening a private practice in White Bear Lake in 1951. I tried to assure her that these things happen in any family.. 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. 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.

The electric streetcar with overhead power lines, running as a spur off the main railroad tracks along Highway 61, would stop just three doors down. Harold and Lois Jurgens, a middle-class, churchgoing couple in picturesque White Bear Lake, Minnesota, had adopted Dennis and five other foster children. Learn how and when to remove this template message, "Child Abuse and Neglect in the Home | Center for Problem-Oriented Policing", "A woman was convicted Friday of third-degree murder in", Child Murder: The town that lived in silence, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Murder_of_Dennis_Jurgens&oldid=1138138523, This page was last edited on 8 February 2023, at 06:11. It would have been difficult at the time to prove that Lois Jurgens had committed murder. She is buried at the Union Cemetery, in Maplewood, Ramsey County, Minnesota. He very strongly favored the Jurgenses getting another child. The Jurgenses are not being attacked anywhere along the line. There was a problem getting your location. Rekdahl could not so assure her. 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 . This treatment, along with the exertion as he struggled, sickened Dennis to the point of vomiting, which further enraged Jurgens, who then forced him to eat his vomit. The night of his death, a great flood had hit the Saint Paul area and the Mississippi River's waters were rising to record levels, causing flooding in the region and inside the Jurgens' home. Oops, we were unable to send the email. Thanks for your help! This was a murder. Try again later. None of us knew about child abuse. based on information from your browser. Lois Jurgens served eight years of her sentence and had a quiet life as a widow in Stillwater, Minnesota. 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. I thought the burn accident was a weird story when she told it, but again, there just was not that level of awareness, things didnt get referred. 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. There are a lot of dead babies in the ground who were killed.. They had been able to discuss Lois weaknesses, even her past mental depression, without Lois becoming too nervous or upset or defensive. 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 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. Certain neighbors and family members knew there were problems with Lois' treatment of Dennis but did nothing to prevent it. . The boy was dead by the time the doctor arrived at 9:35. She knew the agencys policy was not to place children with couples who were over 40, an age they were approaching. Donohue was not inclined to relax such controls. 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. Its easy today to say, Why didnt they prosecute? but it was a different time, a different time. Instead, Peterson would build an ice rink on his front lawnhed raise a circular wood wall, lay in six inches of leaves gathered from all the neighbors for mulch, then cover that with sheet plastic, one hundred feet long, fifty feet wide, and fill it with water from the hose. In the 1960s, the term child abuse had not yet been coined and no one, not even medical professionals and teachers, was required to report suspicions. There is in the Scott County records a description of Dennis in the foster home where he lived his first year: He is solidly built, with blue eyes and blond hair. I felt we actually checked out the concerns quite carefully.. If the doc cant figure this out, hed say, well. 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]. 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. Theres nothing worse, Peterson had thought, than seeing a dead child. She seemed to Scott County welfare workers a hostile and sullen young woman, unhappy and emotionally underdeveloped. 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 Obituary.

 

Learn more about managing a memorial . This sort of thing happened back then.. 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 1950 to 1970. He knew Peterson as a man always willing to help others, as a doctor very much for his patients. Search above to list available cemeteries. When Dennis messed his bed, she said, she forced the boy to eat his feces. Their flight, coupled with the lingering suspicions surrounding Dennis' death, resulted in the termination of Lois and Harold Jurgens' parental rights. 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.The trial of Lois Jurgens for the murder of 3-year-old Dennis made national . Donna Marlene had seen other things. She died aged 87 on May 7, 2013. Aside from the incident when Dennis was hospitalized with burns on his genitals, there were many other incidents of abuse which fell under the category of sexual sadism. Learn more about merges. There is a problem with your email/password. I looked down. . The case is described in detail in Barry Siegel's true-crime novel, A Death in White Bear Lake. If hes notified there would be fifty people at her house, and she didnt want that many people around. 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. That was not binding on the prosecutor, but the defense attorney would zero in on this. #dennisjurgens #jerrysherwood #truecrime Jerry Puckett's mother abandoned her when she was three, she was raised by her father and abused by two stepmothers.. The autopsy report mentioned bruises head to toe. All I could do was shake my head.. Vachss uttalte at boken ikke forklarer begrunnelsen for at Harold er passiv, mens den har tilstrekkelig informasjon om Lois Jurgens. She was diagnosed as having mixed psychoneurosis and also unable to conceive a child with Harold. He is able to turn himself over and is extremely strong, almost ready to stand by himself. That was why the judge wanted Lois Jurgens to consent to a thorough, inpatient examination by a psychiatrist he knew and trusted. I would question him. No prosecution was taken at that time. She believed that Lois had opened up a great deal and tried to be as truthful as possible. He wrote deferred in the box where he was to specify the manner of death, and put the certificate aside. There was no possibility that Dennis had died from a blow to the head. Blankets covered him to the waist. The Jurgens' adoption of Robert seemed successful in the eyes of authorities, who began to consider the possibility that they might adopt more children through official channels. It would be no use. Your Scrapbook is currently empty. Dennis and Robert Jurgens, 1965. In talking to the county attorney and the chief of police, we had gone as far as we could and we were told that was it, wed have to terminate the investigation.. He couldnt push Votel on this. . Our kids have fallen down steps and not died. Lois Jurgens served eight years of her sentence and had a quiet life as a widow in Stillwater, Minnesota. 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. Tragically, just a few years after the adoption, Dennis died from peritonitis. Innhold. Lois' remedy for the toddler wetting his diaper too frequently was to place a spring-action clothespin upon the end of his penis. Notes [ edit] ^ "ANGELIZD's Place - Child Abuse Pages - Dennis Craig Jurgens". The childs death occurred before there were state-mandated sentencing guidelines, and Thomson argued that she should have served less time. . 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. Even so, doctors do not usually see third-degree burns in an area that isnt covered by clothing. As the laws were then interpreted, he believed that he would have to link a specific action taken by Lois Jurgens to the precise cause of 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. This relationship is not possible based on lifespan dates. . You have chosen this person to be their own family member. To view a photo in more detail or edit captions for photos you added, click the photo to open the photo viewer. 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. He felt that she needed psychiatric help very badly and, without it, might become psychotic. For memorials with more than one photo, additional photos will appear here or on the photos tab. It was awful.