A mother’s search for the son she gave up uncovers terrifying secrets in a Minnesota town in this “masterfully depicted true-crime tale” (Publishers Weekly). In 1962, Jerry Sherwood gave up her newborn son, Dennis, for adoption. Twenty years later, she set out to find him–only to discover he had died before his fourth birthday. The immediate cause was peritonitis, but the coroner had never … but the coroner had never decided the mode of death, writing “deferred” rather than indicate accident, natural causes, or homicide. This he did even though the autopsy photos showed Dennis covered from head to toe in ugly bruises, his clenched fists and twisted facial expression suggesting he had died writhing in pain.
Harold and Lois Jurgens, a middle-class, churchgoing couple in picturesque White Bear Lake, Minnesota, had adopted Dennis and five other foster children. To all appearances, they were a normal midwestern family, but Jerry suspected that something sinister had happened in the Jurgens household. She demanded to know the truth about her son’s death.
Why did authorities dismiss evidence that marked Dennis as an endangered child? Could Lois Jurgens’s brother, a local police lieutenant, have interfered in the investigation? And most disturbing of all, why had so many people who’d witnessed Lois’s brutal treatment of her children stay silent for so long? Determined to find answers, local detectives and prosecutors rebuilt the case brick by brick, finally exposing the shocking truth behind a nightmare in suburbia.
A finalist for the Edgar Award, A Death in White Bear Lake is “a distinguished entry in the annals of crime documentary,” and a vivid portrait of the all-American town that harbored a sadistic killer (The Washington Post).
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Very sad story, the system totally has to take responsibility for this tragic death. I applaud the mother for not taking no for an answer. This is by no means an isolated case, scary.
It’s a good book, but extremely sad.
A true story.
Brings mountains up close and personal
The story of the crime is good, but there are way too many minute details. I found myself skimming pages often.
I was disgusted, by the way this abusive adoptive mother, got away with it for so long, and how family members who witnessed it, turned a blind eye. Finally, after many years, the biological mother gets justice for her little boy, but not without a tough struggle, but she persisted. It was sad how she was manipulated to give him up when she was only 17. Again, no pity for the poor. The baby boy was given to a couple with means, but the wife was a psychotic disaster, with a known history, and a husband with no moral guts to stand up to her, and save that little boy, when he witnessed what she was doing.
Recommend for excellence in writing about a horrific true story. Heart-breaking, but necessary to honor the sweet little innocent.
Deeply detailed but never tedious. Kept my attention until the end. Highly recommend this one!
A little wordy
It goes into excruciating detail of the death of a little boy in 1965 and the collective failure to protect him from his abuser. It took years for anyone to be prosecuted for the child’s death, and the author explains precisely why. People who want a fast read, pat answers and a happy ending aren’t going to enjoy this book, but readers who want to take their time to understand the social, legal and cultural dimensions of this tragedy will. I came away with a genuine admiration for the boy’s mother, who insisted on getting some justice for her son when she found out, years later, that the woman who adopted her child had killed him.
Well written, but I couldn’t finish it because the truth of what was done to a small child was just too horrific.
Begs the post WE II question: are children disposable, replaceable commodities?
Fascinating Story.
This is not only a true crime story, but an educational one as well. I loved reading about how American justice system began recognizing child abuse was not only an epidemic and crime, but an actual syndrome. The changing of our system to be able to prosecute these abusers was very interesting! I would definitely recommend this book as a superb read.