The next morning, six coroners jurors were asked to view the body of a dead boy, and to remember everything they saw. There was also the matter of community attitudes. 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. Judge Archie Gingold, in his findings at the close of the hearing, ruled that Dennis had been subjected to many incidences of cruel and severe abuse. She saw Harold, then 40, as a tall, rather swarthy man of German and Norwegian extraction, with dark brown hair and eyes. His vision was a hulking humanoid creature with massive muscles and chunks of bone .
so its not unusual.. This case was a drop of water in the river.. Lois and Harold Jurgens lived in a comfortable . We came very close to trying to do something. As he viewed the body, he thought: This boy has been murdered. Rekdahl could not so assure her. When he arrived at the Jurgens home, though, hed realized all that was pointless. Zerwas wouldnt let the rest of his family view the body. The chief one involved the nature of the malady that killed Dennis. Yes! They beat my baby to death. Sherwood's tenacity, along with the tragedy of her personal loss, kept the story in the public eye. Eventually, all four of the siblings from Kentucky and Robert escaped the home by running away and getting help from concerned neighbors. In spite of extensive physical evidence pointing towards severe abuse, the medical examiner did not classify the death under any of the standard classifications of accident, suicide or murder; he simply marked it "deferred". I thought the burn accident was a weird story when she told it, but again, there just was not that level of awareness, things didnt get referred. 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.
Retrieved 12 February 2015. Pitera stared at the body. There was obviously going to be trouble, and he didnt want to get involved. 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 3+12 years. 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. 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? 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. To the casual observer, the Jurgens' seemed to be a normal, church-going family with a perfectly maintained house and yard. 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. Drag images here or select from your computer for Lois Germaine Josephine Zerwas Jurgens memorial. Year should not be greater than current year. Father Riser told her he definitely would. 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. 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. He attended Olney Rural Elementary School and graduated from Filley High School in 1959. We reached a point where we could not find any new leads or pick up any new information .
Harvey had been a rookie cop here in 1965, but Sherwoods story triggered no memories. Close this window, and upload the photo(s) again. My clients have rights, he said. 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. GREAT NEWS! Then he began to look terrible--his face so old, like a little old man. On January 13, 2000, she was initially suspected of poisoning her husband, Harold. Please contact Find a Grave at [emailprotected] if you need help resetting your password. 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. This flower has been reported and will not be visible while under review. Are you sure that you want to remove this flower? She seemed to Scott County welfare workers a hostile and sullen young woman, unhappy and emotionally underdeveloped. In early December, 1963, Rekdahl paid her last postplacement visit to the Jurgenses. You do consider social attitudes. Jurgens was one of 16 children. 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. Dennis Craig Jurgens was an American 3-year-old boy who was murdered in White Bear Lake, Minnesota in April 1965. [citation needed][3]. Camille Brass knew the blue convertible belonged to Dr. Peterson. He had served as a reference when they adopted Robert. Resend Activation Email, Please check the I'm not a robot checkbox, If you want to be a Photo Volunteer you must enter a ZIP Code or select your location on the map. The neighbors talked among themselves that afternoon. 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.| She always proclaimed her innocence. Connect with the definitive source for global and local news. 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. Dennis had thrown up then. The first came now. To this end, she forced religious training on her young sons; reports had young Robert flawlessly reciting the Rosary at two. 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. As the new adopted children were older, there were many first-hand histories (recounted to the media during the 1987 trial of Lois Jurgens) describing the severe abuse they suffered at their adoptive mother's hands. Is it quite customary to see a little boy with so many bruises, he was asked. Though the name of the adoptive family was not given, many suspected that the story was about Lois Jurgens. VanderWyst, visiting him after the autopsy the night of Dennis death, told the family physician what Woodburn had found. You can customize the cemeteries you volunteer for by selecting or deselecting below. Please enter your email address and we will send you an email with a reset password code. They had seen Lois pull Dennis ears so hard that blood flowed. There are a lot of dead babies in the ground who were killed.. Placement with the paternal grandparents ended due to a house fire that occurred at a time when Robert was hospitalized with pneumonia, and his grandmother burned to death. Are you adding a grave photo that will fulfill this request? |
Stanley Wiatros was one of them. Whod listen? 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. she grew up and attended school in malvern, graduating in 1947. lois attended cosmetology school in des moines, iowa. He has no teeth yet, but they are coming. Lois considered herself a devout Catholic and believed she was doing "God's work" by making Dennis "perfect" in her eyes. That will make you swallow, Lois had said. Thanks for using Find a Grave, if you have any feedback we would love to hear from you. Those looking back now, those who unraveled the case, tend to shrug and shake their heads when Votels name comes up. He eats well. He had lived in this home since 1953, and it gave him much pleasure. 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. Even with half the body obscured, VanderWyst noticed the bruises--an awful lot of them he would say later. Harold Jurgens had converted a breezeway off the kitchen into a large, open family, dining and cooking area. The doctors eyes slid to a corner of the room. Though the specific cause of that fatal blow is not known, it is known that it was Lois who had given it to Dennis. The doctor did not want to be there. Star Tribune photo by Donald Black. Which memorial do you think is a duplicate of Lois Jurgens (134346102)? Novel and Adaptations: Barry Siegel's true-crime novel A Death in White Bear Lake recounts the story via extensive research and oral history.