Donna Marlene had seen other things. Close this window, and upload the photo(s) again. Murder of Dennis Jurgens - Infogalactic: the planetary knowledge core In spite of extensive physical evidence pointing towards severe . Lois Jurgens Obituary - Visitation & Funeral Information 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. SEARCH FOR SON GETS AN ABUSE CASE CLOSED - Chicago Tribune Harold and Lois Jurgensa middle-class, churchgoing couple who had been unable to have children of their ownhad adopted Sherwoods son, Dennis, in 1962. They said it was from a fall down the basement stairs. Her brother, Jerome Zerwas, was the police lieutenant of the town of White Bear Lake, Minnesota, where she lived at the time. Sherwood also told D'Angelo that Dana Ivey's interpretation of Lois Jurgens is eerily accurate. After Dennis' death, an older adopted son, Robert, was removed from the Jurgens home. He would testify that he had talked to some lady down there. Arnold L Jurgens Obituary Visitation Funeral Information She died aged 87 on May 7, 2013. The boy was obviously dead. Rekdahl suggested that if she had negative feelings, it would be best for them not to take the child. Harold (Harry) Jurgens Obituary - Tribute Archive They are good people. The foster mother thinks him a little wild one, but she means this appreciatively and derives pleasure from his antics. There was a television movie broadcast in 1992 on NBC entitled A Child Lost Forever that told the story from the perspective of Jerry Sherwood (played by Beverly D'Angelo).
| Learn more about managing a memorial . This drove Lois further into madness, as she felt she needed children to complete the "perfect picture" of her life. A Death in White Bear Lake er en sann krimbok av journalisten Barry Siegel, utgitt i 1990, som forteller om drapet p Dennis Jurgens. He wanted others to go first. On Feb. 11, 1964, the commissioner of public welfare, as legal guardian for Dennis, consented to his formal adoption by Harold and Lois Jurgens. There was something wrong here. The hearing would prove to be a curious affair. The Death of Superman By Jurgens, TPB, DC Comics 1993, New, Sealed. HH Korolchuk would never get the chance to answer such questions. convicted of murder As manager of this memorial you can add or update the memorial using the Edit button below. To all appearances, they were a normal midwestern family, but Jerry suspected that something sinister had happened in the Jurgens household. Certain neighbors and family members knew there were problems with Lois' treatment of Dennis but did nothing to prevent it. Make sure that the file is a photo. I would also like to receive the Early Bird Books newsletter which features great deals on FREE and discounted ebooks. 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. Lois Jurgens, 93, of Arvada, Colorado, formerly of Malvern and Glenwood, Iowa, passed away June 13, 2022. 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. | She was sentenced to a maximum of 25 years in prison and was paroled in 1995. | It was as if the authorities had found a way to try Lois Jurgens for Dennis death without calling it a murder. Walter Moore, a co-worker of Harold Jurgens, also came to the funeral. 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. 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. Murder of Dennis Jurgens - Wikiwand All photos uploaded successfully, click on the Done button to see the photos in the gallery. The case is described in detail in Barry Siegel's true-crime novel, A Death in White Bear Lake. |
I thought you might like to see a memorial for Lois Germaine Josephine Zerwas Jurgens I found on Findagrave.com. Their flight, coupled with the lingering suspicions surrounding Dennis' death, resulted in the termination of Lois and Harold Jurgens' parental rights. Zerwas wouldnt let the rest of his family view the body. She was 61 when she went to prison and served eight years before being paroled.. It just made me sick. . This memorial has been copied to your clipboard. This story changed a lot about the Superman line of booksincluding introducing iconic '90s heroes like Superboy and Steeland DC Comics writ large. Lois had had a history of mental illnesses including depression and psychosis and was originally deemed . Connect with the definitive source for global and local news. Lois Jurgens served eight years of her sentence and had a quiet life as a widow in Stillwater, Minnesota. While visiting one Thanksgiving, she saw Lois force-feed Dennis, in a highchair, by shoving a fork full of food into his mouth. The afflicted look and act very sick for a matter of hours, sometimes days. In her effort to make Dennis "right" in her eyes, Lois embarked on a series of sadistic and corporal punishments: Angered at Dennis for rejecting certain foods, she responded by placing horseradish on the food and then force-fed it to him. Basically, she thought that Lois was content and happy, especially with Robert. Soon after, Jerry Puckett dropped her plan to convert--but by then Dennis was already registered as Catholic on the adoption rolls. Oops, some error occurred while uploading your photo(s). Sherwood eventually located Dennis's death certificate; because the death was categorized as "deferred", the case was still technically open. 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. 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 investigation, trial, and conviction are considered landmarks in the history of child abuse law. I dont know how to describe it, she said. They carried assorted life insurance polices worth $10,000. Thank you very much in advance. 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.
Dennis & Robert That was why the judge wanted Lois Jurgens to consent to a thorough, inpatient examination by a psychiatrist he knew and trusted. Much of the testimony related to Dennis, not Robert. Harvey had been a rookie cop here in 1965, but Sherwoods story triggered no memories. 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. 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. They were of varying colors--black and blue, yellowish green, reddish--which meant that some were fresh, some old. Doug Thomson, who defended Jurgens, said his client did not get out early. . From a newspaper notice of his death she had learned that the boys body bore multiple injuries and bruises. Are you sure that you want to remove this flower? Oops, we were unable to send the email. He had served as a reference when they adopted Robert. He does not sound very well behaved, she said. 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. 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.