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The trial of Lois Jurgens for the murder of 3-year-old Dennis made national headlines and was the top news story of the . Retired now for several years, he suffers from angina and does not go out much, but he recalls the 1965 hearing. He would testify that he had talked to some lady down there. They also caught crappies and smallmouth bass and northern pike, but the sunfish were the best.

 

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. It is not known specifically what caused the fatal blow, though the injury was later found to have been, beyond a reasonable doubt, inflicted by Lois Jurgens owing to evidence of her constant physical abuse. Four days after he drafted this analysis, on April 30, he and VanderWyst were pulled off the case. Such stories are not rare. Are you sure that you want to report this flower to administrators as offensive or abusive? 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. On January 13, 2000, she was initially suspected of poisoning her husband, Harold. . Sherwood also told D'Angelo that Dana Ivey's interpretation of Lois Jurgens is eerily accurate. 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. 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. The email does not appear to be a valid email address. Oops, something didn't work. Her brother, Jerome Zerwas, was the police lieutenant of the town of White . The prosecutor wasnt getting help from the White Bear Lake police--her brother was on the force. Many years later, he explained why: I was quite certain it was a homicide, quite certain, Gingold said recently in an interview. Though the specific cause of that fatal blow is not known, it is known that it was Lois who had given it to Dennis. Thanks for your help! Lois Jurgens released after serving eight years, The Winona Daily News, June, 7, 1995. 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. Are you sure that you want to delete this photo? Ep 50-52 A Death in White Bear Lake by Barry Siegel- Sources, Photos When Dennis cried, Lois would force his head under the cold water faucet at the kitchen sink. She knew that Lois came from a large, poor, Catholic family of 16 children, a family that at times survived on welfare. Lois Jurgens, the sadistic baby torturer and killer! - Amino Lois Jurgens. A vivid portrait of an all-American town that harbored a killer, A Death in White Bear Lake is also the absorbing story of two detectives who refused to give up until they had the killer cold. GREAT NEWS!

I can recall seeing some, but its not very clear. All photos appear on this tab and here you can update the sort order of photos on memorials you manage. Rekdahl, who graduated from St. Pauls Hamline University in 1957 with a bachelors degree in social work, had been in adoption services for less than one year. Why werent his hands burned--wouldnt he have instinctively reached down to protect himself? I remember very clearly the pathologist coming in and saying it had to be a blow, not a fall, but I think the prosecutor felt he couldnt prove it, and I was on the same wavelength as the prosecutor. They beat my baby to death. Ivan and Gladys Demars, neighbors who had served as references when Dennis was adopted, over the fence had seen the boy with bruises, black eyes, split lips. Star Tribune photo by Donald Black. English Woodburn could find no subcutaneous fat at all, something everyone normally has in varying degrees. The mother was an unmarried 17-year-old, Jerry Ann Puckett, an attractive blonde of Danish-German extraction. The official cause of death was Peritonitis due to perforation of the small bowel. There are a lot of dead babies in the ground who were killed.. The Jurgenses returned to their house on Gardenette Drive, childless but free of any charge. April 11, 1965. Its easy today to say, Why didnt they prosecute? but it was a different time, a different time. ``May God strike her dead, thats what I have to say to Lois Jurgens, Jerry Sherwood said. The neighbors talked among themselves that afternoon. She said she had set Dennis in the sink to wash him after he had wet his diaper, then had gone into another room to get a clean diaper. How could the hot water splashing down on the baby have burned only his penis and scrotum? Strange, he thought, that she hadnt called her brother, the police lieutenant. The hearing would prove to be a curious affair. Then there was the coroners report. Lois Germaine Josephine Zerwas Jurgens (August 12, 1925 May 7, 2013) was an American convicted murderer[1] responsible for one of the most unusual child murder cases in history in Minnesota.

Dennis and Robert Jurgens, 1965.

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. He has no teeth yet, but they are coming. [citation needed][3]. 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. Her mother having long ago disappeared, Jerry Puckett had bounced among assorted relatives and county homes for girls. . They were of varying colors--black and blue, yellowish green, reddish--which meant that some were fresh, some old. By the second week, the investigation began to encounter obstacles. Most simply remain hidden. One might get a first impression that Lois was cold and indifferent, but to Rekdahl, this seemed a defense for insecurities. She knew the agencys policy was not to place children with couples who were over 40, an age they were approaching. I was advised that the information was being obtained, that there was an ongoing investigation, Votel said recently. The author's ability to set the scene of a tranquil. When Harold took him to the bathroom at about 7:30 or 8 in the morning, Dennis had seemed fine. Years later, Dr. Lynn Solem, the present director of the burn center at St. Paul-Ramsey Hospital, would explain that though this type of burn is now regarded as a sign of child abuse, in 1963 it would have been accepted as accidental. Lois Jurgens - en-academic.com This relationship is not possible based on lifespan dates. 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. I have never seen anything like that done.. By continuing to browse, you accept the use of cookies and other technologies. She was sentenced to a maximum of 25 years in prison and was paroled in 1995. During this period, Lois was once again placed in a psychiatric facility. . Theres nothing worse, Peterson had thought, than seeing a dead child. I thought you might like to see a memorial for Lois Germaine Josephine Zerwas Jurgens I found on Findagrave.com. You have chosen this person to be their own family member. . She thought the postplacement period had been quite successful. Drag images here or select from your computer for Lois Germaine Josephine Zerwas Jurgens memorial. Did the doctor remember his thoughts on why this child died, his inner feelings that day? That will make you swallow, Lois had said. Lois had had a history of mental illnesses including depression and psychosis and was originally deemed . His vision was a hulking humanoid creature with massive muscles and chunks of bone . 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. Year should not be greater than current year. Late in August, Lois had called Rekdahl to report the matter. This was the situation that Gerane Rekdahl, a Ramsey County welfare case worker, found when she visited the Jurgens home on March 1, 1962. In fact, they remain strangely forgotten. Stanley Wiatros was one of them. The psychiatrist thought it fortunate that Lois Jurgens could not get pregnant because a child would only compound and complicate her emotional disturbances. You need a Find a Grave account to continue. Donna Neely wondered, as she studied the Jurgenses now-silent house from her front window. She was sentenced to a maximum of 25 years in prison and was paroled in 1995. In our family you dont dare say much.. Three-year-old Dennis Jurgens is murdered by his adoptive mother. They had been able to discuss Lois weaknesses, even her past mental depression, without Lois becoming too nervous or upset or defensive. VanderWyst didnt push the matter. To use this feature, use a newer browser. Harold was infertile and the Jurgenses desperately wanted to adopt another child. At 2 p.m. on that Palm Sunday, Dr. Robert Woodburn, the coroners chief pathologist, conducted the autopsy. However, he was in failing health and his autopsy results did not indicate poisoning. The two also teased what's in store for readers . so its not unusual.. He doesnt look like a tiny little kid, he thought. The perforation, he judged, had occurred one to two days before the childs death. You can second-guess yourself until you get an ulcer, Lindholm said recently.

By this point, Lois' rage and mania had gone beyond her ability to maintain an appearance of normalcy, and she and Harold had relocated to rural Stillwater, Minnesota, possibly to escape the gossip of their former neighborhood where Dennis was killed. There appeared to be a number of discrepancies in the Jurgenses story, he noted. White Bear Lake, Minnesota. Are you adding a grave photo that will fulfill this request? 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 Lois Jurgens served eight years of her sentence and had a quiet life as a widow in Stillwater, Minnesota. . Thirty years after the original Death of Superman storyline, the iconic tale's writer Dan Jurgens has confirmed which alternate Superman villains almost killed the hero. The only witness to Lois's final abuse of Dennis was Robert, who was 5 years old at the time. No one proposed handing the investigation to some other body--to, say, the county sheriffs office. The rows of neatly kept houses, the modern police station and the shopping strips all reflect a level of modest comfort rather than affluence. Harold and Lois Jurgens, a middle-class, churchgoing couple in picturesque White Bear Lake, Minnesota, had adopted Dennis and five other foster children. . View Obituary & Service Information She talked about it all the time, in fact. conviction
They would not know for two weeks whether Dennis would need skin grafts, he had told Rekdahl. 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 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). They are good people. ``You have to understand this child is only 3 1/2 years old and virtually every day Lois Jurgens had him he was a victim of some kind of physical or mental abuse, and I dont think eight years was quite enough to compensate society for the act she committed, Robinson said. Peritonitis is a horribly painful illness involving shock, collapse of the blood vessel system, high fever and breathing difficulties. We have many The boy was dead by the time the doctor arrived at 9:35. angelizdsplace.com/. 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. The Jurgenses are not being attacked anywhere along the line.

Dennis Craig Jurgens, 3.

They attempted to mind their own business and feared retribution from Lois, who was not above threatening the lives of her family members. A piano and bass fiddle occupied the living room. . Please complete the captcha to let us know you are a real person.

 

This sort of thing happened back then.. https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/134346102/lois-germaine_josephine-jurgens. They just buried the body in St.. based on information from your browser. Failed to report flower. Sherwood's tenacity, along with the tragedy of her personal loss, kept the story in the public eye. She believed that Lois had opened up a great deal and tried to be as truthful as possible. Dennis lay in the ground at St. Marys Cemetery, no name given to his death. The psychiatrist also observed that Lois had an obsession about order and cleanliness. The process of adopting Dennis was completed. The specter of homicide hovered, but would not land in this hearing room in 1965. Dan Jurgens and Lee Weeks Break Down Young Jon Kent's Return in Lois Deferred, Votel had written. Eventually, all four of the siblings from Kentucky and Robert escaped the home by running away and getting help from concerned neighbors. 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. The autopsy report mentioned bruises head to toe. 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. I have several children about that age with this same problem. After seeing newspaper reports about the death, she was convinced that he had been beaten to death and demanded the case be re-opened. There is 1 volunteer for this cemetery. This was the first child-abuse case he had handled. If Votel had called it a homicide, at least that prospect would have been removed. When Lois found him gasping and gurgling at 9 a.m., she promptly called Dr. Peterson. Last week, Judge David Marsden sentenced. This memorial has been copied to your clipboard. There is no evidence we are dealing with any people here who have any demon-like motives. Instead the judge agonized, repeatedly expressing from the bench his sense of conflict and uncertainty. From the bench, he said he hoped that they could find something to explain the mistreatment of Dennis. That was not binding on the prosecutor, but the defense attorney would zero in on this. And it was not my position to do anything other than to pronounce him dead.. Lois Germaine Josephine Zerwas Jurgens (1925-2013) - Find a Grave It was hard to believe that the Jurgenses had noticed nothing.