When authorities called Marjorie to tell her what had happened, she said nonchalantly, It isnt our house. Please enable javascript and refresh the page to continue reading local news. He would call it Glensheen after the ancestral home of the Congdon family in Sheen, England. MinnPost | P.O. She instilled that in me, and the power of possibility. 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. 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. Her attempts for earlier release on parole met. Curiously, he never said who did. If they want something from you, they will stop at nothing to get it. The victims' families "were really hopeful that we would not have to retry the case with a chance of Roger walking free," DeSanto said. My interest in travel, education, nature and nursing all come from her. She worked very hard to support her community and church, and wherever she saw a need, she worked to fill 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. An additional note: The History Theatre musical, "Glensheen" is on stage starting July 6 and runs through July 30, 2017. I burst out laughing, says Poling. In fact, the Congdon family was one of the most accomplished, distinguished and generous in Minnesota. Sympathy is a dangerous emotion in the hands of a psychopath. My GM made all the difference for me. Marjorie was charged with murder but charges were dropped. She appealed, was let free on bond and, after a year of setbacks and delays, she was finally remanded to Shakopee Womens Prison in Shakopee, Minnesota. 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. But too many people remember only that she was killed at home at Glensheen mansion, along with her nurse, Velma Pietila, in 1977. Marjorie kept on spending, writing bad checks and driving her new husband deeper and deeper into debt. The family has written some letters, and weve had discussions. The bottle in question was some type of clear spirit, , Bartenders everywhere know that people hate vermouth. Shes had many aliases. The mansion itself is located in Duluth Minnesota, 2 1/2 hours from my home in Brainerd Minnesota. The Congdons are notable for many things, and the docents dont want those accomplishments overshadowed by the taint of Marjorie Congdons behavior. Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. Whatever the diagnosis revealed was something Elisabeth would never tell anyone. I was only 9 years old when she had a stroke. Marjorie had insisted she and Roger stay at Glensheen, but that request was refused since police still had to tie up loose ends. She had a strong interest in infectious diseases, and worked with programs to help improve the health of factory workers. 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. She was charged with attempted arson and in a 1992 trial found guilty. But if anyone thought Marjorie was the victim in this relationship, they had another thing coming. What they did is public record.. After a long trial, it took the jury just twenty-four hours to convict Roger Caldwell. It became kind of obvious that the jurors were thinking, boy I don't think this lady would kill her mother.". Marjorie is now 84 years old and shes still out there. Im so grateful to have had her in my life as a force of love and stability, but her work beyond the family was truly impressive. Would hydrogen chloride be a gas at room temperature? I had to wonder: Do you fear for your personal safety? 2023 The Growler Magazine. Glensheen director Dan Hartman talks about a Congdon family portrait. Death Becomes Her: With Lianne Appelt, Scott Bruffey, Tom Cutler, Erin DeCaprio. I found out that her classmate at Vassar was the poet Edna St. Vincent Millay. Tags: Glensheen, Majorie Congdon, Summer 2017, Sign up for the Artful Note newsletter, our guide to the good life delivered right to your inbox. 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. Rather, they seek money as a means of control. In 1984, Marjorie was convicted of arson in the burning of the Mound, Minn., home she had just sold but remained an insurance beneficiary. The next owner of this house remembered Marjorie well. 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. Suzanne is estranged from her mother, telling MinnPost interviewer Amy Goetzman in 2014 that the last shed heard, her mother was calling herself Marjorie Hagen and living in the Southwest. Yet she was able to draw and hold the attention of men like Dick LeRoy, by all accounts a handsome man with great prospects, a catch. I'm never surprised to find Hagen's name in the news; I've been covering her since 1977, when she was Marjorie Caldwell and a suspect in the Congdon murders in Duluth. She wanted the money, and she was not content to wait for her inheritance. From 1993 to 2004, Marjorie served 11 years of a 15-year prison sentence for the arson fires in Ajo. You think youre in a Gothic murder mystery, and then humorous elements come in and you end up popping into different worlds.. Elisabeth Mannering Congdons legacy is long, yet her individual accomplishments have largely been forgotten. Does the Glensheen mansion have an elevator? When Marjorie was three, Elisabeth adopted a second daughter who she named Jennifer. The crime immediately attracted national attention. "She lives in very nice properties," Gail Feichtinger, co-author of "Will to Murder: The True Story Behind the Crimes & Trials Surrounding the Glensheen Killings," who continues to keep track of Marjorie's whereabouts and crimes told the News Tribune in 2017. But as soon as Marjorie got the horse she lost interest in it and told her mother she didnt want it. What happened Marjorie Congdon? No one is born a sociopath. During World War I, she worked with the Red Cross. The grotesque story is nonetheless a true one that unfolded almost 40 years ago now: Duluths Glensheen murders, an atrocity that riveted the region for years. Part of the reason is the woman who would drive her died a year ago.". The terms are not interchangeable. The next day the house caught fire. Marjorie could not have been pleased. Stained glass window above the stairway landing at Glensheen mansion where Velma Pitiela was murdered. The marriage lasted twenty years and cost Dick LeRoy an estimated $1 million in debt and liabilities. By 1977, she was living in Colorado and married to her second husband, Roger Caldwell. 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. If todays Duluth is an unusually lively and progressive city for its size, that is in part due to Congdons passions. Feichtinger wouldn't go that far, noting that Marjorie is no longer on probation and being supervised. They win people over, before bending them to their will. Caldwell was a bad alcoholic. She helped found a baby clinic in Duluth that eventually became a Planned Parenthood. A satin pillow was lying over Elisabeths face. The evidence pointed toward Marjorie. She had been smothered to death. It sounds like fictionlike a murder mystery in a worn paperback novel. Where Marjorie Congdon Hagen goes, fire and death follow. On Jan. 6, 2004, Hagen left prison in Perryville, Ariz., after serving 10 years of the 15-year sentence for arson. Roger confessed to the murders, but was freed after serving just over five years in jail. All Rights Reserved. But Congdon was betting on the come. Intelligent and often charming, Marjorie married and had six children before the marriage ended amid stresses exacerbated by her exorbitant spending. Norman Bates, as depicted in the film, was a psychotic. The Creepiest Town in America: Danvers, MA. 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. Is she still living? Thats when Marjorie got an idea. To control that wealth mustve been very enticing to someone like Marjorie. She professed her innocence in the Ajo fire at trial. Exasperated, Elisabeth arranged to sell the horse, but before the sale could be completed, Marjorie was caught trying to poison it. Marjorie Caldwell and her defense attorney Ron Meshbesher walk into the Dakota County Courthouse. She knew they were unlikely to front her the cash, so she sent Roger to make the plea. 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. He and his wife, Mary, live near Kettle River, Minnesota, enjoying time with their seven grandchildren. In spite of the evidence, prosecutors did not pursue a case against her. Was it your intention, in writing this book, to correct that? '', DeSanto, who helped author "Will to Murder," a book on the Glensheen murders, said: "My thought is that it is inevitable. var js, fjs = d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0]; They may charm you, they may trick you, or they may put you in a difficult position. The Classic and Full Mansion tours are self-paced with most visitors spending. The mansion itself is beautiful. If Marjorie couldnt have it, nobody would. "She got no bulk sum after the murders - she basically lost it all . In 1985, she was imprisoned. Police suspected that Roger Caldwell flew from Colorado to Minneapolis, drove to Duluth, and committed the murders under cover of darkness. Caldwell served five. It has been lightly edited for today's readers. Nowadays, criminal psychologists recognize the allure of psychopaths as practiced behavior. The news, analysis and community conversation found here is funded by donations from individuals. In his will Chester Congdon bequeathed his home and fortune to his wife and children, and by succession to his grandchildren. How much does the Glensheen Mansion cost? 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. Marjorie Caldwell Hagen is convicted of arson and insurance fraud in connection with a 1982 fire at a house in Mound, MN. St. Louis County Chief Prosecutor John DeSanto prosecuted the 1977 murders. Marjorie ended up with about $40,000 a year from a Congdon trust plus Wallace Hagen's pension, according to Feichtinger. Soon, Marjorie turns into the stepmother from hell. From 1993 to 2004, Marjorie Caldwell served 11 years of a 15-year prison sentence for arson. It is estimated that 1% of the population are psychopaths. 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. 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. She was sentenced to fifteen years in an Arizona prison. Twenty months later she was released for good behavior. Will stop at nothing to get it with a 1982 fire at trial children, and by succession his! She and Roger stay at Glensheen mansion where Velma Pitiela was murdered turns into the Dakota County Courthouse estimated! In Minnesota to front her the cash, so she sent Roger to make the plea in! 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