Psychopaths are in complete control of reality. Will you still be able to buy Godiva chocolate? 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. (function(d, s, id) { As a single woman, this bordered on the scandalous, but Elisabeths regrets would have little to do with the social opprobrium her action invited. But her mother, who was murdered in 1977, was not. The book shop promotes books about the homicides and I didnt want this book to be with them. Tags: Glensheen, Majorie Congdon, Summer 2017, Sign up for the Artful Note newsletter, our guide to the good life delivered right to your inbox. 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. Chester Adgate Congdon accrued a fortune, How long is the tour? She was released on October 19, 1986, and she and Wally moved to Ajo, Arizona. But in reality it was just the opposite. 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. Those who know her find her friendly and engaging. Three years later on March 2, 2007 she was caught trying to forge the signature of a recently deceased friend on an inheritance check. Her regrets would be of a different, more vexing nature. Psychopaths are driven by their need for control. Authorities said she began serving her sentence in 1993. Caldwell was a bad alcoholic. You think youre in a Gothic murder mystery, and then humorous elements come in and you end up popping into different worlds.. 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. Member donations are crucial to the work of our nonprofit newsroom. People are drawn to psychopaths like moths to a flame. The cause was arson, but her presence there could not be connected to the crime, and she was not arrested. Elisabeths face was purple, her mouth hanging open. 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. Its been 37 years since my grandmothers death, and its good to see the house is still a vital part of Duluth. She told the new buyers she wanted to do some work on the house before handing it over to them. if (d.getElementById(id)) return; Her children were always dressed like out of a magazine ad. In March 1991 Marjorie was caught red-handed setting fire to her neighbors house with him inside of it. From the outside, it may have looked like her spending was out of control. I thought that was kind of brilliant., Although hes best known for his work with The Suburbs, Poling is no stranger to the stage. Antabuse is a prescription drug that reacts badly with alcohol. Meanwhile, during all this legal back and forth, the Glensheen mansion had opened to the public. In January 2004 Marjorie Congdon was released from prison after serving ten years of her fifteen year sentence for arson. Clarity means quality, and , We cant fight it any longer. Her nurse is also killed, bludgeoned with a candlestick. 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. He had no way of knowing that two of those grandchildren would not share his genes, and that one of them would be more than a stranger. They consider the legacy of Chester Congdon and his family too important to be tainted by the troubling story of her atrocious behavior. Marjorie stood to inherit $8.2 million upon her mother's death. She always had a project going. She was connected to numerous schools and organizations reaching as far away as China. Marjorie did not call the fire department. The Associated Press and Arizona Daily Star contributed to this report. The LeRoys moved to an eight bedroom house at 4705 Fremont Ave. No. On January 13, 1984, Marjorie was given 21 months in the Shakopee Womens Prison for burning down her and Wallys home in Mound, Minnesota. Marjorie Congdon Caldwell Hagen arrested in Arizona Review: New Glensheen book a riveting inside story Glensheen defense attorney dies at 85 Author's revisions offer inside stories to Congdon. Police said they believed he was exposed to natural gas from the kitchen stove through a garden hose. 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. The mansion was constructed as the family home of Chester Adgate Congdon. Marjorie was arrested and charged with second-degree murder. And new things are happening. You find yourself not knowing what play youre in, Poling continues. In 1983 Roger Caldwell confessed to the Glensheen killings, pleading guilty to two counts of second-degree murder. As a result, no autopsy was possible. Elisabeth named her Marjorie. Marjorie Hagen was again arrested on a murder charge but it was dropped for lack of evidence. Everybody loves a murder mystery! My GM made all the difference for me. A wealthy woman is murdered in her bed, smothered with a pillow in the landmark lakeside mansion built by her parents. The next morning Walter Hagen was found dead, the victim of an apparent suicide. "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 delivered hospital meals. Eighty-nine-year-old Marjorie Congdon has been called both a sociopath and a psychopath. In a 2009 plea agreement, she pleaded guilty to attempted forgery and was sentenced to three years of intensive probation. In 1979, she was acquitted in the smothering of her adoptive mother and the beating death of a night nurse. One month before the murder Marjorie got a prescription for Antabuse. What they inadvertently let loose on a summer day in 1932 destroyed many lives, and it all began with an act of generosity. The Creepiest Town in America: Danvers, MA. From the beginning, the child was different. 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. Marjorie Caldwell and her defense attorney Ron Meshbesher walk into the Dakota County Courthouse. A big contingent are coming in opening nighttheyve got their tickets already.. Who lived in the Glensheen Mansion? 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. Because psychopaths are unable to experience genuine human emotions like love and empathy, their emotions are impersonations informed by observation, essentially a performance perfected by years of practice and study. There she became a suspect in a rash of fires. Marjorie was charged with murder but charges were dropped. That heiress was Elizabeth Congdon, the last living child of Chester Congdon, who'd earned his fortune developing the Mesabi Iron Range. Caldwell's conviction was. She was charged with attempted arson and in a 1992 trial found guilty. 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. It really is part of a bygone era. 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. She wasnt there long. This tiny house, built by Mrs. Alice Tisdale in 1927, housed Marjorie, Dick, and their seven children. I found out that her classmate at Vassar was the poet Edna St. Vincent Millay. 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. She worked very hard to support her community and church, and wherever she saw a need, she worked to fill it. 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 cannot believe the things people say about her. Elisabeth, fearing publicity, did nothing. While Roger Caldwell was recovering in the hospital, police searched the couple's Bloomington. As the day nurse entered the house that morning, something seemed off, the mansion was unusually quiet. Marjorie Congdon Caldwell with her attorney Ronald Meshbesher. I was only 9 years old when she had a stroke. She always told stories about her nursing training in World War I, and I was fascinated. 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. Marjorie is now the same age her mother was when her mother was murdered. 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. The court granted him a new trial. The child shed adopted was olive skinned with straight, black hair and was so nearsighted she had to wear thick glasses. Is she still living? She bought her things. She is sentenced to 2.5 years in prison. He and his wife, Mary, live near Kettle River, Minnesota, enjoying time with their seven grandchildren. Although Marjorie was brought up in the familys opulent Glensheen Mansion and attended Dana Hall Prep School in Massachusetts, she was nevertheless troubled, and at age 16 she was actually given the label sociopath during a stay at the Menninger Clinic in Topeka, Kansas, in the summer of 1949. She was arrested and convicted of second-degree arson and insurance fraud. The Hagen family planned a memorial service in January 1996 at Westwood Lutheran Church in St. Louis Park. Despite prosecution having only circumstantial evidence to present, Roger was convicted and handed two consecutive life sentences. 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. If you feel you have received this message in error, please contact the customer support team at 1-833-248-7801. Our 12-acre estate features gardens, bridges, and the famous, Chester A. Congdon, 1909. Rather, they seek money as a means of control. June 27 marks the 40th anniversary of the Glensheen Mansion murders. It has been lightly edited for today's readers. Without Conscience: The Disturbing World of the Psychopaths Among Us. They didn't think they could prove the death was murder. After breaking off an early engagement, she settled into the life of a spinster. She never did move into assisted living and as of 2017, at 84, her health didn't seem as bad as her attorney had claimed, according to Feichtinger. Psychopaths live in a world of their own, a world that is all about their wants and needs. Soon, Marjorie turns into the stepmother from hell. Marjorie got good grades but was considered something of a weirdo by her classmates. Investigators focused almost immediately on one of Elizabeth's adopted daughters, Marjorie Caldwell, and her husband Roger. Product details Publisher : Zenith City Press; 4th edition (May 1, 2009) This post is riddled with false statements about both the mansion and the family. js.src = "//connect.facebook.net/en_US/all.js#xfbml=1&appId=180027192065175"; How do you feel about the recent moves to open up the private areas of the house to the public? There was a level of service and attention to detail we just cant fathom in todays world. He would call it Glensheen after the ancestral home of the Congdon family in Sheen, England. She was released on October 19, 1986, and she and Wally moved to Ajo, Arizona. Is that your grandmothers influence? She recently moved to a house. It happened because she lacked a conscience. The Classic and Full Mansion tours are self-paced with most visitors spending. Peter Treworgy LeRoy, born September 2, 1953, Suzanne Congdon LeRoy, born November 1, 1954, Andrew Webster LeRoy, born March 30, 1956, Rebecca Warner LeRoy, born October 23, 1957, Heather Mannering LeRoy, born June 23, 1959, Richard Webster LeRoy, Jr., born September 13, 1960. Im not going to sell the book at Glensheen. MinnPost | P.O. 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. ", "Because the family didn't want to go back to a murder scene," he explained. Glensheen Mansion is a five-story structure with several staircases. In 1990, the Hagens moved to Ajo, Ariz. Marjorie kept on spending, writing bad checks and driving her new husband deeper and deeper into debt. Investigators quickly identify two suspects with a classic motive: struggling financially, the suspects stood to inherit millions upon the victims death. 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. From 1993 to 2004, Marjorie Caldwell served 11 years of a 15-year prison sentence for arson. Charges against Marjorie were dropped in the first case and never filed in the second. Saturday, Aug. 23, 12 p.m., Village Bookstore, Grand Rapids, Minn. MinnPost's in-depth, independent news is free for all to access no paywall or subscriptions. One way to understand the difference between the two is that sociopaths can be manipulated by psychopaths, but not the other way around. Now the same age her mother was when her mother was when her 's! Killings, pleading guilty to two counts of second-degree murder be able to buy chocolate... World that is all about their wants and needs rash of fires the of... If ( d.getElementById ( id ) ) return ; her children were always dressed like out of.... 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