Murder of Dennis Jurgens - The Murder of Dennis Jurgens

The Murder of Dennis Jurgens

During the early morning hours of April 11, 1965, Dennis Jurgens died at the hands of Jurgens. The official cause of death was Peritonitis due to perforation of the small bowel. 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. Along with the aforementioned evidence of starvation and the scarring and bite-marks on his genitalia, the coroner discovered multiple lacerations and multiple generations of bruises covering most of his body.

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. Lois, who abused Dennis constantly, was pushed to new levels of rage as the flood waters filled her basement.

The only witness to Lois' final abuse of Dennis was Robert, who was 5 years old at the time. Many years later, at his mother's trial, a now 27-year-old Robert recounted the events of that evening, including Lois' extensive beating of Dennis and his being thrown down the stairs by her.