Still, its a little awkward when youre standing in the bedroom where Elisabeth Congdon was murdered with a satin pillow over her face, and its not even mentioned. I wanted more people to understand why she was so special. They cannot believe the things people say about her. What does Louis Osbourne do for a living? Three years later on March 2, 2007 she was caught trying to forge the signature of a recently deceased friend on an inheritance check. A satin pillow was lying over Elisabeths face. 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. I had an appetite for travel and interest in other cultures, and worked with aborigines in Australia. But even today, guides don't discuss the murder during tours, although they will answer questions after, explained Glensheen Director Dan Hartman. Marjorie used her inheritance to acquit her of the murder of the person who controlled her inheritance. She went up to the prone figure. Marjorie said they had a suicide pact, but she couldn't go through with her end of it. In 1990, the Hagens moved to Ajo, Ariz. Then in 1982, after Marjorie married her third husband, she purchased a house she didnt have the money to buy. And they ended up acquitting her. Winter is coming, so . Sign up for The Growler's mailing list to receive the latest news in food, drink, and culture, and special events you won't want to miss. At the time of the slayings, the Caldwells were deep in debt. conniving.''. But psychopaths are not greedy in the same way sociopaths are. The stables at Glensheen Mansion where Marjorie was discovered trying to poison a horse. But at the Congdon Mansion in Duluth, Minnesota they want to avoid discussing Marjorie. What does that mean? When Marjorie was sixteen, Elisabeth sent her away to a boarding school in New England. They may charm you, they may trick you, or they may put you in a difficult position. When Goetzman asked whether Suzanne fears for her safety, Suzanne answered that shes taken all the necessary precautions. Even so, she says, You never turn your back., At @HistoryTheatre, Chan Polings Glensheen is moving and macabre. Candleholders on Elisabeth Congdons bedside table in Glensheen Mansion. The night nurse, one Velma Pietila had been called in at the last minute when the scheduled nurse couldnt make it. Later, I became interested in infectious disease and HIV. But prosecutors didn't want to risk a not guilty verdict. In 1983 Roger Caldwell confessed to the Glensheen killings, pleading guilty to two counts of second-degree murder. A big contingent are coming in opening nighttheyve got their tickets already.. Her children were always dressed like out of a magazine ad. The next day, DeSanto charged Marjorie with conspiring to kill her mother. Gray Duck Media. If she could not get it by lying, cheating and stealing, she would find some other way. Marjorie was charged with murder but charges were dropped. When Marjorie was three, Elisabeth adopted a second daughter who she named Jennifer. I found her yacht, the Hesperia, in Lloyds Register of Ships. If they change to focus to be more about history and the house, Ill reconsider. The book shop promotes books about the homicides and I didnt want this book to be with them. Congdon's adopted daughter, Marjorie Congdon Caldwell, was acquitted in 1979 of charges that she helped plan the murders in what the prosecution called a scheme to get an early inheritance. During her lifetime, the Duluth mining heiress and philanthropist worked quietly to shape the community and culture of her northern town. 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. Shortly thereafter, the house burned to the ground. SCL: Yes, I believe my life is a credit to my grandmother. But in reality it was just the opposite. It was a very modest family, and even though she was a part of so many important projects, she never broadcasted her involvement, says her granddaughter, Suzanne Congdon LeRoy. The Arizona Daily Star reported that Hagen was most recently in the news in 2006 after her lawyer was accused of bilking her and another client out of more than $100,000. As early as 1966 when she was married to Dick LeRoy, the family garage mysteriously burned to the ground. Velma was covered in blood. Your email address will not be published. We remember all the wrong things about Elisabeth Mannering Congdon. When the new buyers inspected the house just days before they were to move in, they noticed the floors had been varnished, and there was a strong chemical odor. The mansion itself is beautiful. Marjorie ended up with about $40,000 a year from a Congdon trust plus Wallace Hagen's pension, according to Feichtinger. Where Marjorie Congdon Hagen goes, fire and death follow. In March 1991 Marjorie was caught red-handed setting fire to her neighbors house with him inside of it. She was sentenced to 15 years in prison for the fire at her neighbor's home and to a concurrent eight years for the storage yard fire. She had him cremated before police could determine a cause of death. The next day the house caught fire. What they did is public record.. Marjories problem wasnt caused by others. Is she still living? I visit anonymously and join tours to see what they say, and see how people react. 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. She remains a free womanthough shes been twice convicted of arson or attempted arson, and served two sentences for those crimes. It is famous for. She was accused of attempting to deposit his $11,181 inheritance into her account after he died. Two years later, after having moved to Englewood, Colorado, Marjorie was identified in the vicinity of the First National Bank Building shortly before it caught on fire. SCL: She is remembered primarily as a victim of homicide, which of course bothers me. At family reunions, we talk about history, and people knew a little bit, but so much about her was forgotten. But too many people remember only that she was killed at home at Glensheen mansion, along with her nurse, Velma Pietila, in 1977. During World War I, she worked with the Red Cross. Is there a movie about the Glensheen Mansion? After his wife mysteriously died after a visit from Marjorie, Wally Hagen became Marjories next husband. In 1995 an Arizona judge decreed that Wally Hagens ashes must be divided between Hagens children and Marjorie. Developed by. They know exactly what theyre doing. She was still in jail Saturday on $250,000 bond. }(document, 'script', 'facebook-jssdk')); @2022 - 2022 - All Right Reserved. They married two months later. As far as Marjorie and Roger: Theyre fair game. The killings were carried out by Roger Caldwell, allegedly at the urging of his wife, Congdons adopted daughter Marjorie, though she was later acquitted of conspiracy to murder at a trial. Eight years later in 1974 after arranging for the remodeling of a house shed purchased, Marjorie was slow to pay the contractor, so the contractor placed a lien on her property. They will use it against you if it suits them. SCL: My grandmother donated the estate to the University of Minnesota Duluth in the 1960s, and now Glensheen is run by the UMD fine arts department. "Someone breaks into a 39-room mansion and killed the nurse on the grand stairway," with a candlestick, recalled Joe Kimball, a reporter with the Minneapolis Tribune who covered the murders. She was so much more than the last day of her life. In the early years of the twentieth century as the demand for iron ore increased, Chester Congdons wealth grew. Partnering with a friend, Congdon obtained leases for iron ore properties that contained ore mixed with sand. 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. In this light, Marjories difficulty in making friends at school can be seen as trial and error, a long learning curve that resulted in her emerging as an engaging, charismatic young woman at the age of nineteen, enough to snare a man like Dick LeRoy. Sadly, Marjories mother neglected to mention Marjories psychological problems to her new husband before he married her. 15091511 E. Superior Street, Duluth, Minnesota. From an early age, Marjorie showed signs of devious behavior, and as a teenager she was diagnosed as a sociopath. But if anyone thought Marjorie was the victim in this relationship, they had another thing coming. "I don't have any comments about the facts of the new crime," DeSanto said Saturday. She was released on October 19, 1986, and she and Wally moved to Ajo, Arizona. If Marjorie couldnt have it, nobody would. "Certainly, it isn't surprising she's back in the news today. From the outside, it may have looked like her spending was out of control. SCL: I always say, Mother Nature was the only mother I ever had. They were soon up to their ears in debt and desperate for money. His was the classic American rags to riches story, and he was just getting started. When you tour Glensheen Mansion, the 39-room Congdon family home on the shores of Lake Superior in Duluth, Minnesota, the docents try to avoid talking about the murders. She was released on October 19, 1986, and she and Wally moved to Ajo, Arizona. The officers who dropped her off found her quirky and engaging, a charming old lady. All Rights Reserved. In 1975 Marjorie Congdon met Roger Caldwell at a Parents Without Partners meeting in Colorado. If todays Duluth is an unusually lively and progressive city for its size, that is in part due to Congdons passions. Zenith City Press That's in part because of what happened afterward when the story gets even crazier.. When jewelry matching that taken from Glensheen, and a convenience store receipt from the morning of the crime printed in the MinneapolisSt. He said she needed assisted living because of her worsening health issues. Psychopaths are without a conscience. Details could be released next week. The lawyers tell you that you and your siblings would be set for life. Yet you became a nurse a very demanding, difficult profession. In 1985, she was imprisoned. In 1979, she was acquitted in the smothering of her adoptive mother and the beating death of a night nurse. Much of the following information came from the book Will to Murder: The True Story Behind the Crimes and Trials Surrounding the Glensheen Killings by Gail Feichtinger, John Desanto, Gary Waller, and John E. Desanto (2005:X-Communication). Marjorie admitted as much, saying she and Walter had made a suicide pact, but that she had lost her nerve at the last minute and couldnt go through with it. She knew they were unlikely to front her the cash, so she sent Roger to make the plea. The elderly Elisabeth Congdon did what she could to help lessen the damage by covering at least $350,000 of her daughters indebtedness, but it wasnt enough to prevent Dick LeRoy from being ruined.