According to Rekdahls written log, that was the sum of what Peterson said to her. White Bear Lake, Minnesota. This sort of thing happened back then.. I dont think this case is an aberration at all, said Michael McGee, the current Ramsey County medical examiner who finally ruled Dennis death a homicide. For a time, that appeared to be the end of the story. 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. Sherwood's tenacity, along with the tragedy of her personal loss, kept the story in the public eye. Votel could not take the first step. Lois A. Jurgens (92) of Petersburg passed away September 25, 2019. On the stand, the Jurgenses had refused to answer questions about Dennis. Lois Jean Jurgens, the daughter of Lawrence A. and Marjorie V. (Johnson) Jones, was born on May 26, 1929 in Malvern, Iowa. Even so, doctors do not usually see third-degree burns in an area that isnt covered by clothing. Lois' remedy for the toddler wetting his diaper too frequently was to place a spring-action clothespin upon the end of his penis. cemeteries found within miles of your location will be saved to your photo volunteer list. 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. The body was severely undernourished, nearly emaciated. in the third degree and sent to prison. A parade of neighbors and relatives called to the stand by the Jurgenses attorney, Edward Donohue, all denied seeing any evidence of abuse. They had been able to discuss Lois weaknesses, even her past mental depression, without Lois becoming too nervous or upset or defensive. They were independent of each other. As he viewed the body, he thought: This boy has been murdered. Woodburn could find no subcutaneous fat at all, something everyone normally has in varying degrees. When Lois found him gasping and gurgling at 9 a.m., she promptly called Dr. Peterson. Lois Jurgens served eight years of her sentence and had a quiet life as a widow in Stillwater, Minnesota. 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. The lawyers danced around the matter, leaving much unspoken. When you judge a case, you dont do so in a vacuum, Lindholm would explain years later in an interview. Lois Jurgens, 61, was convicted of third-degree murder of her adopted son Dennis in the first phase of her trial a week ago and the jury, after deliberating five hours, rejected her insanity. Rekdahl decided to call on the Jurgenses. Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information, Desperate mountain residents trapped by snow beg for help; We are coming, sheriff says, Hidden, illegal casinos are booming in L.A., with organized crime reaping big profits, Look up: The 32 most spectacular ceilings in Los Angeles, This fabled orchid breeder loves to chat just not about Trader Joes orchids, Elliott: Kings use their heads over hearts in trading Jonathan Quick, 19 cafes that make L.A. a world-class coffee destination, Newsom, IRS give Californians until October to file tax returns, 12 reasons why Sycamore Avenue is L.A.s coolest new hangout, Best coffee city in the world? None of us knew about child abuse. DEATH OF SUPERMAN 30TH ANNIVERARY SPECIAL- 1:100 JURGENS & BREEDING FOIL VARIANT. Sherwood also told D'Angelo that Dana Ivey's interpretation of Lois Jurgens is eerily accurate. There were many fateful moments in Dennis brief life, moments in which his destiny could have been changed. . 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. She always proclaimed her innocence. 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. On January 13, 2000, she was initially suspected of poisoning her husband, Harold. 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. They had just buried the body, and that was all. He felt that she needed psychiatric help very badly and, without it, might become psychotic. 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 . 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. Why werent his hands burned--wouldnt he have instinctively reached down to protect himself? Problems arose within the police department as well. Her brother, Jerome Zerwas, was the police lieutenant of the town of White . They owned a 1963 Chevrolet pickup and a 1960 Falcon station wagon. A few wondered how the Jurgenses had ever been allowed to adopt children.
She committed one of the most unusual child murder cases in history in Minnesota.
To view a photo in more detail or edit captions for photos you added, click the photo to open the photo viewer. Then there was the coroners report. Clayton Robinson Jr., a former prosecutor in the case, said Jurgens should not have been released yet. Thank you for fulfilling this photo request. 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. VanderWyst was not close social friends with the Jurgenses, but he knew them well enough to greet them on the street. There is a lot to be known about the science of this whole darn subject, he said. WHAT happened? They also caught crappies and smallmouth bass and northern pike, but the sunfish were the best. She died aged 87 on May 7, 2013. No one here is being punitive, Gingold told the Jurgenses and their attorney from the bench. called, 'A Child Lost It was awful. In the minute she was gone, she said, he turned on the hot water. Last week, Judge David Marsden sentenced. The situation had made him uncomfortable, so uncomfortable that he hadnt pulled down the blankets or examined the body further. 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? 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.
You can second-guess yourself until you get an ulcer, Lindholm said recently. Lois Jean (Jones) Jurgens Obituary We are sad to announce that on June 13, 2022 we had to say goodbye to Lois Jean (Jones) Jurgens of Arvada, Colorado. During the early morning hours of April 11, 1965, Dennis Jurgens died at the hands of Lois Jurgens. Family members immediately begin whispering "she killed him" , referring to his adoptive moth 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. He knew that parents otherwise free of major symptoms of psychotic illness could abuse children. When it froze, hed hang lights on the seven surrounding elm trees, put out snow sculptures of bears and seals tinted with food coloring, and invite all the neighborhood kids to join his own two children in skating and hockey games. . While visiting one Thanksgiving, she saw Lois force-feed Dennis, in a highchair, by shoving a fork full of food into his mouth. The email does not appear to be a valid email address. That will make you swallow, Lois had said. Lois Germaine Josephine Zerwas Jurgens was an American convicted murderer.
By continuing to browse, you accept the use of cookies and other technologies. Jurgens and Weeks joined CBR to discuss launching Lois & Clark 2 and spoilers for its first installment. The policemen were led to understand that an attorney representing the Jurgenses had visited them and threatened them with civil lawsuits if they spoke out. 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. I didnt examine him further.. At the hearing a month later, Peterson was asked whether he saw anything unusual as he viewed the body in the crib. https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/134346102/lois-germaine_josephine-jurgens. He was frequently starved, to rid him of "sloppy fat," as Lois called it (she also called him "Sloppy Fat" as a nickname). There was also pressure from supervisors to place, especially because there were so few Catholic children. Lois had grown up in an impoverished family of sixteen siblings and used her marriage to the middle-class Harold Jurgens as a means to improve her social standing. However, he was in failing health and his autopsy results did not indicate poisoning. No animated GIFs, photos with additional graphics (borders, embellishments. At first, that seemed to be the conclusion that the official inquiry would also reach. Previously sponsored memorials or famous memorials will not have this option. That this was much more a question for doctors than for the police did not sway Votel. To keep creating A piano and bass fiddle occupied the living room. Lois had talked to them all about her toilet training methods. 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. Of course, there was that one bad accident involving third-degree burns to Dennis penis and scrotum. 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. cemeteries found in Maplewood, Ramsey County, Minnesota, USA will be saved to your photo volunteer list. On the other hand, she realized the improbability of being offered another Catholic baby in the near future. Theres nothing worse, Peterson had thought, than seeing a dead child. charles edward ed holland memorial park funeral homes and cemeteries.
The prosecutor wasnt getting help from the White Bear Lake police--her brother was on the force. 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. Dennis and Robert Jurgens, 1965. That was not binding on the prosecutor, but the defense attorney would zero in on this. 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. He was born on September 29, 1941 in rural Adams, and was later baptized and confirmed at Zion Lutheran Church of rural Pickrell. roger w. tufte sr, 76, resident of lakota, nd died saturday, february 26, 2022 at the lakota good samaritan center. . 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 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. She talked about it all the time, in fact. 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. If the doc cant figure this out, hed say, well. Are you adding a grave photo that will fulfill this request? She is buried at the Union Cemetery, in Maplewood, Ramsey County, Minnesota. 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. 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. Lois Lane (Phyllis Coates). She would be a poor candidate for adopting a child at this time, the psychiatrist in 1955 had advised St. Pauls Bureau of Catholic Charities, where the Jurgenses for years had vainly sought children. The next day, Rekdahl phoned the Jurgenses family physician, Dr. Roy Peterson, who was treating Dennis. . When the White Bear Lake police called her a year ago, she knew immediately whom they were talking about. A jury deliberated about five hours Friday before finding Lois Jurgens, 61, of Stillwater, Minn., guilty of third-degree murder, or an unintentional killing. It was hard to believe that the Jurgenses had noticed nothing. The only part of him that I saw was his chest and his face. 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). With the exception of the severe burns, his health remained quite good. Saint Paul, Ramsey County, Minnesota, USA. 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. Whod listen? 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. Share this memorial using social media sites or email.
Heroes abound now in White Bear Lake, visible and proud of their roles in unraveling the mystery of Dennis death. There are no volunteers for this cemetery. The case drew widespread publicity and was the subject of a book and a made-for-television movie. "There are certainly problems," says Jurgens, one of the main architects of . Lois Jurgens. Learn more about merges. They had seen Lois yank Dennis violently by the ears. The question of Dennis Jurgens death next fell to the Ramsey County attorneys office.
lois jurgens' death