All I could do was shake my head.. There he had been loved and well cared for by an experienced foster mother. Dennis Craig Jurgens was an American 3-year-old boy who was murdered in White Bear Lake, Minnesota in April 1965. Jurgens was the only fatal victim of Lois Jurgens, his adoptive mother and a prolific child abuser, who abused a total of six adopted children from 1960 to 1975.The trial of Lois Jurgens for the murder of 3-year-old Dennis made national . Sherwood eventually located Dennis's death certificate; because the death was categorized as "deferred", the case was still technically open. convicted of murder There were many fateful moments in Dennis brief life, moments in which his destiny could have been changed. A parade of neighbors and relatives called to the stand by the Jurgenses attorney, Edward Donohue, all denied seeing any evidence of abuse. The two also teased what's in store for readers . Rekdahl was developing real doubts about this placement, but the Jurgenses decided to go see Dennis that afternoon.