Certain neighbors and family members knew there were problems with Lois' treatment of Dennis but did nothing to prevent it. Did the doctor remember his thoughts on why this child died, his inner feelings that day? When the wind was up, Peterson would take out his sixteen-foot sailboat and glide toward Manitou Island and the town of White Bear. This post is sponsored by Open Road Media. They would not know for two weeks whether Dennis would need skin grafts, he had told Rekdahl. The lawyers danced around the matter, leaving much unspoken. She died aged 87 on May 7, 2013. The afflicted look and act very sick for a matter of hours, sometimes days. Over the course of several visits to the Jurgens home, Rekdahl saw the matter differently. At first Bob Brass thought the squad car was Loiss brothers, but then they saw VanderWyst in the driveway. Lois was born on March 4, 1930, in Iowa the daughter of the late Axel and Lena. Mrs. VanderWyst drove the mile to his house in silence, the young boy sitting beside him. She did not want this to influence their decision, but in all truthfulness, that was the reality. When Lois found him gasping and gurgling at 9 a.m., she promptly called Dr. Peterson. He liked them. Lois had talked to them all about her toilet training methods. Now the town is most frequently described as middle class. No one here is being punitive, Gingold told the Jurgenses and their attorney from the bench. She knew that Lois came from a large, poor, Catholic family of 16 children, a family that at times survived on welfare. Lois Jurgens at the time that she had custody of Dennis. . It was full of redwood and log railings, and the lawn and trees ran almost to the waters edge, a good hundred feet of lake frontage in all. Your account has been locked for 30 minutes due to too many failed sign in attempts. Dennis was now fully accepted and loved in the family, she decided. HH at the best online prices at eBay! Dennis Craig Jurgens was an American 3-year-old boy who was murdered in White Bear Lake, Minnesota in April 1965. 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. A woman was convicted Friday of third-degree murder in Lois Jurgens at the time that she had custody of Dennis. Is it quite customary to see a little boy with so many bruises, he was asked. 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. According to Rekdahls written log, that was the sum of what Peterson said to her. 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. A system error has occurred. In 1992 A made-for-TV movie was made based on both Jerry's story and this case called, ' A Child Lost Forever ' w/ the remarkable Beverly D'Angelo as Jerry Sherwood and Judith Ivey as Lois Jurgens. Even with half the body obscured, VanderWyst noticed the bruises--an awful lot of them he would say later. 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. To keep creating Try again later. 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. As he viewed the body, he thought: This boy has been murdered. Donna Mae Zerwas, Lois sister-in-law, had seen all that and more. Lois attended cosmetology school in Des Moines, Iowa. The word homicide remained unspoken. based on information from your browser. He feared finding himself alone. . Ivey's Lois Jurgens is a woman so proud and righteous, her sense of morality . . he told the grand jury last year. The county had filed a custody petition, alleging neglect. A common belief amongst witnesses and neighbors at the time of the murder, and among the investigators who eventually re-opened the case, is that he interfered with the investigation and destroyed incriminating evidence. Votel went through living hell, one local judge said. Several relatives now told the investigators they would not sign statements. ANGELIZD's Place - Child Abuse Pages - Dennis Craig Jurgens 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. Family and friends are welcome to leave their condolences on this memorial page and share them with the family. She was diagnosed as having mixed psychoneurosis and also unable to conceive a child with Harold. To add a flower, click the Leave a Flower button. A family friend, Barbara Venney, saw the bruises through the flowers. Toddler murdered by abusive adoptive mother - Horror History .net undefined Notes ^ http://www.angelizdsplace.com/ http://www.angelizdsplace.com/child43.htm. At that time, the battered-child syndrome was just beginning to be recognized. This account already exists, but the email address still needs to be confirmed. Dennis and Robert Jurgens, 1965. He was the son of teenage Jerry Sherwood (who was herself a ward of the state) and her teenage boyfriend. What was to be the core of the case against Lois Jurgens 22 years later essentially came out then, albeit in a less detailed, more muted fashion. True Crime Coven hausoftruecrime: Woman Tortures Adoptive Son To Lois had had a history of mental illnesses including depression and psychosis and was originally deemed . He looks like a boy of 10. Rekdahl found her judgment confirmed by the Jurgenses priest. 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. Heroes abound now in White Bear Lake, visible and proud of their roles in unraveling the mystery of Dennis death. Dennis and Robert Jurgens, 1965. No, Lois said, sounding definite. 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. The doctor did not want to be there. Learn about how to make the most of a memorial. 
One of Lois Jurgens responses was to call Father Riser, the priest who had so warmly recommended them to the county welfare worker. He would testify that he had talked to some lady down there. How could the hot water splashing down on the baby have burned only his penis and scrotum? 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. Whod listen? ``May God strike her dead, thats what I have to say to Lois Jurgens, Jerry Sherwood said. He wanted others to go first. 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. She thought Dennis too aggressive, his wild behavior quite unlike Roberts. On January 13, 2000, she was initially suspected of poisoning her husband, Harold. Murderpedia has thousands of hours of work behind it. On Nov. 28, 1962, members of the Scott and Ramsey counties welfare departments, including Rekdahl, had a conference in the town of Shakopee. 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. During his short life, Dennis . Child Murder : The Town Confronts Its Past - Los Angeles Times Lois Jurgens Obituary (1927 - 2019) | Petersburg, Illinois Learn how and when to remove this template message, "ANGELIZD's Place - Child Abuse Pages - Dennis Craig Jurgens", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Lois_Jurgens&oldid=1133446799, Articles lacking in-text citations from December 2022, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0, This page was last edited on 13 January 2023, at 21:13. They just werent going to get any damaging information from him. Pitera would take photos later that day. Statements in the police logs were riddled with discrepancies. . This was the situation that Gerane Rekdahl, a Ramsey County welfare case worker, found when she visited the Jurgens home on March 1, 1962. Two husbands and four children later, Sherwood had gone searching for her firstborn, only to learn that he had died years before, in 1965, at age 3. 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. Lois Jurgens was at home alone with the children much of the weekend of Dennis' death. Robert was returned to the Jurgens home and, going through new channels, the couple was eventually able to adopt four school-aged siblings from Kentucky. Peritonitis is a horribly painful illness involving shock, collapse of the blood vessel system, high fever and breathing difficulties. The two also teased what's in store for readers . Rekdahl found him friendly and talkative--perhaps too much so, for he often strayed widely from the subject at hand. Lois Jurgens, One of The Most Terrible Moms in America! The term is relative. The victim He was an outgoing child, as happy and adjusted as could be expected under the circumstances. Brand New. ). In the early 1980s, Dennis' birth mother, Jerry Sherwood, looked for Dennis, only to find out he had died in 1965. 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. No one proposed handing the investigation to some other body--to, say, the county sheriffs office. Judge calls murder of child 'barbaric' - UPI Archives Its so expensive.My friend, after twenty thousand years murder is still a business thats mainly in the hands of amateurs.Orson Welles (19151985), Its almost as if they were saying, You live your life, and well live ours.Richard Fielding, and Lee Sholem. When Dennis messed his bed, she said, she forced the boy to eat his feces. This memorial has been copied to your clipboard. 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. Please check your email and click on the link to activate your account. If the doc cant figure this out, hed say, well. That was all Gingold had to concern himself with. . Lois Jurgens served eight years of her sentence and had a quiet life as a widow in Stillwater, Minnesota. . Lois Jurgens served eight years of her sentence and had a quiet life as a widow in Stillwater, Minnesota. Lois Jurgens, know for her short, volatile temper, murdered him. He had served as a reference when they adopted Robert. According to reports from family members who eventually testified at the murder trial, Dennis turned purple from being force-fed the bitter and spicy horseradish and also having his oxygen supply cut off when Jurgens covered his mouth and nose. Mornings there were wonderful, but the dusk was the doctors favorite time, for the sun set each evening over the water and trees, falling behind Manitou Island, leaving behind a fiery orange sky. Murder of Dennis Jurgens - After The Murder I felt we actually checked out the concerns quite carefully.. Many years later, at his mother's trial, by then 27-year-old Robert recounted the events of that evening, testifying that his mother had beaten Dennis extensively and had thrown him down the stairs. 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. We thought it would be no use..
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No, she explained. . Its easy today to say, Why didnt they prosecute? but it was a different time, a different time. It was not his job to do anything other than pronounce the boy dead. . . https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/134346102/lois-germaine_josephine-jurgens. On bare skin, the heat just flashes off. The specter of homicide hovered, but would not land in this hearing room in 1965. Rekdahl did know that Lois had a history of psychiatric problems involving a nervous breakdown in the early 1950s. ``If she had been convicted of this in 1965 she probably would have done about three years, Thomson said. 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." You can second-guess yourself until you get an ulcer, Lindholm said recently. She is buried at the Union Cemetery, in Maplewood, Ramsey County, Minnesota . She died aged 87 on May 7, 2013. Matt McMillan, White Bear Lake true crime page-turner turns 30, White Bear Press Club, June 17, 2020. Donohue was not inclined to relax such controls. Sign up for The Lineup's newsletter and get terrifying tales delivered straight to your inbox. The victim Failed to remove flower. Eventually, all four of the siblings from Kentucky and Robert escaped the home by running away and getting help from concerned neighbors. cemeteries found within miles of your location will be saved to your photo volunteer list. Thanks for using Find a Grave, if you have any feedback we would love to hear from you. When Dennis cried, Lois would force his head under the cold water faucet at the kitchen sink. Gladys and Dorothy talked frequently to each other about what they had seen, not unaware that theyd recommended the Jurgenses to the welfare department caseworker. To view a photo in more detail or edit captions for photos you added, click the photo to open the photo viewer. 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. Many years later, asked in court how this placement was approved, Rekdahl--by then a psychotherapist and psychiatric social worker in Napa, Calif., remarried and using the name Gerane Wharton-Park--said: We finally had really no exacting reasons why we could turn this family down. Maybe we can get more evidence from there. That will require a juvenile hearing on neglect. There was a television movie broadcast in 1992 on NBC en*led A Child Lost Forever that told the story from the perspective of Jerry Sherwood (played by Beverly D'Angelo). Translation on Find a Grave is an ongoing project. On or around the night of April 11, 1965, Dennis Jurgens died at the hands of Lois Jurgens. He was shaken. . 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. Description above from the Wikipedia article Lois Jurgens, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia. They had shocked James Nelson. Which memorial do you think is a duplicate of Lois Jurgens (134346102)? She talked about it all the time, in fact. He felt that Lois mental breakdown was not extremely serious and that she had completely recovered. Try again. She had a story to tell. I would question him. A piano and bass fiddle occupied the living room. The trial of Lois Jurgens for the murder of 3-year-old Dennis made national headlines and was the top news story of the state of Minnesota in 1987. They owned a 1963 Chevrolet pickup and a 1960 Falcon station wagon. She was a good dozen years younger than the Jurgenses. In 1984, Jurgens was the artist for the Sun Devils limited series (July 1984 - June 1985), with writers Gerry Conway and Roy Thomas. They had been able to discuss Lois weaknesses, even her past mental depression, without Lois becoming too nervous or upset or defensive. This browser does not support getting your location. 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. Search above to list available cemeteries. He never wanted to say a bad word about anyone. Donna Marlene Norton, Lois sister, was there that day and saw the same thing. I would also like to receive the Early Bird Books newsletter which features great deals on FREE and discounted ebooks. contact
This is the story of a small boys murder that went undeclared and unprosecuted for 22 years in a community full of people who knew what had happened. In 1987, Jurgens was convicted of third-degree murder of Dennis. He felt that she needed psychiatric help very badly and, without it, might become psychotic. We will review the memorials and decide if they should be merged. . They just buried the body in St.. new content, we kindly appreciate any donation you can give to help Lois Jurgens released after serving eight years, The Winona Daily News, June, 7, 1995. Years later, the attorney representing Roberts interests at the 1965 custody hearing would still remember those photos. Photos larger than 8Mb will be reduced. roger w. tufte sr, 76, resident of lakota, nd died saturday, february 26, 2022 at the lakota good samaritan center. 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. ``I prayed for eight years that shed die in there. Only 5% to 10% of the bruises on Dennis could have been caused by such a fall. 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. Notification of death or terminal illness, Office of Revisor of Statues . We reached a point where we could not find any new leads or pick up any new information . 1 Bakgrunn; 2 Innhold; . The threat of a criminal prosecution is way by the boards now. Are you sure that you want to delete this photo? Three-year-old Dennis Jurgens is murdered by his adoptive mother. Please contact Find a Grave at [emailprotected] if you need help resetting your password. . They had checked on him throughout the night. . All I could do was shake my head.. Korolchuk would never get the chance to answer such questions. Prosecutors contended little Dennis died after numerous beatings and abuse, which including making the child eat food covered with horseradish and tying him spread-eagle in his crib. Continuing with this request will add an alert to the cemetery page and any new volunteers will have the opportunity to fulfill your request. Dennis Craig Jurgens was an American 3-year-old boy who was murdered in White Bear Lake, Minnesota in April 1965. Just past one year of age, Dennis was placed in the Jurgens' home in 1962, in anticipation of an adoption after spending much of his first year in foster care. 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. The childs death occurred before there were state-mandated sentencing guidelines, and Thomson argued that she should have served less time. Dan Jurgens Returns to Death of Superman | DC cemeteries found within kilometers of your location will be saved to your photo volunteer list.
After seeing newspaper reports about the death, she was convinced that he had been beaten to death and demanded the case be re-opened. This sort of thing happened back then.. Lois Jurgens appeared with her attorney Doug Thomson in Ramsey County To perforate a bowel, the doctors agreed, there had to be severe, concentrated trauma applied to the abdomen--the sort of injury that could be expected in a high-speed automobile accident. En dd i White Bear Lake - A Death in White Bear Lake Lois Jurgens was disappointed about Dennis age. There was no possibility that Dennis had died from a blow to the head. home Eventually Lois Jurgens was arraigned, and her identity released by the media. 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. You consider how well you can sell this to 12 people in the jury box. The trial of Lois Jurgens for the murder of 3-year-old Dennis made national . Lois thought that would be a good idea. VanderWyst climbed into his patrol car and backed down the Jurgens driveway at 11:48 A.M. VanderWysts departure did not go unnoticed. Its not unusual, the doctor said. angelizdsplace.com/. Lois walks past the TV cameras on her way to the courtroom on January 30, 1987, to plead not guilty to three counts of murder. There was a problem getting your location. I dont know how to describe it, she said. He knew Peterson as a man always willing to help others, as a doctor very much for his patients.
After all, Dorothy Engfer more than once had seen Lois smack Dennis so hard the blood flowed from his nose, and Gladys DeMars had watched Dennis over two summers wither from a husky, jolly baby to a wan little boy covered with bruises and black eyes and split lips. The boy was obviously dead. 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. Dan Jurgens and Lee Weeks Break Down Young Jon Kent's Return in Lois The sequel spins out of The Death of Superman 30th Anniversary Special #1, which transformed construction worker Lloyd Crayton into a new Doomsday-like villain for Superman: Doombreaker. Lois considered herself a devout Catholic and believed she was doing "God's work" by making Dennis "perfect" in her eyes. Read more about this topic: Murder Of Dennis Jurgens, But Ive heard mankind abuse thee;And perhaps its rather strange,But I thought that I would choose theeFor encomium, as a change.Charles Stuart Calverley (18311884), Mily: You must remember me! The author's ability to set the scene of a tranquil. He had one great friend, his world's Lois, but she died and now he sees another version of her still alive and pregnant. 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. Years later, Peterson would say much the same to the police who were reopening the case, but he did not do so in 1965. Superman: Lois and Clark by Dan Jurgens | Goodreads Retrieved 12 February 2015. 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. She was sentenced to a maximum of 25 years in prison and was paroled in 1995. That was why the judge wanted Lois Jurgens to consent to a thorough, inpatient examination by a psychiatrist he knew and trusted. They were independent of each other.
One of Lois Jurgens responses was to call Father Riser, the priest who had so warmly recommended them to the county welfare worker. He would testify that he had talked to some lady down there. How could the hot water splashing down on the baby have burned only his penis and scrotum? 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. Whod listen? ``May God strike her dead, thats what I have to say to Lois Jurgens, Jerry Sherwood said. He wanted others to go first. 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. She thought Dennis too aggressive, his wild behavior quite unlike Roberts. On January 13, 2000, she was initially suspected of poisoning her husband, Harold. Murderpedia has thousands of hours of work behind it. On Nov. 28, 1962, members of the Scott and Ramsey counties welfare departments, including Rekdahl, had a conference in the town of Shakopee. 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. During his short life, Dennis . Child Murder : The Town Confronts Its Past - Los Angeles Times Lois Jurgens Obituary (1927 - 2019) | Petersburg, Illinois Learn how and when to remove this template message, "ANGELIZD's Place - Child Abuse Pages - Dennis Craig Jurgens", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Lois_Jurgens&oldid=1133446799, Articles lacking in-text citations from December 2022, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0, This page was last edited on 13 January 2023, at 21:13. They just werent going to get any damaging information from him. Pitera would take photos later that day. Statements in the police logs were riddled with discrepancies. . This was the situation that Gerane Rekdahl, a Ramsey County welfare case worker, found when she visited the Jurgens home on March 1, 1962. Two husbands and four children later, Sherwood had gone searching for her firstborn, only to learn that he had died years before, in 1965, at age 3. 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. Lois Jurgens was at home alone with the children much of the weekend of Dennis' death. Robert was returned to the Jurgens home and, going through new channels, the couple was eventually able to adopt four school-aged siblings from Kentucky. Peritonitis is a horribly painful illness involving shock, collapse of the blood vessel system, high fever and breathing difficulties. The two also teased what's in store for readers . Rekdahl found him friendly and talkative--perhaps too much so, for he often strayed widely from the subject at hand. Lois Jurgens, One of The Most Terrible Moms in America! The term is relative. The victim He was an outgoing child, as happy and adjusted as could be expected under the circumstances. Brand New. ). In the early 1980s, Dennis' birth mother, Jerry Sherwood, looked for Dennis, only to find out he had died in 1965. 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. No one proposed handing the investigation to some other body--to, say, the county sheriffs office. Judge calls murder of child 'barbaric' - UPI Archives Its so expensive.My friend, after twenty thousand years murder is still a business thats mainly in the hands of amateurs.Orson Welles (19151985), Its almost as if they were saying, You live your life, and well live ours.Richard Fielding, and Lee Sholem. When Dennis messed his bed, she said, she forced the boy to eat his feces. This memorial has been copied to your clipboard. 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. Please check your email and click on the link to activate your account. If the doc cant figure this out, hed say, well. That was all Gingold had to concern himself with. . Lois Jurgens served eight years of her sentence and had a quiet life as a widow in Stillwater, Minnesota. . Lois Jurgens served eight years of her sentence and had a quiet life as a widow in Stillwater, Minnesota. Lois Jurgens, know for her short, volatile temper, murdered him. He had served as a reference when they adopted Robert. According to reports from family members who eventually testified at the murder trial, Dennis turned purple from being force-fed the bitter and spicy horseradish and also having his oxygen supply cut off when Jurgens covered his mouth and nose. Mornings there were wonderful, but the dusk was the doctors favorite time, for the sun set each evening over the water and trees, falling behind Manitou Island, leaving behind a fiery orange sky. Murder of Dennis Jurgens - After The Murder I felt we actually checked out the concerns quite carefully.. Many years later, at his mother's trial, by then 27-year-old Robert recounted the events of that evening, testifying that his mother had beaten Dennis extensively and had thrown him down the stairs. 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. We thought it would be no use..
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