Clarity means quality, and , We cant fight it any longer. The reason why they dont talk about the murders on the tour isnt because they are trying to hide it, its because murder is a horrendous thing to happen and not everyone wants to hear about it. "It really was like a house in a time capsule.". Developed by Prime Marketing Exposition, @2022 - 2022 - All Right Reserved. Tags: Glensheen, Majorie Congdon, Summer 2017, Sign up for the Artful Note newsletter, our guide to the good life delivered right to your inbox. The Duluth newspaper archives included thousands of mentions of her activities. After other evidence was discovered at their home in Denver, Marjorie tried to poison Roger, but he was sent to Methodist Hospital in St. Louis Park on July 5, and was ready to be handed over to Duluth police on July 7, 1977. Glensheen, built just northeast of downtown Duluth in 1909, was the audacious symbol of Congdon's wealth and made the murders that much more intriguing. A portrait of Chester Congdon looks over visitors to the Glensheen Mansion's library on Wednesday. Their manipulation of others is symptomatic of that need. MinnPost: Although Glensheen is well known, your grandmother is not. Chester Adgate Congdon accrued a fortune, How long is the tour? As a single woman, this bordered on the scandalous, but Elisabeths regrets would have little to do with the social opprobrium her action invited. Whatever the diagnosis revealed was something Elisabeth would never tell anyone. Her nurse is also killed, bludgeoned with a candlestick. The family briefly moved to Mankato, Minnesota, and then in 1955 returned to St. Louis Park, this time to 3330 Huntington Ave., a larger house on the shores of Bass Lake in the Minikahda Oaks neighborhood. It might help visitors better understand Marjories behavior, and raise awareness about these dangerous people among us. Editors note:This article was produced as a part of a collaboration between The Growler Magazine and 89.3 The Current, Minnesotas non-commercial, member-supported radio station playing the best authentic, new music alongside the music that inspired it. We sold it.. But in the big picture a greater public service could be done by acknowledging the tragedy and handing out information on psychopathology. Even her attorney Ronald Meshbesher couldnt get her off. The first time she invited me over I was met at the door by the Doberman pinscher peering out through the little window on the door. Roger Caldwell, when he was arrested for the murders of heiress Elisabeth Congdon and her nurse, in St. Louis County, on July 8, 1977. Im doing work now with Youth Link, and some of the proceeds from this book will go to help young people at risk of sexual trafficking. At the same time, she essentially only comes after people she can get something from, and none of my siblings or myself have anything for her. Elisabeth was the last surviving child of mining magnate Chester Congdon, who built Glensheen in the first decade of the 20th century and was reportedly the richest man in Minnesota when he died in 1916. Clarence H. Johnston, Sr.; Charles W. Leavitt, Jr. One month before the murder Marjorie got a prescription for Antabuse. The evidence pointed toward Marjorie. And I loved nursing; I was very privileged to work in Minnesota, nationally, and internationally as a nurse. St. Louis County Chief Prosecutor John DeSanto prosecuted the 1977 murders. Sociopaths are shaped by their environment. Marjories mother and the rest of the Congdon family put their foot down and refused to send her money to bail her out. Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. if (d.getElementById(id)) return; Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. Marjorie used her inheritance to acquit her of the murder of the person who controlled her inheritance. They are thinking about restoring the greenhouses, which were torn down in 1971, and bringing in bee hives and selling Glensheen honey. It looked like justice was finally catching up with her. She was arrested again in 1984 when she burned down her house in Mound, Minn. She was convicted of arson and insurance fraud and sentenced to 21 months in prison. Marjories problem wasnt caused by others. When word reached Jennifer Congdon, Marjorie Congdons younger sister, the first thing she said was, Marjorie did it. But proving that was going to be difficult. And he said it's too grisly to discuss on tours with families. But it didnt stop there. DULUTH Trouble continued to follow Marjorie Caldwell after her 1979 trial and acquittal for murder conspiracy in the slayings of her mother and her mother's nurse at Glensheen. "People have seen her as recently as the last couple weeks, walking her dog without a walker," Feichtinger said at the time. Our reporters are only able to do their work thanks to support at all levels. She was so much more than the last day of her life. She and her new husband, Roger Caldwell, were living in Colorado and were flat broke.. From 1993 to 2004, Marjorie served 11 years of a 15-year prison sentence for the arson fires in Ajo. What do ice crystals on a frozen food item indicate? Though one of the suspects was convicted, and later signed a confession, some elements of the crime remain mysterious, and it has persisted as a source of continued fascination. Then at the age of thirteen she did something that wouldve been a warning sign to any criminal psychologist, had there been such a thing in 1945. She went up to the prone figure. MP: Your book includes two riveting and fairly disturbing courtroom dramas the murder trial [starring a sneering Ron Meshbesher] and the settlement of your grandmothers estate. Sociopaths are rarely so engaging. She was introverted and spent most of her time reading alone or playing by herself in the nooks and crannies of the vast mansion. In March 1991 Marjorie was caught red-handed setting fire to her neighbors house with him inside of it. Psychopaths are at their most dangerous when their manipulations are thwarted. The last I heard, she was calling herself Marjorie Hagen and living in the Southwest. She and Caldwell kept asking Elisabeth for money, reportedly so they could realize their dream of a horse ranch. MP: You write with such rich detail about visiting your grandmother at Glensheen, and the functions of the house the service, the secret call buttons. Developed by. Accordingly, when Marjorie was thirteen, Elisabeth bought Marjorie a horse she had been demanding. When she was alerted to the fire, she was nonchalant. Condgon was found smothered with a satin pillow. From the outside, it may have looked like her spending was out of control. So is she no longer a threat? And new things are happening. Stained glass window above the stairway landing at Glensheen mansion where Velma Pitiela was murdered. But Marjorie had something going for her that Roger didnt. Police alleged it was a crime of greed, saying Marjorie Caldwell and her new husband, Roger Caldwell, were desperate for money and wanted to speed up their $8 million inheritance. Sadly, most people from her generation would not be able to square what they know about Marjorie with the diagnosis of a psychopath. Born in 1853, the son of a Methodist minister, Chester showed ambition and drive at an early age. Elisabeth Congdon, heiress to a taconite fortune in Duluth, never married and could not have children so she adopted Jacqueline and changed her name to Marjorie. It became kind of obvious that the jurors were thinking, boy I don't think this lady would kill her mother.". Psychopaths are in complete control of reality. At least three books have been written about Hagen, including, "Will to Murder: The True Story Behind the Crimes & Trials Surrounding the Glensheen Killings," by former News Tribune crime reporter Gail Feichtinger, retired Duluth police detective Gary Waller and DeSanto. She decided to ask the trustees of her estate to lend her $750,000 to buy a horse ranch in Colorado. The book shop promotes books about the homicides and I didnt want this book to be with them. But psychopaths are different. Sociopaths have a conscience, but their moral compass is weak. She would be strange. She delivered hospital meals. Rogers trial resulted in two consecutive life sentences, handed down on July 10, 1978. He used to call her, My Angel., Psychotics are not the same thing as psychopaths, but for a whole generation of people theres only one way to be psycho. She remains a free womanthough shes been twice convicted of arson or attempted arson, and served two sentences for those crimes. Marjorie Congdon was born Jacqueline Barnes on July 14, 1932, to an unwed mother in Tarboro, North Carolina. This is especially , Clear ice isnt just for looks. In a 2009 plea agreement, she pleaded guilty to attempted forgery and was sentenced to three years of intensive probation. Marjorie had a penchant for arson. I wanted more people to understand why she was so special. Where Marjorie Congdon Hagen goes, fire and death follow. He befriended the US District Attorney in St. Paul and got a job as his assistant. But she could also make up fibs faster than anyone could keep track of. In 1960 Dick was still working as an insurance agent in an office above Miracle Mile in St. Louis Park. On Jan. 6, 2004, Hagen left prison in Perryville, Ariz., after serving 10 years of the 15-year sentence for arson. She helped found a baby clinic in Duluth that eventually became a Planned Parenthood. Four years into his sentence, though, Roger Caldwell walked out of prison, never to return. A deposit of iron ore had been found sixty miles to the north in the Mesabi range, and Pittsburgh steel magnate Andrew Carnegie had shown an interest in it. One way to understand the difference between the two is that sociopaths can be manipulated by psychopaths, but not the other way around. Without Conscience: The Disturbing World of the Psychopaths Among Us. She worked very hard to support her community and church, and wherever she saw a need, she worked to fill it. The case went to trial in the searing summer of 1978. They win people over, before bending them to their will. The shores of Lake Superior near Glensheen Mansion. Investigators quickly identify two suspects with a classic motive: struggling financially, the suspects stood to inherit millions upon the victims death. If you can make a difference in even one life, its meaningful. I had to wonder: Do you fear for your personal safety? The family has written some letters, and weve had discussions. They are callous and opportunistic and care nothing about you. As her personality emerged from behind a wall of introversion, it was aggressive and unpleasant, and she made people uncomfortable. One other big difference stands out. "Then went upstairs and smothered the 83-year-old heiress in her bed with a satin pillow.". Soon, Marjorie turns into the stepmother from hell. On March 24, 1992, she was arrested for burning down her neighbors house. Prone to arson, Marjorie was suspected of torching her home in Marine on St. Croix, Minnesota, but the matter was dropped. He passed the bar and took a job as a high school principal in Chippewa Falls, Wisconsin. Most Minnesotans know of Marjorie Congdon as the woman who was tried and acquitted of conspiring with her then husband, Roger Caldwell, to murder Marjories mother, heiress Elizabeth Congdon. Marjorie Congdon has been diagnosed a psychopath. I had 22 years with her and she impacted me so much in that time, and always after. She was sentenced two and a half years in prison and fined $10,000. She bought her things. She is released 21 months later. The bedroom where Elisabeth Congdon was murdered. During World War I, she worked with the Red Cross. After the murders, someone stole Velma Pietilas car and left it at the airport, suggesting the killer had fled the city. Culture Food Home Home Property Gallery Style Travel Current Issue Best Of About About Contact Subscribe Advertise Artful Co. Shop Relations between Marjorie and her family members were highly strained, and the Congdon estate closely monitored all communication between Marjorie and her mother. May 17, 1988 Marjorie Caldwell, as Hagen was then known, was instantly considered a suspect in her mother's murder. The Associated Press and Arizona Daily Star contributed to this report. Marjorie Congdon was accused of plotting the death of her wealthy mother, Elisabeth Congdon, and nurse Velma Pietila, who were found dead at the Congdon estate almost 40 years ago. When I began my research, I discovered so many amazing things. MinnPost | P.O. Their mother Hagen's previous wife was in a nursing home in 1980 when she collapsed into a coma and died after Marjorie allegedly was seen feeding her something from a jar. They married on August 7, 1981, in North Dakota; Marjorie had not bothered to divorce Roger and is still wanted for bigamy in North Dakota. You find yourself not knowing what play youre in, Poling continues. In 1983 Roger Caldwell confessed to the Glensheen killings, pleading guilty to two counts of second-degree murder. Speech competition for high school girls in Minnesota welcomes applications through March, Duluth Polar Plunge makes a splash for Special Olympics. SCL: I visited archives all over the country. It has been lightly edited for today's readers. She taught me to give back. If she could not get it by lying, cheating and stealing, she would find some other way. Who wrote youll like my mother?Jo HeimsNaomi A. Hintze. Most Minnesotans know of Marjorie Congdon as the woman who was tried and acquitted of conspiring with her then husband, Roger Caldwell, to murder Marjorie's mother, heiress Elizabeth Congdon. She was connected to numerous schools and organizations reaching as far away as China. "The big mystery still is, did Roger do it alone or with someone else there, and how involved if at all was Marjorie? 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