He grew up to be a police officer and moved to Crookston. Twedt also remembers her mother Donna telling her years later, We didnt talk about that stuff then., The Gardenette neighborhood was a great place to grow up, Twedt said. However, the inferences Loss recognizes have never been said to exclude the rational hypothesis of recklessness. She was allowed her right of allocution, though she did not exercise it. Jurgens would have to show this interference did not thwart earlier prosecution. 609.225, subds. A pewter angel ornament hangs over the grave of Dennis Jurgens, inset photo. . He testified his mother ran down the stairs after him and started to hit and . 609.19 and 609.195(2) (1965). The evidence of repeated battering of the child, and the ultimate diagnosis of particular trauma to the child consistent with the battered child syndrome, are together sufficient circumstantial evidence to show death in the course of simple assault such as to establish first or second degree manslaughter based on an intentional act. It was tough to write about the death of a little boy. We conclude, however, the jury could not have found such intent lacking and still find Jurgens guilty of culpably negligent manslaughter. Crookston Post Office 202 South Broadway, Crookston 0.2 miles. Marion, 404 U.S. at 322-23, 92 S. Ct. at 464-65. Dr. Perkins, a clinical psychologist who administered and interpreted various psychological tests, had also tested Jurgens in 1967. The degree of force required was substantial, equivalent to a "train wreck" or an automobile accident. Jump to a specific location: Argyle, MN Badger, MN Crookston, MN Drayton, ND Grand Forks, ND Greenbush, MN Hallock, MN Hazel, MN Hillsboro, ND Humboldt, MN Erskine, MN Lake Bronson, MN Larimore, ND Oklee, MN Oslo, MN Roseau, MN Stephen, MN Warren, MN Argyle, MN 710 Washington Ave Argyle, MN 56713 Phone: 218-437-6626Fax: 218-438-6627 Location Manager Ryan KazmierczakCell: 218-843-5202Ryan . Douglas W. Thomson, Deborah K. Ellis, Thomson & Ellis, Ltd., St. Paul, for appellant. State v. Johnson, 422 N.W.2d 14 (Minn.Ct.App. In any event, from the state of his body at death, they could have inferred very recent abuse of a severe nature. He felt he understood why Dennis Jurgens death was now so improbably coming to their attention, and why the boys body had remained so surprisingly intact, as if awaiting their inspection, as if frozen in time until the right moment. B. Schwingle : J. Smith : Joel A. Jurgens Research Scientist University of Minnesota 495 Borlaug Hall 1991 Upper Buford Circle St. Paul, MN 55108 Phone: 612-625-6231 jurgens@umn.edu . We thought she was a witch.. According to her testimony: Bol testified at one point that this conversation occurred in 1971, and later said it was 1973. Appellant Lois Jurgens was indicted on January 30, 1987 for one count of second degree murder and two counts of third degree murder. The book makes our neighborhood sound creepy, but it wasnt.. He happened to be in the hospital for pneumonia when their house burned down in November of 65. Assault, in turn, was defined as an act done "with intent to cause fear in another of immediate bodily harm," or "intentional infliction of bodily harm." At a press conference following the arraignment, White Bear Lake Police Chief Phil Major, left, Assistant County Attorney Mindy Elledge and County Attorney Tom Foley answered questions. He does think fondly of the community. 609.195(2) (1965). The Municipal League letter from Chairman George Gallup to Georgia Hillman, then secretary-treasurer of the White Bear Lake Chamber of Commerce, read I salute the citizens of White Bear Lake whose effective action has won this award and sincerely hope they will view this honor as a further incentive to play a positive role in the affairs of their community.. We cannot agree, however, that the nature of the act was unknown, simply because the exact form of the trauma was not established, if the medical testimony established the trauma was inflicted and of sufficient force to be felonious. Dr. Jurgens is on Doximity. Also that January, Lois sister (she came from a family of 16 children born to Lois and John Zerwas Sr.) Barbara died of a brain tumor. In this case, we do not know how the injury was inflicted. He also testified Jurgens told him in 1987 the fall down the stairs occurred a week before the death. Robert Jurgens testified he remembered Dennis falling down the basement stairs not long before his death. denied (Minn. Dec. 30, 1985), where the hearsay declarant was also available as a witness, the statements were admitted, were repeated in signed written statements to police, and were consistent with the medical testimony. The judge stated the threat of criminal prosecution was past. Monday - Friday 8:30 a.m. - 5 p.m. Robert Johnson's passing at the age of 69 on Saturday, June 11, 2022 has been publicly announced by Stenshoel-Houske Funeral Home in Crookston, MN.According to the funeral home, the following services 2010 Robert Blanchette. The trial court did not err in refusing to dismiss the indictment. The statute in 1965 did not mandate a presentence investigation. This court has recently held a criminal statute of limitations is not jurisdictional and can be waived by the defendant. The Ramsey County Welfare adoption case worker testified Lois Jurgens had concerns about the placement, particularly over how Dennis would relate to their older child, Robert, but that her husband, Harold Jurgens, was very enthusiastic about adopting Dennis. Evidence on the history of appellant's abuse shows cause to anticipate simple assault there is no evidence of prior felonious blows, and the only suggestion of using weapons is testimony of Robert Jurgens that he and Dennis had been spanked with a wooden spoon or rolling pin or things of that nature. On this record, we must conclude the delay in prosecution was not an intentional device to obtain a tactical advantage. Although this statement was double hearsay, Jurgens has not challenged the hearsay admissibility of Lois Jurgens' statement to her husband. 609.195(2) (1965). Share with Us. A year earlier Dennis had been hospitalized for severe scalding of his scrotum, blamed at the time to the toddler turning on the hot water while his mother briefly left the room. When Dennis Jurgens died at the age of 3 in 1965, authorities here never ruled whether his death was an accident, a homicide . Not unlike all his team members, he chooses to wear a blue Armour when fighting in official beybattles. Jill (Neely) Twedt, who coincidentally works at Press Publications, offered her memories of the Jurgens house down the street. On October 19, 1968, Delwin was united in marriage to Judith Ann Eidem at the St. Francis Xavier Cath See Northern Petrochemical Co. v. U.S. Fire Insurance Co., 277 N.W.2d 408, 410 (Minn.1979). Jurgens had sought to dismiss the grand jury indictment for failure to submit a manslaughter charge, which would have required such a waiver. Twedts older brother Tom Neely offered one vivid recollection. Where a conviction is based on circumstantial evidence, that evidence must form a complete chain which leads so directly to the guilt of the accused that it excludes any rational hypothesis except guilt. For these reasons, appellant is entitled to a new trial, and I respectfully dissent. When I was living in White Bear Lake, my wife was pregnant with our first child. The autopsy showed an injury to the tip of the penis. that is degrading to another person. Jim Honsas daughter Terry remembers her dad coming home in 1965 and what he told her mother: That little boy did not die from falling down the stairs. Jim was relieved someone was eventually charged, Honsa said. Cable Modem is the type of internet connection. The small child was in perfect, if weathered shape, like an ancient man preserved in time. [1] The state argues Jurgens waived this claim by failing to raise it until jury instructions were discussed. He remembers Lois chasing him with a broomstick if he stepped foot on her lawn. The Crookston Police Department provides 24-hour law enforcement services and other community resources to the City of Crookston. If the child was not struck with a weapon or struck with an unusually forceful blow, but the child fell, as the experts allow, how did this come about? Although the grand jury transcript is not in the record, it is clear from its use at trial that Dr. McGee gave much the same testimony as he gave at trial concerning the cause of death. There is no indication the trauma to Dennis Jurgens was a misdemeanor assault. Get free summaries of new Minnesota Court of Appeals opinions delivered to your inbox! With Beverly D'Angelo, Dana Ivey, Michael McGrady, Max Gail. The trial court had the benefit of an extensive examination of Jurgens' mental state, which was her primary mitigating factor. Please log in, or sign up for a new account and purchase a subscription to continue reading. Given these facts, the jury had good reason to acquit appellant of third degree murder and a rational basis for convicting her of manslaughter. The jury, however, must have some reasonable basis for concluding that defendant's conduct, while intentional, was not intended to produce the degree of harm that resulted. Someone killed him., Joan Honsa still lives in the same house on Sandra Lane she shared with Jim, who died 11 years ago from cancer. The 1965 autopsy report and morgue photographs were introduced. Even Dr. Perkins, after testing Jurgens in 1967, concluded that he could not say she was mentally disturbed. It may be difficult for a defendant to show, after 22 years, that prosecutorial delay had a particular motive. Dennis Craig Jurgens (December 6, 1961 April 11, 1965) was the only fatal victim of prolific child abuser Lois Jurgens, who abused a total of six adopted children during the time from 1950 to 1970. Get an email notification whenever someone contributes to the discussion. View 29 photos of this 4 bed, 2 bath, 2369 sqft. Fax: : 218-281-1410 . Dr. McGee's live testimony, however, provided the missing foundation and made the written hearsay statement merely cumulative. You didnt comment on how someone else raised their kids., To Markoe Hanson, the Jurgens case was a dark point in our history. Robert Allen "Bobby" Johnson, 69, of Crookston, MN, passed away unexpectedly early Saturday morning, June 11, 2022, at Altru Hospital in Grand Forks, ND with loving family comforting him. Dr. McGee testified to his exhumation of the body in January 1987. Dr. McGee changed the death certificate in October 1986, listing the mode of death as homicide, and the cause of death as peritonitis from the perforation, "due to traumatic injuries consistent with battered child syndrome." 1988). In 1986 he enlisted in the US. 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