Lois and Harold Jurgens lived in a comfortable, meticulously maintained three-bedroom house with a big, fenced backyard on a large corner lot on Gardenette Drive. She was 61 when she went to prison and served eight years before being paroled.. Deferred, Votel had written. Many years later, Dr. Peterson would tell a grand jury that he had harbored suspicions about the burns, and also about several bruises that nurses noticed on Dennis while he was in the hospital for a full month. 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. . This was the situation that Gerane Rekdahl, a Ramsey County welfare case worker, found when she visited the Jurgens home on March 1, 1962. We would like to have done something, but it was none of our business.
This sort of thing happened back then.. On the stand, the Jurgenses had refused to answer questions about Dennis. The afflicted look and act very sick for a matter of hours, sometimes days. Is it quite customary to see a little boy with so many bruises, he was asked. Dr. Peterson said he saw nothing unusual in Dennis life or death. A family friend, Barbara Venney, saw the bruises through the flowers. If you have questions, please contact [emailprotected].
She died aged 87 on May 7, 2013. When the wind was up, Peterson would take out his sixteen-foot sailboat and glide toward Manitou Island and the town of White Bear. The prosecutor wasnt getting help from the White Bear Lake police--her brother was on the force. 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. You need a Find a Grave account to continue. ``She did a lot more than she should have.. . 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 Camille Brass knew the blue convertible belonged to Dr. Peterson. He has had all his baby shots. The night Dennis died, Robert was riding his trike in the basement, and all the sudden he heard Dennis screaming. Flowers added to the memorial appear on the bottom of the memorial or here on the Flowers tab. You consider how well you can sell this to 12 people in the jury box. 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. At first Bob Brass thought the squad car was Loiss brothers, but then they saw VanderWyst in the driveway. According to Rekdahls written log, that was the sum of what Peterson said to her. Instead, Dorothy Engfer began telling others in the neighborhood what shed seen. She thought the postplacement period had been quite successful. Opens in a new window or tab. https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/134346102/lois-germaine_josephine-jurgens. 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. [citation needed][3]. On January 13, 2000, she was initially suspected of poisoning her husband, Harold. Initial placement was with a licensed, unrelated foster family, but Robert was then moved to his paternal grandparents at his parents' request. 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. ?Tadeusz: I never remember pretty women. I looked down. Rekdahl by now had quite a dim outlook on this placement. Oops, some error occurred while uploading your photo(s). The Jurgenses had wanted a younger child and Dennis was almost a year old. This account already exists, but the email address still needs to be confirmed. 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. child abuse law. . The boys mouth was getting full, he wasnt swallowing, so Lois put horseradish on the fork. Lois Jurgens had been sentenced to up to 25 years for the 1965 slaying of 3-year-old Dennis Jurgens. angelizdsplace.com/. From behind their curtains and blinds, the Jurgenses neighbors on Gardenette Drive had been watching the comings and goings all morning with mounting interest. Rekdahl did know that Lois had a history of psychiatric problems involving a nervous breakdown in the early 1950s. 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. 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. 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..
They had seen Lois pull Dennis ears so hard that blood flowed. Several relatives now told the investigators they would not sign statements. Thank you for supporting our partners, who make it possible for The Lineup to continue publishing the terrifying stories you love. A Death in White Bear Lake is a true crime book by journalist Barry Siegel, published in 1990, which recounts the murder of Dennis Jurgens. 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. From a newspaper notice of his death she had learned that the boys body bore multiple injuries and bruises. 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. Lois A. Jurgens (92) of Petersburg passed away September 25, 2019. Donna Neely wondered, as she studied the Jurgenses now-silent house from her front window. She died aged 87 on May 7, 2013. How a Group of Desperate Comics Creators Hatched Doomsday - Vulture As he viewed the body, he thought: This boy has been murdered. Add to your scrapbook. 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. Try again later.
Dennis Craig Jurgens, 3.
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 they cleared land for his basement, theyd found old rolls of amusement park ticketsthree rides for a nickel. . 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. DC artist Dan Jurgens shares an image of an unused Electric Blue Superman design from 1996, reminiscing about what might have been.
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. Year should not be greater than current year. 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. All photos appear on this tab and here you can update the sort order of photos on memorials you manage. roger w. tufte sr, 76, resident of lakota, nd died saturday, february 26, 2022 at the lakota good samaritan center. There was no possibility that Dennis had died from a blow to the head. VanderWyst and Korolchuk had brought in the file themselves and lobbied for prosecution. That was all Gingold had to concern himself with. she grew up and attended school in malvern, graduating in 1947. lois attended cosmetology school in des moines, iowa. There were at least a dozen bruises on the face alone, some large and others small. It is fair to say that this finding raised considerable questions. Please try again later. The email does not appear to be a valid email address. In spite of extensive physical evidence pointing towards severe . so its not unusual.. 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. Please ensure you have given Find a Grave permission to access your location in your browser settings. VanderWyst didnt push the matter. +C $33.27 shipping estimate. For a time, that appeared to be the end of the story. Only 5% to 10% of the bruises on Dennis could have been caused by such a fall. Lois Jurgens was disappointed about Dennis age. undefined Notes ^ http://www.angelizdsplace.com/ http://www.angelizdsplace.com/child43.htm. They had only two requests. Are you adding a grave photo that will fulfill this request? True Crime Coven hausoftruecrime: Woman Tortures Adoptive Son To It was highly unlikely that a fall on a flat surface could have caused this. She believed that Lois had opened up a great deal and tried to be as truthful as possible. 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. "There was obviously going to be trouble, and he didnt want to get involved.". Dennis was adopted by the Jurgens, of White Bear Lake, Minnesota, a suburb of Saint Paul: Harold Robert Jurgens, a former bandleader turned electrician, and Lois Germaine Josephine Zerwas Jurgens, a homemaker. She is buried at the Union Cemetery, in Maplewood, Ramsey County, Minnesota. They had just buried the body, and that was all. That this was much more a question for doctors than for the police did not sway Votel. Sherwood became suspicious and persuaded authorities to investigate. But neither the judge nor anyone else was willing to face the implications of such findings. A piano and bass fiddle occupied the living room. 'Convergence' makes Superman a super-dad - USA TODAY 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. Lois is survived by her husband, Floyd Jurgens; children Gary Jurgens and Caron Klein (Bruce);. You do consider social attitudes.
She was sentenced to a maximum of 25 years in prison and was paroled in 1995. Lois Jean (Jones) Jurgens Obituary (2022) | Arvada, Colorado She believed that Lois Jurgens was accepting and embracing Dennis, and he seemed healthy and adjusted. Lois was born on March 4, 1930, in Iowa the daughter of the late Axel and Lena. Lois Jurgens agreed, but seemed scared that she would not be offered another child. The process of adopting Dennis was completed. The neighbors talked among themselves that afternoon. When Dennis messed his bed, she said, she forced the boy to eat his feces. He could be a battered child, Votel said he reasoned, and still his death could have been caused by a fall, an accident. The St. Paul Pioneer Press ran a cover story about the investigation on Sunday, October 12, 1986. But this death didnt look as though it was from natural causes. This, coupled with the lack of a statute of limitations for a murder charge, could lead the way to a prosecution of Lois Jurgens. As it happened, Peterson at the time was deputy coroner in Ramsey County. Lois Jurgens was the infamous subject of one of the most unusual child murder cases in history in Minnesota.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.. Jurgens was one of sixteen children. Heroes abound now in White Bear Lake, visible and proud of their roles in unraveling the mystery of Dennis death. She always proclaimed her innocence. There were, to begin with, the same photos of Dennis battered body on the coroners table. Harold Jurgens had converted a breezeway off the kitchen into a large, open family, dining and cooking area. Doug Thomson, who defended Jurgens, said his client did not get out early. And a Dr. Peterson called at 10:09 a.m. to report a DOA--dead on arrival--at 2148 Gardenette Drive. Meanwhile, Dennis was getting whirlpool baths every day. She grew up and attended school in Malvern, graduating in 1947.
updates There was a time when White Bear Lake was an exclusive watering hole for people from Chicago as well as the Twin Cities. On the other hand, she realized the improbability of being offered another Catholic baby in the near future. . 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. charles edward ed holland memorial park funeral homes and cemeteries. 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. and Judith Ivey as Dennis lay in the ground at St. Marys Cemetery, no name given to his death. When he wouldnt have a bowel movement, she said, she pulled the feces from his rectum with her hands. Your account has been locked for 30 minutes due to too many failed sign in attempts. . 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. Judge calls murder of child 'barbaric' - UPI Archives Harold and Lois Jurgensa middle-class, churchgoing couple who had been unable to have children of their ownhad adopted Sherwoods son, Dennis, in 1962. Lois Jurgens released after serving eight years, The Winona Daily News, June, 7, 1995. Beatings and displays of Lois' explosive temper were daily events; especially bad days could include her slamming a child's forehead into a nail protruding from a wall, forcing a child to stand barefoot in snow, and shoving a used sanitary napkin in a child's face. Ive been doing this job too long. They would have to find out. This story changed a lot about the Superman line of booksincluding introducing iconic '90s heroes like Superboy and Steeland DC Comics writ large. Sign up for The Lineup's newsletter and get terrifying tales delivered straight to your inbox. A Death in White Bear Lake: The True Chronicle of an All-American Town The only part of him that I saw was his chest and his face. April 11, 1965. While visiting one Thanksgiving, she saw Lois force-feed Dennis, in a highchair, by shoving a fork full of food into his mouth. . Several told of having seen Dennis bruised and battered. There was enough evidence to sustain child abuse and neglect charges. 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. The house at 2148 South Gardenette Drive, White Bear Lake, where the Jurgenses lived from 1957 to 1967. My clients have rights, he said. There was a television movie broadcast in 1992 on NBC entitled A Child Lost Forever that told the story from the perspective of Jerry Sherwood (played by Beverly D'Angelo). This is a story about respectable men and women of the middle class--doctors, lawyers, priests, social workers, policemen, neighbors and relatives--whose behavior, taken as a whole, led not to that milieus promised decency and justice but to a moral outrage, dark and hard to understand. 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. Photos larger than 8Mb will be reduced. Which memorial do you think is a duplicate of Lois Jurgens (134346102)? He would wait until the police investigation could resolve the matter. Dennis Craig Jurgens was an American 3-year-old boy who was murdered in White Bear Lake, Minnesota in April 1965. or don't show this againI am good at figuring things out. In early December, 1963, Rekdahl paid her last postplacement visit to the Jurgenses. A few wondered how the Jurgenses had ever been allowed to adopt children. Other testimony and evidence was more troubling. Stanley Wiatros was one of them. Lois Jurgens, 93, of Arvada, Colorado, formerly of Malvern and Glenwood, Iowa, passed away June 13, 2022. . Paul Lindholm, the assistant county attorney, considered it. Your new password must contain one or more uppercase and lowercase letters, and one or more numbers or special characters. It was just inconceivable to Woodburn that Dennis had been so injured by slipping and falling on a basement floor.
Lois Jurgens Obituary (1927 - 2019) | Petersburg, Illinois Please enter your email address and we will send you an email with a reset password code. The way Lindholm figured it, instead of prosecuting Lois Jurgens for murder, lets move to take Robert away. This drove Lois further into madness, as she felt she needed children to complete the "perfect picture" of her life. How could a little boy not scream out in pain as soon as he was burned? Becoming a Find a Grave member is fast, easy and FREE. The case is described in detail in Barry Siegel's true-crime novel, A Death in White Bear Lake. In 1987, testifying 22 years later, Peterson was questioned again about the bruises.
The official cause of death was peritonitis due to perforation of the small bowel. She was a good dozen years younger than the Jurgenses. 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. They beat my baby to death, Sherwood told Buzz Harvey. In the early 1980s, Jerry Sherwood went looking for the newborn son she gave up for adoption 20 years prior. In 1984, Jurgens was the artist for the Sun Devils limited series (July 1984 - June 1985), with writers Gerry Conway and Roy Thomas. 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. Two or three couples signed written statements. He is extremely alert. He had served as a reference when they adopted Robert. They also caught crappies and smallmouth bass and northern pike, but the sunfish were the best. There are no volunteers for this cemetery. 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. 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. She was cleared of second-degree . I had doubts, and I didnt like Lois, but I felt I couldnt react personally like that, she said. He very strongly favored the Jurgenses getting another child. harold e bageant obituary visitation funeral information. Harold Jurgens suggested that perhaps they should not go forward with the adoption of Dennis, but Lois refused out of concern that it would discourage the authorities from allowing them to adopt further children.
