From the injury to Dennis' small bowel and medical testimony as to the force required to inflict that injury, the jury could have inferred the intent to inflict great bodily harm which the aggravated assault statute required. See State v. Swanson, 307 Minn. 412, 416, 240 N.W.2d 822, 825 (1976). ST. PAUL When 3-year-old Dennis Craig Jurgens died on April 11, 1965, there were so many bruises on his body that the coroner said he stopped counting them. Did the court err in admitting the hearsay statement? Supreme Court of Minnesota. The battered child syndrome does not place on a defendant the burden of presenting evidence of accidental death, but does consider the explanation given by the defendant at the scene. The hearsay statement was not consistent with Harold's testimony in 1965, when he admitted his wife had called but denied she asked him to come home. There was no evidence of other circumstances that might have indicated Jurgens took the risk of, rather than intended to inflict, great bodily harm. A decision based on use of a dangerous weapon is flawed as much as one founded on an intentional infliction of great harm there is no evidence a weapon was employed by appellant to hurt the child; in fact, there is no evidence appellant's abuse of the child had ever involved use of a dangerous weapon. Be Nice. State v. Hardimon, 310 N.W.2d 564, 566 (Minn. 1981). Providing a full suite of technology applications and tools: Customer interaction channels (IVR . John was born in Tacoma, WA on October 13, 1965, the son of James Lee and Deloris Elaine (Goulet) Chambers. Given the history of senseless injuries to the child, the conviction of his mother has the ring of truth. We recognize the state has the burden of establishing intent, as with any other element of the offense. Thats the bottom line., The murder conviction received local and national attention. State v. Leinweber, 303 Minn. 414, 422, 228 N.W.2d 120, 125-26 (1975). Private Schools. Included among the books pages is a photo copy of the congratulatory letter announcing the All-America City Award. 4. 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. 2900 University Avenu, Crookston, MN 56716 is where Kelly resides. The adults were all friends. App.1987), pet. Even Dr. Perkins, after testing Jurgens in 1967, concluded that he could not say she was mentally disturbed. However, there was evidence of interference in the 1965 investigation of Dennis' death by Jurgens' brother, White Bear Lake police lieutenant Jerome Zerwas. Not unlike all his team members, he chooses to wear a blue Armour when fighting in official beybattles. 609.225, subds. See State v. Loebach, 310 N.W.2d 58, 64 (Minn. 1981). She was allowed her right of allocution, though she did not exercise it. Appellant had not previously inflicted felonious blows on the child. Jail records, court & arrest records, mugshots and even judicial reports. Dr. Woodburn testified there were from 50 to 100 bruises on Dennis' body at the time of death. Eighteen years later, she discovers that her child is dead, and that he was possibly murdered by his religiously -strict adoptive mom. Sherwood had discovered the coroner never ruled on the actual cause of death; they had just buried the body in St. Marys Cemetery. 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. *555 The jury could have inferred from Dennis' constantly bruised state that he and Lois Jurgens were almost continuously "at it." As the dissent points out, the evidence did not establish how the trauma was inflicted. My dad said people minded their own business. The war was escalating in Vietnam and Martin Luther King Jr. marched in Selma. The Crookston Police Department provides 24-hour law enforcement services and other community resources to the City of Crookston. 1 and 2. Moreover, Lois Jurgens was in exclusive control of Dennis during much of the time the injury could have been inflicted. Another principal character in the book, Lois Jurgens brother, Jerome Zerwas, was a White Bear Lake cop who was suspected of covering up the case in 1965. We believe the jury was capable of understanding the extensive medical testimony concerning the nature of Dennis Jurgens' injury and his earlier abuse, and was not substantially influenced by the hearsay statement. See id. Jurgens might have been prejudiced by the delay if the lost medical records conclusively supported her experts' diagnosis that she suffered from paranoid schizophrenia. View Tom Jurgens results in Minnesota (MN) including current phone number, address, relatives, background check report, and property record with Whitepages. The Jurgens other adopted son, 5-year-old Robert, was removed from their home after Dennis died and was living with his grandparents. 3. However, extensive medical records were available, dating back to 1952, and, while they showed numerous hospitalizations for mental disturbance, none established a major mental illness which would satisfy the M'Naughten standard. CRARY REAL ESTATE. She demanded to know the truth about her son's death. Ramsey Co. 1.72 acres lot - Lot / Land for sale. Did the story affect him at the time? Heard, considered, and decided by WOZNIAK, C.J., and CRIPPEN and SCHULTZ,[*] JJ. Because there was room at the time for reasonable differences on the waiver issue, the prosecution could understandably fear obtaining a manslaughter verdict which would be found barred by the statute of limitations. Another neighbor, Kathy (Bucholz) Rodvald, remembers seeing the hearse parked in the Jurgens driveway that Palm Sunday. Don't knowingly lie about anyone The name Bucholz isnt in the book, she added, because her dad wouldnt talk to Siegel. Jurgens had requested an instruction on second degree manslaughter (death resulting from culpable negligence). 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 . Virgil Robert Love Jr, 68, of Crookston, MN, passed away unexpectedly of natural causes Monday morning, March 7, 2022, at RiverView Health in Crookston. Give. Dr. Paul T. Jurgens is a cardiologist in Minneapolis, Minnesota and is affiliated with Littleton Adventist Hospital. denied (Minn. June 25, 1987) (defendant, who left newborn baby in toilet, then stuffed her into a wastebasket, was guilty of culpable negligence manslaughter). A pewter angel ornament hangs over the grave of Dennis Jurgens, inset photo. 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." Dennis blood had cried out from the ground, penned Siegel. The author, who won a Pulitzer Prize in 2002 for a story of another childs death in the Utah wilderness, said he still hears from people interested in the Jurgens case. Siegel interviewed more than 100 people for his book, which took about 18 months to write. I grew up in LA so it was like living in a different world. The state here established not only the battered child syndrome, admitted by the defense, but Jurgens' exclusive control, the improbability of an accidental cause, and medical testimony that the death could not have been caused by an accident as described by the Jurgenses. He testified, from 1987 photographs of the Jurgens home, that it was not possible Dennis' internal injuries were caused by a fall down the basement stairs or onto the basement floor. The assistant county attorney, on the record, stated only that that office was not interested in prosecuting at the time. Jurgens objected to this testimony. See Northern Petrochemical Co. v. U.S. Fire Insurance Co., 277 N.W.2d 408, 410 (Minn.1979). According to her testimony: Bol testified at one point that this conversation occurred in 1971, and later said it was 1973. Robert David Stuckey, age 82, of Crookston, Minnesota, passed away early Thursday morning, August 12, 2021, in Altru Hospital, Grand Forks, North Dakota. We found 52 addresses and 55 properties on 3rd Avenue in Crookston, MN. If it has done so at all, the state has barely met its burden in a murder prosecution to show an underlying felonious assault. 609.195(2) (1965). $21,000. Age 52 (218) 281-1761. In short, June Bol's testimony, while dramatic, was not highly probative, and its admission was harmless error. Post Office. The medical testimony showed Dennis' injury could have been caused by a fall from a sufficient height onto a fixed object. Grave injustice may be done by convicting a person of murder without an opportunity to have an important alternative accusation presented to the jury. Given the evidence of the degree of force involved, we believe the jury could not have *554 distinguished the intent to inflict great bodily harm from the intent only to inflict bodily harm but with a dangerous weapon. We had children the same age so it hit him hard., White Bear Historical Society Executive Director Sara Markoe Hanson remembers watching the body being exhumed on the television news. Given the state of the law at the time, a singular effort to compare the evidence with prospective charges was understandably contaminated by the limitations concern; this was a major consequence of the time lapse between the offense and the time of prosecution. He also testified Jurgens told him in 1987 the fall down the stairs occurred a week before the death. 875 (1935) (by discussing whether defendant waived statute of limitations, the court implied it was a waivable defense). Loss, 295 Minn. at 280, 204 N.W.2d at 410. 2d 226 (holding the limitations can be waived); see also State v. Tupa, 194 Minn. 488, 260 N.W. A Wikipedia excerpt notes the book is considered by many to be a seminal document regarding child abuse.. STATE of Minnesota, Respondent, v. John Robert CHAMBERS, Petitioner, Appellant. The jury was instructed that the term "dangerous weapon" included an "instrumentality which, in the manner it is used or intended to be used, is calculated or likely to produce death or great bodily harm." Dr. McGee testified the perforation of the ileum was caused by a blunt, traumatic injury occurring from 8 to 48 hours before death. I can picture the boys still, Rodvald said. 609.22 (1965). Where the defendant fails to meet the Marion burden of showing a due process violation, however, the statute of limitations is the defendant's guarantee against facing stale criminal charges. The MMPI test that Perkins gave in 1987, however, showed Jurgens within the normal range, although near the upper limits, on both the paranoia and schizophrenia scales. Jurgens' claim that the trial court abused its discretion in failing to order a presentence investigation is without merit. See State v. Warren, 419 N.W.2d 795 (Minn.1988). Born on December 6, 1961 as Dennis Craig Pucket, Dennis would later be adopted by a family where he suffered abuse and eventually died at the hands of his adoptive mother. There is a conflict of authority on whether the statute of limitations is jurisdictional, or a defense which may be waived. Was the evidence sufficient to support the conviction? Jurgens was granted her right of allocution. Jurgens does not claim significant prejudice in defending the homicide charge itself. Robert Gurgens is a resident of Minneapolis. Critically, as the majority observes, there is no other evidence here as to the nature of the act that fatally harmed the child. Dennis death certificate indicated the cause of death as peritonitis due to traumatic perforation of the small bowel. Lawrence Robert Jurgens; Patricia Lynn Jurgens; Robert Andrew Jurgens; Theresa M Jurgens; CTA TEXT. They are open every day of the week. So did the cops and the mortician who embalmed Dennis. Witnesses testified that Jurgens told them she put a clothespin on Dennis' penis to stop bedwetting. STATE of Minnesota, Respondent, They have also lived in Maple Grove, MN and Saint Paul, MN. Marion, 404 U.S. at 321-22, 92 S. Ct. at 463-64. Crookston. Crookston MN. The bruises were still visible on the now leathery brown skin. Jurgens herself told White Bear Lake police her husband had been in northern Wisconsin and she called him on Saturday to tell him Dennis was sick. There was no smoking gun piece, Siegel said. Two of her brothers still live in her parents Gardenette house. You have permission to edit this article. Appellant Lois Jurgens was indicted on January 30, 1987 for one count of second degree murder and two counts of third degree murder. *551 Jurgens has not shown the prosecution intentionally delayed seeking an indictment in order to obtain a tactical advantage. He is a plant biologist who served as the dean of Brigham Young University's College of Biology and Agriculture. This was defined as the defendant's causing the death of another: Minn.Stat. Full-service Crookston law firm proudly serving the Northwest Minnesota area since 1889. We disagree. The trial court had the benefit of an extensive examination of Jurgens' mental state, which was her primary mitigating factor. When I was living in White Bear Lake, my wife was pregnant with our first child. Bester, Robert - Died in 2019. Siegel wrote that McKees thoughts turned not to the wonders of science, but of religion. It was noted that Dennis was wearing sunglasses while reciting the rosary at the Lake Mortuary visitation. While the extent of the injury may not always establish the defendant's intent, evidence of the force of the trauma inflicted here left no reasonable basis for the jury to find culpable negligence. 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