Three-year-old Dennis Jurgens is murdered by his adoptive mother. 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. Other testimony and evidence was more troubling. Others promised that they would do so. At the hearing a month later, Peterson was asked whether he saw anything unusual as he viewed the body in the crib. Try again later. cemeteries found in Maplewood, Ramsey County, Minnesota, USA will be saved to your photo volunteer list. They just werent going to get any damaging information from him. they figured. Published by Bantam Books, 1990. The specter of homicide hovered, but would not land in this hearing room in 1965. He found bruises running the length of the body--50 to 100 of them, he would say later, the exact number hard to judge because many were overlapped.
Your account has been locked for 30 minutes due to too many failed sign in attempts. When the White Bear Lake police called her a year ago, she knew immediately whom they were talking about. They said it was from a fall down the basement stairs. That doctor (Peterson) also presented problems--he was a typical doctor, couldnt believe his patient was killed.. No. While visiting one Thanksgiving, she saw Lois force-feed Dennis, in a highchair, by shoving a fork full of food into his mouth. The prosecutor had a different attitude back then, Votel said recently. You are only allowed to leave one flower per day for any given memorial. That will require a juvenile hearing on neglect. Then there was the coroners report. In 1987, Jurgens was convicted of third-degree murder of Dennis. ``I prayed for eight years that shed die in there. Dennis Craig Jurgens was an American 3-year-old boy who was murdered in White Bear Lake, Minnesota in April 1965. #dennisjurgens #jerrysherwood #truecrime Jerry Puckett's mother abandoned her when she was three, she was raised by her father and abused by two stepmothers.. 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. 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. He couldnt comprehend anyone torturing a kid, Peterson would explain many years later. Published Jan 18, 2023. If you have questions, please contact [emailprotected]. To this end, she forced religious training on her young sons; reports had young Robert flawlessly reciting the Rosary at two. Flowers added to the memorial appear on the bottom of the memorial or here on the Flowers tab. Lois is survived by her. Rekdahl expressed some concern. Strange, he thought, that she hadnt called her brother, the police lieutenant. The sponsor of a memorial may add an additional. He would testify that he had talked to some lady down there. 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. Her brother, Jerome Zerwas, was the police lieutenant of the town of White . The trial of Lois Jurgens for the murder of 3-year-old Dennis made national . 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. 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. From the bench, he said he hoped that they could find something to explain the mistreatment of Dennis. View Obituary & Service Information
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.. The process of adopting Dennis was completed. 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." Please try again later. "There are certainly problems," says Jurgens, one of the main architects of . No, Lois said, sounding definite. Description above from the Wikipedia article Lois Jurgens, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia. Other than that, nothing remarkable.. None.. However, he was in failing health and his autopsy results did not indicate poisoning. Jerry took her case to the White Bear Lake police department and then to the local media. 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. It is fair to say that this finding raised considerable questions. In early December, 1963, Rekdahl paid her last postplacement visit to the Jurgenses. This is a carousel with slides. She is buried at the Union Cemetery, in Maplewood, Ramsey County, Minnesota. 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.The trial of Lois Jurgens for the murder of 3-year-old Dennis made national . ``If she had been convicted of this in 1965 she probably would have done about three years, Thomson said. They were independent of each other. Her brother, Jerome Zerwas, was the police lieutenant of the town of White Bear Lake, Minnesota, where she lived at the time. There is a problem with your email/password. He has had all his baby shots. She is buried at the Union Cemetery, in Maplewood, Ramsey County, Minnesota. Lois Jurgens, it turns out, was from the start a poor parental bet. To use this feature, use a newer browser. Although Lois was not charged with Dennis's murder, the death caused sufficient suspicion for the authorities to remove Robert from the home; he was placed with various relatives and one foster family for a period of just over five years, during which the Jurgens spent a great deal of effort and money attempting to regain custody. To this end, she forced religious training on her young sons; reports had young Robert flawlessly reciting the Rosary at 2. GREAT NEWS! From the death certificate she had learned that the coroner never ruled whether the death was an accident, a homicide or the result of natural causes. Drag images here or select from your computer for Lois Germaine Josephine Zerwas Jurgens memorial. So began a painstaking inquiry into the past--an inquiry that in recent months has pulled back the curtains on a decidedly uncomfortable vision. In the decade preceding the adoption of Dennis, Lois Jurgens had suffered bouts of depression and psychosis, including an extended stay at a psychiatric institution where electroconvulsive therapy was administered. Such stories are not rare. "There was obviously going to be trouble, and he didnt want to get involved.". Please ensure you have given Find a Grave permission to access your location in your browser settings. 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]. Lois also was not pleased to learn how active Dennis was. Thanks for using Find a Grave, if you have any feedback we would love to hear from you. 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. Man held is death of retarded foster child, Minneapolis Star, May 21, 1971. That will make you swallow, Lois had said. Retrieved 12 February 2015. PAUL When 3-year-old Dennis Craig Jurgens died on April 11, 1965, there were so many bruises on his body that the coroner said he stopped counting them. Eventually, all four of the siblings from Kentucky and Robert escaped the home by running away and getting help from concerned neighbors. Officially forbidden to adopt children owing to Lois' history of mental illness, the couple managed to adopt a baby named Robert privately. 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. Dr. Peterson said he saw nothing unusual in Dennis life or death. Her mother having long ago disappeared, Jerry Puckett had bounced among assorted relatives and county homes for girls.
My deputy reassured me from time to time. Are you sure that you want to delete this memorial? All photos appear on this tab and here you can update the sort order of photos on memorials you manage. One day, Zerwas walked into the squad room and found the two officers investigating Dennis death. She was 61 when she went to prison and served eight years before being paroled.. She had not noticed anything was wrong until sometime later, when Dennis began holding himself and saying, Owie! It was then she saw that his genitals were burned and called the doctor. 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. At that time, the battered-child syndrome was just beginning to be recognized. updates She was born February 25, 1927 to Leslie and Margaret Stowell in Cass County IL. His vision was a hulking humanoid creature with massive muscles and chunks of bone . She thought Dennis too aggressive, his wild behavior quite unlike Roberts. I didnt look after that; I couldnt, she said. Instead the judge agonized, repeatedly expressing from the bench his sense of conflict and uncertainty. 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. You have chosen this person to be their own family member. He was the son of teenage Jerry Sherwood (who was herself a ward of the state) and her teenage boyfriend. When Lois found him gasping and gurgling at 9 a.m., she promptly called Dr. Peterson. 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. Resend Activation Email. White Bear Lake, Minnesota. Is it quite customary to see a little boy with so many bruises, he was asked. Years later, Peterson would say much the same to the police who were reopening the case, but he did not do so in 1965. I would question him. By the second week, the investigation began to encounter obstacles. The testimony from Dr. Woodburn, the pathologist who did the autopsy on Dennis, was unequivocal. Doug Thomson, who defended Jurgens, said his client did not get out early. Lois considered herself a devout Catholic and believed she was doing "God's work" by making Dennis "perfect" in her eyes. 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. Translation on Find a Grave is an ongoing project. After The Murder. 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. I think my son is dying, Harold Jurgens had told the doctor on the phone that morning. The victim A Mrs. Charles reported a car blocking a driveway at 823 5th St. A Mrs. Krugger reported that children were damming the street at Elm and Ebba (there had been heavy rain the night before). As manager of this memorial you can add or update the memorial using the Edit button below. 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. Their flight, coupled with the lingering suspicions surrounding Dennis' death, resulted in the termination of Lois and Harold Jurgens' parental rights. 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. I dont know how to describe it, she said. The night Dennis died, Robert was riding his trike in the basement, and all the sudden he heard Dennis screaming. and this case Lois Jurgens reaction to Dennis during the visit was less than enthusiastic. 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. The boy would be gasping and choking for breath until she would fear that he would drown. Matt McMillan, White Bear Lake true crime page-turner turns 30, White Bear Press Club, June 17, 2020. As it happened, Peterson at the time was deputy coroner in Ramsey County. But how did such an infection occur in the first place? To add a flower, click the Leave a Flower button. You consider how well you can sell this to 12 people in the jury box. Notes [ edit] ^ "ANGELIZD's Place - Child Abuse Pages - Dennis Craig Jurgens". VanderWyst was not close social friends with the Jurgenses, but he knew them well enough to greet them on the street. You are nearing the transfer limit for memorials managed by Find a Grave. Her features were still attractive, although the years had added a certain hardness and fleshiness. He would testify that he had been suspicious enough to call the welfare department. 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? Korolchuk would never get the chance to answer such questions. 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. At this time there are a number of persons yet to be contacted who supposedly have information and are relatives of the family, Korolchuk wrote on Thursday, April 15, four days after the death.
The author's ability to set the scene of a tranquil. The coroner noted in his report that Dennis had almost zero subcutaneous fat, at the level of a person who had died of starvation. remarkable Beverly D'Angelo as Jerry Sherwood Soon after, Jerry Puckett dropped her plan to convert--but by then Dennis was already registered as Catholic on the adoption rolls. Family members immediately begin whispering "she killed him" , referring to his adoptive moth There was a bluish mark on the right side of the head that started at the temple and extended to behind the right ear. Obituary. Dennis nose was blood-red--VanderWyst thought it looked as if you just wiped it once more youd probably take the rest of the skin away. Notes References A Death in White Bear Lakeby Barry Siegel. Her attorney Doug Thomson (left) follows, and Harold Jurgens is behind him. Certain neighbors and family members knew there were problems with Lois' treatment of Dennis but did nothing to prevent it. 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 three-and-a-half years of age. You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times. She died aged 87 on May 7, 2013. Rekdahl decided to call on the Jurgenses. We came very close to trying to do something.
This case was a drop of water in the river.. 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. They beat my baby to death. Many years later, he explained why: I was quite certain it was a homicide, quite certain, Gingold said recently in an interview. 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.
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