Back in Minnesota for the funeral, police found evidence of foul play in their Duluth hotel room. 40 years later, Hartman said the murders are still fresh and raw for members of the Congdon family, some of whom sit on the museum's board. Sociopaths have a conscience, but their moral compass is weak. Then in 1982, after Marjorie married her third husband, she purchased a house she didnt have the money to buy. He died in 1916. Marjorie Congdon Caldwell was one of two daughters adopted in the 1930s by Elisabeth, who never married. The nurse picked up a corner and peeked underneath. Guests are constantly , The term craft is ambiguous at best. The research was a wonderful process, and I felt privileged to discover so many things about her I didnt know. With Roger out of prison under supervision and a retrial looming, authorities decided to strike a deal rather than risk an acquittal. In 1990, the Hagens moved to Ajo, Ariz. From 1993 to 2004, Marjorie Caldwell served 11 years of a 15-year prison sentence for arson. How can I tell how big my Cockapoo will be? [She served time for arson.] As a result, no autopsy was possible. She was seventy-one years old. In 1984, Marjorie was convicted of arson in the burning of the Mound, Minn., home she had just sold but remained an insurance beneficiary. Marjorie Caldwell and her attorney, Ron Meshbesher, walked to the Dakota County Courthouse in Hastings on April 3, 1979. Its one of Americas great houses. Before the contract came due, she sold the house but didnt immediately vacate. SCL: I always say, Mother Nature was the only mother I ever had. At the time of the slayings, the Caldwells were deep in debt. They cannot believe the things people say about her. Later, I became interested in infectious disease and HIV. But too many people remember only that she was killed at home at Glensheen mansion, along with her nurse, Velma Pietila, in 1977. But in the big picture a greater public service could be done by acknowledging the tragedy and handing out information on psychopathology. It looked like justice was finally catching up with her. When Elisabeth was found murdered, it didnt take long for the investigation to zero in on the Caldwells. Marjorie is now 84 years old and shes still out there. Details could be released next week. A tour guide shares historical facts and interesting details about the mansion and Congdon family. She took her pulse. In the early years of the twentieth century as the demand for iron ore increased, Chester Congdons wealth grew. You want to raise your hand and draw attention to it, even if it might be considered a bit crass. 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. But Marjorie had something going for her that Roger didnt. She had him cremated before police could determine a cause of death. Marjorie's behavior in court also had an impact on the trial. After his wife mysteriously died after a visit from Marjorie, Wally Hagen became Marjories next husband. Her attempts for earlier release on parole met. From 1952 to 1954, the LeRoys lived at 2744 Salem Ave., a bungalow built in 1941. The next day, DeSanto charged Marjorie with conspiring to kill her mother. From an early age, Marjorie showed signs of devious behavior, and as a teenager she was diagnosed as a sociopath. I went on to the U of M and worked in womens health and family medicine. One other big difference stands out. fjs.parentNode.insertBefore(js, fjs); js = d.createElement(s); js.id = id; I was only 9 years old when she had a stroke. Intelligent and often charming, Marjorie married and had six children before the marriage ended amid stresses exacerbated by . The evidence pointed toward Marjorie. After the murders, someone stole Velma Pietilas car and left it at the airport, suggesting the killer had fled the city. The Congdons are notable for many things, and the docents dont want those accomplishments overshadowed by the taint of Marjorie Congdons behavior. She made few friends. Elisabeth Congdon's funeral was to be held at Glensheen on Thursday June, 30. Death Becomes Her: With Lianne Appelt, Scott Bruffey, Tom Cutler, Erin DeCaprio. Nor was anyone else in the Congdon family. It appears someone can be born a psychopath, and it also appears that psychopathology can run in families. Marjorie married Roger Caldwell of Latrobe, Pennsylvania, on March 20, 1976, in the Denver, Colorado, area and they lived in Golden, Colorado. He now operates a consulting service doing organizational and facility assessments. Marjorie Congdon Caldwell Hagen's son is a candidate for a state judge spot. 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. Three years later on March 2, 2007 she was caught trying to forge the signature of a recently deceased friend on an inheritance check. The mansion itself is beautiful. Then the story took another turn when the Minnesota Supreme Court court threw out Roger Caldwell's conviction based on the new evidence introduced at Marjorie's trial. I started out with a Gothic feel, really influenced by Cabaret, Chicago, and Sweeney Todd, he says. Sociopaths are rarely so engaging. The police investigation quickly focused on Elisabeth's daughter by adoption, Marjorie Caldwell, 44, and Marjorie's husband, Roger, 43, in a murder-for-inheritance plot. [Its] a very rich Sondheim sound. 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. 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. I have had no contact with her for 40 years. Is that your grandmothers influence? In 1984, Marjorie was convicted of arson in the burning of the Mound, Minn., home she had just sold but remained an insurance beneficiary. In 2007, Marjorie was charged with fraud, theft, forgery and computer tampering after befriending a man in his 70s and becoming his power of attorney. Alarmed, Elisabeth sent her away to a clinic in Topeka, Kansas for a psychological evaluation. People are drawn to psychopaths like moths to a flame. "People still won't talk to me on the record, because they're still afraid of retaliation," she said. If you feel you have received this message in error, please contact the customer support team at 1-833-248-7801. The investigators werent buying it. You think youre in a Gothic murder mystery, and then humorous elements come in and you end up popping into different worlds.. Sure, there've been times over 40 years when I wished the whole thing. 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. Pietila was beaten with a candlestick holder. If they change to focus to be more about history and the house, Ill reconsider. Meanwhile, during all this legal back and forth, the Glensheen mansion had opened to the public. And a witness from the first trial changed her story to say she saw Roger elsewhere the day of the murder. Roger Caldwell was identified by a Duluth cab driver who remembered taking him out to Glensheen on the night of the murders. 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. A stroke had left her mobility and speech seriously impaired, requiring full-time medical supervision. Rogers trial resulted in two consecutive life sentences, handed down on July 10, 1978. Whether or not he had taken the pills of his own volition was never determined. 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. "She's still doing crafts.". 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. The next morning Walter Hagen was found dead, the victim of an apparent suicide. SCL: You never turn your back. Back at home, her third husband, Walter Hagen, was delighted at her return. Marjorie Congdon's mugshot, when she was arrested for arson in Arizona on March 25, 1991. Starched and pressed, plus she loved to entertain. She won. They agreed. Tour lengths vary depending on the type of tour and the desired experience. An iron candlestick holder lay discarded nearby. As before, she was not considered a flight risk, so she was permitted to visit her husband one last time before being escorted to prison. I had to wonder: Do you fear for your personal safety? MP: In the book, you implicate her in numerous murders across the country, although she never served time for any. 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. I had an appetite for travel and interest in other cultures, and worked with aborigines in Australia. They are not creepy. 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. But the charges were dropped after prosecutors failed to get a grand jury indictment. The day after she was convicted, Wally Hagen was found dead of a drug overdose. "We spend a lot of time trying to make sure that the focus of Glensheen is not the murder. Today, Marjorie Congdon is eighty-nine years old. Marjorie Hagen was again arrested on a murder charge but it was dropped for lack of evidence. May 17, 1988 In fact, the Congdon family was one of the most accomplished, distinguished and generous in Minnesota. 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. ", "I went on one of the early tours," he said, "and one of the first things the guide said, was, 'when Ms. Congdon passed away, she willed the estate to the university.' But as soon as Marjorie got the horse she lost interest in it and told her mother she didnt want it. Where Marjorie Congdon Hagen goes, fire and death follow. She got along swimmingly with the other inmates, and she sent a bouquet of flowers to the warden every week. "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 wanted the money, and she was not content to wait for her inheritance. That heiress was Elizabeth Congdon, the last living child of Chester Congdon, who'd earned his fortune developing the Mesabi Iron Range. There she became a suspect in a rash of fires. Surprisingly, there are some rather significant connections between Marjorie and St. Louis Park. The mansion was constructed as the family home of Chester Adgate Congdon. Who wrote youll like my mother?Jo HeimsNaomi A. Hintze. She would be strange. 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. The Great Debate: Should A Craft Distillery Purchase Already-Made Spirits? 40 years later, Glensheen murders still grip Duluth, Glensheen, home museums rethink rules to lure visitors. Intelligent and often charming, Marjorie married and had six children before the marriage ended amid stresses exacerbated by her exorbitant spending. The Marjorie Congdon Story: A Timeline | Artful Living Magazine A timeline outlining the alleged crimes committed by infamous Minnesota criminal Marjorie Congdon, the suspected mastermind behind the Glensheen murders. They know exactly what theyre doing. 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. Their manipulation of others is symptomatic of that need. }(document, 'script', 'facebook-jssdk')); @2022 - 2022 - All Right Reserved. And new things are happening. 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. Then he graduated as class valedictorian from seminary school before taking a law degree at Syracuse University. His conviction had been overturned by the Minnesota Supreme Court after fingerprint evidence used in his trial was called into serious question during Marjories own criminal trial in 1979win which she was acquitted of her alleged role in planning the murders. They purchased the house from Kenneth and Alice Wolfe; he was to become mayor of St. Louis Park and a State Senator. SCL: She made a big difference for maternal and child health. Marjorie Caldwell, as Hagen was then known, was instantly considered a suspect in her mother's murder. Marjorie Caldwell and her defense attorney Ron Meshbesher walk into the Dakota County Courthouse. Marjorie Congdons sudden magnetic appeal to men is remarkable in light of the fact that she was in no way conventionally attractive. MP: What do you consider to be her most important and lasting legacy to Minnesota? In 1991, she was caught trying to set fire to a neighbor's house. Overnight, Congdon became a very wealthy man. Prone to arson, Marjorie was suspected of torching her home in Marine on St. Croix, Minnesota, but the matter was dropped. The public needs to be educated. Sociopaths are shaped by their environment. The case went to trial in the searing summer of 1978. Poling was recruited by Hatcher, who had been asked by History Theatre to write a play based on the Glensheen case; Hatcher told Poling he only wanted to do the play if it could be a musical. When Marjorie was sixteen, Elisabeth sent her away to a boarding school in New England. They turned him down flat. As early as 1966 when she was married to Dick LeRoy, the family garage mysteriously burned to the ground. They care nothing about anyone else, although they are often good at making it seem as if they do. 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 . The Creepiest Town in America: Danvers, MA. The Hagen family planned a memorial service in January 1996 at Westwood Lutheran Church in St. Louis Park. 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. But if anyone thought Marjorie was the victim in this relationship, they had another thing coming. If youve heard of the play or visited the Glensheen mansion in Duluthoperated by the University of Minnesota as a museum and event spaceyou may have wondered to yourself: What exactly happened on that summer night in 1977? In 1990, the Hagens moved to Ajo,. He was sentenced to two consecutive life terms. Im interested in at-risk youth, and drawn to help people in difficult situations. There was a level of service and attention to detail we just cant fathom in todays world. Member donations are crucial to the work of our nonprofit newsroom. In 1992, Hagen pleaded no contest to a criminal damage charge in connection with a 1990 fire at an Ajo storage yard that was believed to have been set to support a fraudulent insurance claim. The last I heard, she was calling herself Marjorie Hagen and living in the Southwest. "The big mystery still is, did Roger do it alone or with someone else there, and how involved if at all was Marjorie? In 2005, the museum reversed course. The officers who dropped her off found her quirky and engaging, a charming old lady. Although police suspected he had been gassed, tests showed he died of a drug overdose. She was still in jail Saturday on $250,000 bond. In 1988, Roger took his own life, leaving a suicide note that read in part, referring to the Glensheen victims, I didnt kill those girls., Theres a lot of ground to cover, says Poling, around why the trials of Roger and Marjorie ended so differently. These days few Americans find it cynical to observe that our justice system is vulnerable to the influences of wealth and celebrity. I wanted more people to understand why she was so special. She eventually paid her lawyer out of the income from her $750,000 trust fund. Chester Adgate Congdon was a go-getter. And I whispered to the guide, 'You know she was brutally murdered, right?'". It turned out the prison authorities loved her. As her personality emerged from behind a wall of introversion, it was aggressive and unpleasant, and she made people uncomfortable. 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. She was arrested and convicted of second-degree arson and insurance fraud. My GM made all the difference for me. We remember all the wrong things about Elisabeth Mannering Congdon. She was sentenced to fifteen years in an Arizona prison. For example, she stripped all the kitchen cupboards and repainted and decorated with Pennsylvania Dutch designs. She was convicted of attempted arson, and the judge allowed her to go home before reporting to prison to make arrangements for her 84-year-old husband. A neighbor remembered Marjorie as being very industrious. 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. 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. [Elizabeth Congdon never fully recovered, and spent the last decade of her life unable to engage in many of her previous activities]. 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. 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