If you've been living under a rock for the past 52 years and don't know who Dennis Jurgens or his story, let me catch you up to speed. Dennis was born Dennis Craig Puckett on December 6, 1961 in Sauk Centre, Minnesota to Jerry Sherwood and her boyfriend Dennis Puckett. However, because she was a ward of the sate and unwed, the authorities urged Jerry to place Dennis up for adoption, assuring her he'd be well taken care of.
After being in foster care, Dennis was adopted by the Jurgens, of White Bear Lake, Minnesota, a suburb of Saint Paul. Harold Robert and Lois were his adoptive parents. They had another child from a previous adoption who they named Robert, but when Dennis came to live with them, Lois instantly disliked him. Within months of living with the Jurgens, Dennis was rushed to the hospital with second-degree burns on his penis, which was reported as "accidental." As the years went on, the abuse Dennis endured got worse and worse, and he would be covered in numerous bruises, but of course, Lois claimed she had no idea how he got the bruises.
Lois made Robert and Dennis recite the Rosary every night, and of course, because in her eyes, Robert was the "good son" and recited it flawlessly, while Dennis had to do it while kneeling on a broomstick, until Lois thought he did it as well as Robert. Sadly, Robert was the only witness to Dennis's abuse, and because he was only five around the time of the abuse, he couldn't do anything to stop it and help his brother.
The night Dennis died, Robert was riding his trike in the basement, and all the sudden he heard Dennis screaming. He saw his mother throw Dennis down the basement stairs then begin to hit and kick him as he lay in the floor screaming. As he was screaming, Lois kicked him in the stomach, and that blow to the stomach killed him. About 16 years after his death, Jerry wanted to see her son, only to find out he had died when he was only 3 and a half years old.
During the time of his death, not much was known about child abuse, until Jerry reopened her son's case. Lois was finally charged with child abuse leading to death, thanks to her eldest son, Robert who testified against her. Lois only served eight years of her sentence. After her release, she lived a quiet life as a widow, she later died on May 7, 2013 at the age of 87.
