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. Condgon was found smothered with a satin pillow. The news, analysis and community conversation found here is funded by donations from individuals. SCL: You never turn your back. What does that mean? Marjorie Caldwell and her attorney, Ron Meshbesher, walked to the Dakota County Courthouse in Hastings on April 3, 1979. How do I create a group in Contacts on iPhone? var js, fjs = d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0]; Marjorie is now the same age her mother was when her mother was murdered. It was an honor and a privilege to find out more about her. In addition, they are charming, charismatic and engaging. In 1991, she was caught trying to set fire to a neighbor's house. The Catch: Exploring New Opportunities to Fly at Red State Reckoning: Playing Paintball in Martinsville, IN, Getting off the Boat at Ellis Island: Examining the Question of Immigration in New York City, Uncovering the Crime of the Century: The Hall-Mills Murders in New Brunswick, NJ, The Five Most Scenic Interstate Rest Areas in the US, Deadly Charm: The Murders at the Glensheen Mansion in Duluth, Minnesota, The Greatest American You Never Heard of: George C. Marshall and Dodona Manor, 6 Ways Mid-Range Hotels Give You More than Upscale Hotels. Twelve years after the murders, he committed suicide. Interesting. On June 26, 1977, Roger Caldwell got on a plane to Minneapolis, drove up to Duluth in a rental car, smothered Elizabeth Congdon with a satin pillow, and bludgeoned her nurse, Velma Pietila, to death with a brass candlestick. 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. Caldwell's conviction was. It happened because she lacked a conscience. From the outside, it may have looked like her spending was out of control. They turned him down flat. Suzanne Congdon LeRoy, one of Marjories daughters, recently published a biography of her late grandmother, highlighting Elisabeths philanthropic legacy. She would be strange. She and Caldwell kept asking Elisabeth for money, reportedly so they could realize their dream of a horse ranch. "So they said, 'Do what you gotta do.'". 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. When he drank, he turned violent. 3.76 282 ratings27 reviews Glensheen's Daughter is the story of Marjorie Congdon, the adopted daughter of heiress Elisabeth Congdon, and the brutal murders at Glensheen, one of America's great mansions. Details could be released next week. Overnight, Congdon became a very wealthy man. On June 27, 1977, the aged heiress to a vast mining fortune is killed along with her night nurse at Glensheen, a posh mansion perched on the Lake Superior coast. It seemed clear to prosecutors that Roger could not have committed the murders alone. Additionally, two other men shes been close to have died in what some have regarded as suspicious circumstances. Female psychopaths are rare, occurring at half the rate of men. Marjorie and Caldwell were reportedly in heavy debt shortly after marrying in Colorado in 1976. Better you should stay away from them. They win people over, before bending them to their will. You are here: Home How What happened Marjorie Congdon? 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. She delivered hospital meals. Editor's note: This story originally appeared in the June 25, 2017, edition of the News Tribune. She always seemed like a nice person. For the Standard Tour which includes the main floor, second floor and lower level. She was so much more than the last day of her life. You want to raise your hand and draw attention to it, even if it might be considered a bit crass. The court granted him a new trial. She made few friends. Marjorie used her inheritance to acquit her of the murder of the person who controlled her inheritance. If todays Duluth is an unusually lively and progressive city for its size, that is in part due to Congdons passions. Congdon was the only surviving child of mining magnate Chester Congdon, who built the lavish mansion in 1909. In some ways, time stands still at Glensheen Mansion, owned by the University of Minnesota Duluth (UMD): almost everything in the home is an original possession of Clara and Chester Congdon, who built the house between. Avoid being drawn in. The next day the house caught fire. The blood type turned out to be type O; the same blood type of Velma Pietila and Roger Caldwell. Marjorie was charged with murder but charges were dropped. I started in neonatal care, working with very sick babies, and that was a strong interest of hers as well. In fact, the Congdon family was one of the most accomplished, distinguished and generous in Minnesota. Now, the city might start buying garbage trucks, Let's talk about our racist and ugly state flag, Minnesota Democrats might spend big in bid to fix a struggling child care industry, The long, bitter fight over Minneapolis Roof Depot site, explained, Time to celebrate our Minnesota public schools, Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives Creative Commons license. In spite of the fact that it came to light during the trial that Marjorie had attempted to poison her mother on a previous occasion, Marjorie was acquitted. Chester's youngest daughter, Elisabeth had never married. If she could not get it by lying, cheating and stealing, she would find some other way. 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. Later it came to light that her friend had thought the world of her. Before the contract came due, she sold the house but didnt immediately vacate. Who lived in the Glensheen Mansion? Psychopaths are at their most dangerous when their manipulations are thwarted. The case went to trial in the searing summer of 1978. She bought her things. 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 served 21 months. She had a particular impact on quality of life issues for women and children. In 1995 an Arizona judge decreed that Wally Hagens ashes must be divided between Hagens children and Marjorie. Thats when Marjorie got an idea. Those who know her find her friendly and 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. Velma was covered in blood. From 1993 to 2004, Marjorie served 11 years of a 15-year prison sentence for the arson fires in Ajo. In the world Marjorie Congdon grew up in, wealth was everything. Suddenly his ore was worth a fortune. She wasnt there long. "It was clear she was then on a path to wanting to speed up her inheritance," said DeSanto, who's a judge now and co-author of a book on the case, "Will to Murder.". The Hagen family planned a memorial service in January 1996 at Westwood Lutheran Church in St. Louis Park. Then in 1951 Marjorie became someone elses problem. 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. 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. Marjorie Congdon Hagen, 78, was placed on three years' intensive probation in March 2009 after she pleaded guilty to attempted forgery. Everybody loves a murder mystery! She and her new husband, Roger Caldwell, were living in Colorado and were flat broke.. They were set to inherit millions of dollars when Elisabeth died. 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. On March 4, 2009, she was sentenced to three years probation. It took the authorities less than two weeks to arrest Roger Caldwell, but not before he wound up in the hospital after having collapsed at breakfast with seizures. Dumbest of all, a rare Byzantine coin that had been taken from Elisabeths Congdons room on the night of the murders turned up in Roger Caldwells home in Golden, Colorado. Please enable javascript and refresh the page to continue reading local news. They cannot believe the things people say about her. Psychopaths are born without consciences, the way some people are born without sight or sound. They care nothing about anyone else, although they are often good at making it seem as if they do. It was the stuff of an Agatha Christie novel. In 1990, the Hagens moved to Ajo,. If you feel you have received this message in error, please contact the customer support team at 1-833-248-7801. They were soon up to their ears in debt and desperate for money. He was found guilty and given two life sentences. 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. The book shop promotes books about the homicides and I didnt want this book to be with them. He died in 1916. Your email address will not be published. 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. She saw Velmas legs hanging off the bench underneath the landings stained glass window. How much does the Glensheen Mansion cost? No one had taken the time to write about what a remarkable woman my grandmother was. "It really was like a house in a time capsule.". In 1883 at the age of thirty he started his own practice and traveled to Duluth on the shores of Lake Superior where he became interested in mining. Our reporters are only able to do their work thanks to support at all levels. She wanted the money, and she was not content to wait for her inheritance. 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. The next morning Walter Hagen was found dead, the victim of an apparent suicide. In March 1991 Marjorie was caught red-handed setting fire to her neighbors house with him inside of it. 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. Pietila was beaten with a candlestick holder. They married two months later. Jennifer was bubbly and outgoing, a treasure to all those who knew her, except perhaps to Marjorie whose behavioral problems got worse after her arrival. But when she fully enters their lives, they become entwined in a series of bizarre crimes. But at the Congdon Mansion in Duluth, Minnesota they want to avoid discussing Marjorie. No witnesses judged reliable by the police had seen Roger in Colorado on the night of the murders, and Marjorie offered investigators several inconsistent stories about her husbands whereabouts. SCL: I always say, Mother Nature was the only mother I ever had. She told the new buyers she wanted to do some work on the house before handing it over to them. Some psychopaths are highly successful, exercising wealth and power, but no less dangerous for all that. But even today, guides don't discuss the murder during tours, although they will answer questions after, explained Glensheen Director Dan Hartman. It has been lightly edited for today's readers. Congdon was the only surviving child of mining magnate Chester Congdon, who built the lavish mansion in 1909. MinnPost | P.O. But if anyone thought Marjorie was the victim in this relationship, they had another thing coming. The building was designed by Minnesota architect Clarence H. The historic Glensheen Mansion, along London Road in Duluth MN, was built for, Released in the fall of 1972 and directed by Lamont Johnson, Youll Like, Glensheen, a mansion and grounds completed in 1908 on the shores of Lake Superior in Duluth, was built by Chester and Clara Congdon. Developed by. From an early age, Marjorie showed signs of devious behavior, and as a teenager she was diagnosed as a sociopath. Sympathy is a dangerous emotion in the hands of a psychopath. Elisabeth named her Marjorie. I burst out laughing, says Poling. To control that wealth mustve been very enticing to someone like Marjorie. Marjorie Caldwell Hagen is convicted of arson and insurance fraud in connection with a 1982 fire at a house in Mound, MN. The combination of Antabuse and alcohol can produce seizures, congestive heart failure and even death. Congdon worked to improve maternal health and infant survival rates; she provided numerous students with scholarships and even housed at least one Chinese college student at Glensheen; and she was a passionate supporter of the arts. From 1993 to 2004, Marjorie Caldwell served 11 years of a 15-year prison sentence for arson. Marjorie pleaded guilty to the crime of forgery and was given probation. In an act brazen for the time, Elisabeth traveled to New York City on a summer day in 1932 and adopted a child. The Guilford Press, 1999, Hendry, Sharon Darby. Will you help us keep it this way by supporting our nonprofit newsroom with a tax-deductible donation today? MP: What sources did you consult in your research? [Elizabeth Congdon never fully recovered, and spent the last decade of her life unable to engage in many of her previous activities]. He said she needed assisted living because of her worsening health issues. The evidence pointed toward Marjorie. May 17, 1988 She had been smothered to death. Make a gift of any amount today to support this resource for everyone. In late 1992, before sentencing for arson, she was allowed 24 hours to transport her ailing husband from Tucson, Ariz., to their home in Ajo. She had him cremated before police could determine a cause of death. A psychotic is someone who is out of touch with reality. My interest in travel, education, nature and nursing all come from her. She was connected to numerous schools and organizations reaching as far away as China. Although police suspected he had been gassed, tests showed he died of a drug overdose. Marjorie ended up with about $40,000 a year from a Congdon trust plus Wallace Hagen's pension, according to Feichtinger. Poling is channeling these past experiences for Glensheen.. 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). Enter your email address to subscribe to this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email. She was denied parole in 2001 after 10 people, including one of her daughters, sent strongly worded letters to the parole board urging her continued incarceration. Then in 1982, after Marjorie married her third husband, she purchased a house she didnt have the money to buy. I found her yacht, the Hesperia, in Lloyds Register of Ships. We sold it.. Marjorie's second marriage was to a man named Roger Sipe Caldwell. The family has written some letters, and weve had discussions. Was it your intention, in writing this book, to correct that? Investigators quickly identify two suspects with a classic motive: struggling financially, the suspects stood to inherit millions upon the victims death. Roger Caldwell was identified by a Duluth cab driver who remembered taking him out to Glensheen on the night of the murders. Marjorie Hagen, then known as Marjorie Caldwell, was accused of conspiring with her then-husband, Roger Caldwell, to kill Elisabeth Congdon, 83, and hernight nurse in the Congdon mansion in Duluth . Her adopted daughter Marjorie LeRoys mother along with her new husband, Roger Caldwell, were accused of murdering Congdon in an attempt to inherit her fortune. Elisabeths face was purple, her mouth hanging open. The primary victim, Elisabeth Congdon, was 83 years old. When she was alerted to the fire, she was nonchalant. The trial was moved to Brainerd and in July of 1978 the jury found Roger Caldwell (Marjorie's husband) to be guilty of the crimes. The cause was arson, but her presence there could not be connected to the crime, and she was not arrested. They are thinking about restoring the greenhouses, which were torn down in 1971, and bringing in bee hives and selling Glensheen honey. As the day nurse entered the house that morning, something seemed off, the mansion was unusually quiet. Antabuse is a prescription drug that reacts badly with alcohol. As the nurse climbed the stairs, she stopped dead in her tracks. If they change to focus to be more about history and the house, Ill reconsider. Cable Publishing, 2014, Mansion with blood red sky, by Toa Heftiba, Glensheen Mansion exterior, Public domain, Glensheen bedroom where murder took place, Damien Enwhistle, Chester Congdon by Daniel Haas, CC by-SA 4.0, Hallway in Glensheen mansion, Damien Enwhistle, Elisabeth Condon in her eighties, Popular Bio, Staircase landing at Glensheen, Damien Enwhistle, Roger Caldwell mugshot, John DeSanto, Zenith City Press, Marjorie Congdon Caldwell walking with attorney, Art Hagen, Minneapolis Start Tribume, Candleholders on nightstand in murder bedroom, Hansen Family blog, Marjorie Congdon mug shot, Pima County Sheriffs Office, Smiling Marjorie in her seventies, Arizona Department of Corrections, Lake Superior shoreline, by Taylor Friehl. MP: In the book, you implicate her in numerous murders across the country, although she never served time for any. Choose your favorite marjorie congdon caldwell hagen designs and purchase them as wall art, home decor, phone cases, tote bags, and more! She worked very hard to support her community and church, and wherever she saw a need, she worked to fill it. Tucson police wouldn't discuss what led to the charges, citing an ongoing investigation. Hagen's children would later allege, in a 1994 St. Paul Pioneer Press article, that Marjorie was responsible for both their father's and mother's death. The Associated Press and Arizona Daily Star contributed to this report. Soon, Marjorie turns into the stepmother from hell. Whether or not he had taken the pills of his own volition was never determined. 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. But the charges were dropped after prosecutors failed to get a grand jury indictment. Prone to arson, Marjorie was suspected of torching her home in Marine on St. Croix, Minnesota, but the matter was dropped. A wealthy woman is murdered in her bed, smothered with a pillow in the landmark lakeside mansion built by her parents. She professed her innocence in the Ajo fire at trial. Marjorie stood to inherit $8.2 million upon her mother's death. Congdon Caldwell married Wally Hagen in 1982. In 1990, Hagen and her husband moved to Ajo, Ariz. One year later, authorities said Marjorie Hagen used a kerosene-soaked rag to try to burn down a neighbor's home. Rather, they seek money as a means of control. 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. Chester Adgate Congdon accrued a fortune, How long is the tour? The day after she was convicted, Wally Hagen was found dead of a drug overdose. MP: What do you consider to be her most important and lasting legacy to Minnesota? In a plea bargain, the remainder of Rogers prison sentence was dismissed as authorities hoped his confession would implicate Marjoriethough that didnt turn out to be the case. The lawyers tell you that you and your siblings would be set for life. Yet you became a nurse a very demanding, difficult profession. And they ended up acquitting her. Marjorie kept on spending, writing bad checks and driving her new husband deeper and deeper into debt. The couple was desperate for money, and Marjorie was in line to inherit $8 million when her mother died, said John DeSanto, the chief prosecutor at the time. The bottle in question was some type of clear spirit, , Bartenders everywhere know that people hate vermouth. They didn't think they could prove the death was murder. How long does sunscreen last once put on? Twenty months later she was released for good behavior. She was arrested and convicted of second-degree arson and insurance fraud. When did Irene Curie win the Nobel Prize? What is the water level on Cherokee Lake? Donations made by check can be made out to MinnPost and mailed to us at PO Box 18438, Minneapolis, MN 55418. Clarence H. Johnston, Sr.; Charles W. Leavitt, Jr. In January 2004 Marjorie Congdon was released from prison after serving ten years of her fifteen year sentence for arson. You think youre in a Gothic murder mystery, and then humorous elements come in and you end up popping into different worlds.. In a 2009 plea agreement, she pleaded guilty to attempted forgery and was sentenced to three years of intensive probation. Intelligent and often charming, Marjorie married and had six children before the marriage ended amid stresses exacerbated by her exorbitant spending. A satin pillow was lying over Elisabeths face. We see that you have javascript disabled. When Marjorie was sixteen, Elisabeth sent her away to a boarding school in New England. Marjories trial for conspiracy was next, but with the help of one of Minnesotas top defense attorneys, Ron Meshbesher, Marjorie was found not guilty on July 21, 1979. At the age of twelve Marjorie began spending her mothers money with a vengeance, running up her charge accounts at local merchants. Congdon's son-in-law, Roger Caldwell, was found guilty on two counts of first-degree murder in 1978. Marjorie Caldwell's reign of terror has resumed in St. Paul -- at least at the History Theatre, where she seems to have a beef with the cast of the musical comedy about her, "Glensheen," which. She is released 21 months later. She was released on October 19, 1986, and she and Wally moved to Ajo, Arizona. Nowadays, criminal psychologists recognize the allure of psychopaths as practiced behavior. '', DeSanto, who helped author "Will to Murder," a book on the Glensheen murders, said: "My thought is that it is inevitable. "Even though she's been acquitted, I think there's lots of questions about that.". People are drawn to psychopaths like moths to a flame. It really is part of a bygone era. Caldwell served five years for the murder; Marjorie was acquitted. She was still in jail Saturday on $250,000 bond. Accordingly, when Marjorie was thirteen, Elisabeth bought Marjorie a horse she had been demanding. They purchased the house from Kenneth and Alice Wolfe; he was to become mayor of St. Louis Park and a State Senator. Whats more, investigators found a dark hair near Velma Pietilas body. Partially paralyzed by a stroke for more than a decade, eighty-three-year-old Elisabeth Congdon required around the clock care. Review by @JayGabler: http://t.co/CcvqPvprgr pic.twitter.com/2ygWFh7Jj6, Local Current (@LocalCurrent) October 11, 2015. The stables at Glensheen Mansion where Marjorie was discovered trying to poison a horse. 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. A civil suit filed by five of her seven children in 1979 to disinherit their mother from her inheritance on the grounds she was involved in the murders was settled out of court in 1983. She is sentenced to 2.5 years in prison. 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. What they did is public record.. 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. 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. Marjorie ended up with about $40,000 a year from a Congdon trust plus Wallace Hagen's pension, according to Feichtinger. Her adopted daughter Marjorie LeRoy's mother along with her new husband, Roger Caldwell, were accused of murdering Congdon in an attempt to inherit her fortune. In 1979, she was acquitted in the smothering of her adoptive mother and the beating death of a night nurse. In the late 1960s, the Congdon family decided to donate the estate to the University of Minnesota Duluth, although not until Elizabeth died. We hope Marjorie doesnt show up at the theater with a box of matches, Poling says. However, that didnt mean she didnt want children. Roger. I had an appetite for travel and interest in other cultures, and worked with aborigines in Australia. I had to wonder: Do you fear for your personal safety? Beyond the sensational nature of the crime, a fortune worth millions was at stakeand family members immediately identified a suspect who stood to gain a substantial fraction of that fortune. 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. This time Marjorie had overplayed her hand. One other big difference stands out. Some call it Minnesotas Downton Abbey. She took her pulse. In November 2008, Marjorie pled guilty to fraud after illegally taking funds from the bank account of Roger Sammis, who had been under her care before his death. Are any of Freddie and the Dreamers still alive? That heiress was Elizabeth Congdon, the last living child of Chester Congdon, who'd earned his fortune developing the Mesabi Iron Range. Elisabeth Congdons way of dealing with Marjorie was to appease her. When she returned home at age eighteen, she began stealing money again. 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But didnt immediately vacate in 1979, she was so much more than a decade, eighty-three-year-old Elisabeth required... An act brazen for the arson fires in Ajo could not get by.