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The specter of homicide hovered, but would not land in this hearing room in 1965. Nor had his arrival two hours before. Martin fritz obituary. Soon the word spread from house to housethered been a death, the younger Jurgens boy had died. I tried to assure her that these things happen in any family.. Dennis died that evening of Peritonitis due to a perforation of his small bowel. . If hes notified there would be fifty people at her house, and she didnt want that many people around. My deputy reassured me from time to time. The case is described in detail in Barry Siegel's true-crime novel, A Death in White Bear Lake. Several relatives now told the investigators they would not sign statements. He was frequently starved, to rid him of "sloppy fat," as Lois called it (she also called him "Sloppy Fat" as a nickname). He does not sound very well behaved, she said. She knew that Lois came from a large, poor, Catholic family of 16 children, a family that at times survived on welfare. Rekdahl expressed some concern. He had lived in this home since 1953, and it gave him much pleasure. Murderpedia has thousands of hours of work behind it. Robert lived with other relatives, ultimately settling for two years with a distant cousin before he returned home. Are you sure that you want to report this flower to administrators as offensive or abusive? 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. Dennis and Robert Jurgens, 1965. Lois Jurgens at the time that she had custody of Dennis. . so its not unusual.. I can recall seeing some, but its not very clear. WHAT happened? So began a painstaking inquiry into the past--an inquiry that in recent months has pulled back the curtains on a decidedly uncomfortable vision. In the 1960s, the term child abuse had not yet been coined[citation needed][2] and no one, not even medical professionals and teachers, was required to report suspicions. 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. The policeman did not, so they carried the body to the coroners van. She committed one of the most unusual child murder cases in history in Minnesota. Jurgens, now 69, was convicted of third-degree murder in 1987 in what at the time was the oldest homicide to go to trial in Minnesota. However, he was in failing health and his autopsy results did not indicate poisoning. From their patio, they could see huge bass jumping in the water. He found bruises running the length of the body--50 to 100 of them, he would say later, the exact number hard to judge because many were overlapped. After seeing newspaper reports about the death, she was convinced that he had been beaten to death and demanded the case be re-opened. [citation needed], Dennis Jurgens was born Dennis Craig Puckett in Sauk Centre, Minnesota. Yes! . ``If she had been convicted of this in 1965 she probably would have done about three years, Thomson said. Death 7 May 2013 (aged 87) . Sherwood's tenacity, along with the tragedy of her personal loss, kept the story in the public eye. The question of Dennis Jurgens death next fell to the Ramsey County attorneys office. in the third degree and sent to prison. . Try again later. Donna Marlene Norton, Lois sister, was there that day and saw the same thing. . She died aged 87 on May 7, 2013. The term is relative. 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. 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.The trial of Lois Jurgens for the murder of 3-year-old Dennis made national . The defense attorney was still thinking about a criminal prosecution--even if no one else was. updates 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 felt that she needed psychiatric help very badly and, without it, might become psychotic. The testimony from Dr. Woodburn, the pathologist who did the autopsy on Dennis, was unequivocal. Lois Jurgens released after serving eight years, The Winona Daily News, June, 7, 1995. None.. Lois Germaine Josephine Zerwas Jurgens was an American convicted murderer. Judge Gingold would not back down either. Dennis had died of peritonitis. Sherwood also told D'Angelo that Dana Ivey's interpretation of Lois Jurgens is eerily accurate. Search above to list available cemeteries. Why was there no disposition of this case? View Obituary & Service Information Within months of Dennis' arrival, he was rushed to the hospital with first and second-degree burns on his genitalia, which were reported and accepted as accidental. The first came now. 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 . Connect with the definitive source for global and local news. Peterson did not give us any conclusive answers about the condition of Dennis or about his death, VanderWyst wrote in his report for that night. Harold and Lois Jurgens, on the advice of their attorney, no longer would make themselves available for questioning. He knew Peterson as a man always willing to help others, as a doctor very much for his patients. She knew he had high school and one year of college behind him, and that he was an only child with strong bonds to his mother. In the early 1980s, Dennis' birth mother, Jerry Sherwood, looked for Dennis, only to find out he had died in 1965. The perforation, he judged, had occurred one to two days before the childs death. roger w. tufte sr. was born on march 22, 1945 in lakota, nd the son of clarence and esther (johnson. the Murderpedia project stay alive. Korolchuk would never get the chance to answer such questions. VanderWyst didnt push the matter. If the doc cant figure this out, hed say, well. Rekdahl was developing real doubts about this placement, but the Jurgenses decided to go see Dennis that afternoon. In 1987, Jurgens was convicted of third-degree murder of Dennis. The doctor did not want to be there. "There was obviously going to be trouble, and he didnt want to get involved.". Lets not build up some fiction that now we have done everything we should do.. 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. Many years later, he explained why: I was quite certain it was a homicide, quite certain, Gingold said recently in an interview.
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. When the White Bear Lake police called her a year ago, she knew immediately whom they were talking about. Saint Paul, Ramsey County, Minnesota, USA. In 1984, Jurgens was the artist for the Sun Devils limited series (July 1984 - June 1985), with writers Gerry Conway and Roy Thomas.