There was a problem getting your location. From the bench, he said he hoped that they could find something to explain the mistreatment of Dennis. Donna Mae Zerwas, Lois sister-in-law, had seen all that and more. 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. . There was something wrong here. From the patio off his living room and the balcony off his bedroom, he could look across the lake to Manitou Island, and beyond, to the town of White Bear. Jurgens would make his debut as a comic book writer with Sun Devils he began scripting from Conway's plots with #8 and fully took over the writing duties on the title with #10. I looked down. Still, she had never forgotten the case. There was no community pressure back then. [citation needed][3]. The hole had allowed a fifth of a quart of infectious, purulent fecal material to flow into the abdominal cavity. The testimony from Dr. Woodburn, the pathologist who did the autopsy on Dennis, was unequivocal. All photos appear on this tab and here you can update the sort order of photos on memorials you manage. That doctor (Peterson) also presented problems--he was a typical doctor, couldnt believe his patient was killed.. The first came now.
With Lois's mental health deteriorating, a hearing explores the question, should Lois and Harold Jurgens keep custody of their 5 year old adopted son, Robert after the death of this brother, Dennis. There was obviously going to be trouble, and he didnt want to get involved. 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. Lois Jurgens, know for her short, volatile temper, murdered him. . No one proposed handing the investigation to some other body--to, say, the county sheriffs office. 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! 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. If hes notified there would be fifty people at her house, and she didnt want that many people around. There are a lot of dead babies in the ground who were killed.. Product details Publisher : Ballantine Books (November 28, 2000) Language : English Paperback : 560 pages ISBN-10 : 0345487176 But neither the judge nor anyone else was willing to face the implications of such findings. Dennis lay in the ground at St. Marys Cemetery, no name given to his death. 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. This story changed a lot about the Superman line of booksincluding introducing iconic '90s heroes like Superboy and Steeland DC Comics writ large. There is 1 volunteer for this cemetery. Because they were Catholic and there were very few Catholic babies on the register, it was likely that they would have to wait quite a long time, she explained. They were independent of each other. Officially forbidden to adopt children owing to Lois' history of mental illness, the couple managed to adopt a baby named Robert privately. Donna Mae, about 5 feet away, watched in horror as Lois force-fed that vomit to him, made him eat it. .
Some had seen or heard Dennis being beaten. 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. 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 Jurgenses returned to their house on Gardenette Drive, childless but free of any charge. Certain neighbors and family members knew there were problems with Lois' treatment of Dennis but did nothing to prevent it. After Dennis' death, an older adopted son, Robert, was removed from the Jurgens home. Dr. called, 'A Child Lost Harold was infertile and the Jurgenses desperately wanted to adopt another child. There are no volunteers for this cemetery. harold e bageant obituary visitation funeral information. 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. The night of his death, a great flood had hit the Saint Paul area and the Mississippi River's waters were rising to record levels, causing flooding in the region and inside the Jurgens' home. The topic under consideration was the possible placement of Dennis Puckett with the Jurgens family. 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. Make sure that the file is a photo. Most simply remain hidden. . Close this window, and upload the photo(s) again. It was just inconceivable to Woodburn that Dennis had been so injured by slipping and falling on a basement floor. Her brother, Jerome Zerwas, was the police lieutenant of the town of White . Eventually, all four of the siblings from Kentucky and Robert escaped the home by running away and getting help from concerned neighbors. This account has been disabled. The only witness to Lois's final abuse of Dennis was Robert, who was 5 years old at the time. This was a murder. Youve got to worry about tomorrow.
Tragically, just a few years after the adoption, Dennis died from peritonitis. We wanted to tell someone, she said. Tragically, just a few years after the adoption, Dennis died from peritonitis. In our family you dont dare say much.. For a time, that appeared to be the end of the story. ?Tadeusz: I never remember pretty women. 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 frequently starved, to rid him of "sloppy fat," as Lois called it (she also called him "Sloppy Fat" as a nickname). Then there was the coroners report. Many years later, he explained why: I was quite certain it was a homicide, quite certain, Gingold said recently in an interview. . He would wait until the police investigation could resolve the matter.
Photos larger than 8Mb will be reduced. Its kind of hard to believe., ``How can you take a babys life like that and beat it for two years and then walk free? she said. The house at 2148 South Gardenette Drive, White Bear Lake, where the Jurgenses lived from 1957 to 1967. 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. They had checked on him throughout the night. Sadly, the mother-son reunion was not meant to be; Jerry's child had died just before his fourth birthday. 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. Dennis was lying face up in his crib, his stiffened arms raised eight inches off the bed. According to Rekdahls written log, that was the sum of what Peterson said to her. 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. After seeing newspaper reports about the death, she was convinced that he had been beaten to death and demanded the case be re-opened. Please enter your email and password to sign in. Lt. Clarence (Buzz) Harvey at first did not know what to make of the blonde 42-year-old woman who appeared at the front desk of this towns solitary police station on the morning of Sept. 18, 1986. ``There is no justice. DEATH OF SUPERMAN 30TH ANNIVERARY SPECIAL- 1:100 JURGENS & BREEDING FOIL VARIANT. .. On Nov. 28, 1962, members of the Scott and Ramsey counties welfare departments, including Rekdahl, had a conference in the town of Shakopee. He very strongly favored the Jurgenses getting another child. The county had filed a custody petition, alleging neglect. To the casual observer, the Jurgens' seemed to be a normal, church-going family with a perfectly maintained house and yard. Get up to speed with our Essential California newsletter, sent six days a week. Others promised that they would do so. A Mrs. Hansen called to report a lost wallet, which resulted in an officers checking a phone booth at Fourth and Washington streets, next to the Avalon Jewelers. . She thought Dennis too aggressive, his wild behavior quite unlike Roberts. 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. Retired now for several years, he suffers from angina and does not go out much, but he recalls the 1965 hearing. Lois, who abused Dennis constantly, escalated to new levels of rage as the flood waters filled her basement. The Jurgenses are not being attacked anywhere along the line. He has no teeth yet, but they are coming. There he had been loved and well cared for by an experienced foster mother. The welfare department case work was very limited. child abuse law. They had cited the Fifth Amendment protection against self-incrimination. There was a bluish mark on the right side of the head that started at the temple and extended to behind the right ear. . He could be a battered child, Votel said he reasoned, and still his death could have been caused by a fall, an accident. The psychiatrist thought it fortunate that Lois Jurgens could not get pregnant because a child would only compound and complicate her emotional disturbances. Walter Moore, a co-worker of Harold Jurgens, also came to the funeral. 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. I did my best.. Even with half the body obscured, VanderWyst noticed the bruises--an awful lot of them he would say later. [2] She is buried at the Union Cemetery, in Maplewood, Ramsey County, Minnesota . Lois thought that would be a good idea. When they cleared land for his basement, theyd found old rolls of amusement park ticketsthree rides for a nickel. She was a good dozen years younger than the Jurgenses. For memorials with more than one photo, additional photos will appear here or on the photos tab. Those looking back now, those who unraveled the case, tend to shrug and shake their heads when Votels name comes up. Her brother, Jerome Zerwas, was the police lieutenant of the town of White Bear Lake, Minnesota, where she lived at the time. Weve updated the security on the site. Ivey's Lois Jurgens is a woman so proud and righteous, her sense of morality . They beat my baby to death, Sherwood told Buzz Harvey. No prosecution was taken at that time. To use this feature, use a newer browser. 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.
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