Read this article as it appears in themagazine. Caldwell was a bad alcoholic. "Even though she's been acquitted, I think there's lots of questions about that.". I had to wonder: Do you fear for your personal safety? Were happy to make this story available to republish for free under an, recent moves to open up the private areas, learn about all our free newsletter options, Augsburg author finds sweetness in light of Colbert Bump, Rebecca Rasmussen lives in the North Woods in her novels anyway, With carbon-free law in place, Minnesota Democrats now debating whether to mandate energy storage, An illustrated guide to the signs of Minnesota spring, State funds available to recruit diverse police officers, but not all departments are asking for the money, Addressing (and improving) life expectancies for Black Minnesotans, For years, St. Paul took a hands-off approach to trash collection. In the world Marjorie Congdon grew up in, wealth was everything. 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. In a city that bears the Congdon name at nearly every turn (this week, when a fire damaged Duluths historic Traphagen House, it was even noted that the Congden family had lived there while their Glensheen mansion was being constructed), her legacy is long, yet her individual accomplishments have largely been forgotten. Marjorie had a penchant for arson. said Kimball. Her attempts for earlier release on parole met. 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. 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. In 2010, her attorney's court motion to remove her from intensive probation so she could get into an assisted living complex was denied. She taught me to give back. When she was alerted to the fire, she was nonchalant. At the age of twelve Marjorie began spending her mothers money with a vengeance, running up her charge accounts at local merchants. It was then that he decided to build his dream home on the shores of Lake Superior. Elisabeth Mannering Congdon, Chester Congdons third daughter, didnt prefer the company of men, at least not to the extent that she would marry one. 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. 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. As the day nurse entered the house that morning, something seemed off, the mansion was unusually quiet. Psychopaths live in a world of their own, a world that is all about their wants and needs. Are any of Freddie and the Dreamers still alive? 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. Marjorie married Roger Caldwell of Latrobe, Pennsylvania, on March 20, 1976, in the Denver, Colorado, area and they lived in Golden, Colorado. Police said they believed he was exposed to natural gas from the kitchen stove through a garden hose. Marjorie Caldwell and her defense attorney Ron Meshbesher walk into the Dakota County Courthouse. Marjorie was a compulsive spender and liar, and eventually Dick LeRoy had enough and divorced her on April 29, 1971. 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. Poling says he and Hatcher are acutely aware that audience members for Glensheen will include members of the victims families, investigators who worked on the caseand possibly even Marjorie Congdon Caldwell. "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. What they did is public record.. Marjorie Caldwell served two prison terms for arson, and she's been linked to several mysterious deaths. if (d.getElementById(id)) return; Illustration by Allegra Lockstadt; Photography provided by Dana Hall; Glensheen | University of Minnesota-Duluth; St. Paul Pioneer Press | Handwritten will courtesy of Zenith City Press as presented in Will to Murder: The True Story Behind the Crimes & Trials Surrounding The Glensheen Killings, considered the Definitive Book about the murders. Before she was arrested, Marjorie arranged to have the body of her friend cremated. In 1984, Marjorie was convicted of arson in the burning of the Mound, Minn., home she had just sold but remained an insurance beneficiary. This time Marjorie had overplayed her hand. Developed by. They purchased the house from Kenneth and Alice Wolfe; he was to become mayor of St. Louis Park and a State Senator. If you can make a difference in even one life, its meaningful. However, that didnt mean she didnt want children. If todays Duluth is an unusually lively and progressive city for its size, that is in part due to Congdons passions. January 26,1985 Her appeal is turned down, so Marjorie begins serving her time for the arson and fraud conviction. 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. Marjorie Congdon Caldwell had enough notoriety as an heiress that she could hire one of the best criminal defense attorneys in Minnesota. Overnight, Congdon became a very wealthy man. But if anyone thought Marjorie was the victim in this relationship, they had another thing coming. Feichtinger wouldn't go that far, noting that Marjorie is no longer on probation and being supervised. That's when Kimball decided to write a book about the case, "Secrets of the Congdon Mansion. 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. The nurse hurried up the stairs to Elisabeths bedroom. Gray Duck Media. Clarity means quality, and , We cant fight it any longer. Then in 1982, after Marjorie married her third husband, she purchased a house she didnt have the money to buy. Partially paralyzed by a stroke for more than a decade, eighty-three-year-old Elisabeth Congdon required around the clock care. MP: In the book, you implicate her in numerous murders across the country, although she never served time for any. Withdrawing further, Marjorie began to act strangely, pulling out her own hair and laugh in an odd manner. In spite of the evidence, prosecutors did not pursue a case against her. "She got no bulk sum after the murders - she basically lost it all . Elisabeth, fearing publicity, did nothing. 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. 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. But even today, guides don't discuss the murder during tours, although they will answer questions after, explained Glensheen Director Dan Hartman. From 1993 to 2004, Marjorie Caldwell served 11 years of a 15-year prison sentence for arson. Psychopaths are driven by their need for control. They are not creepy. But psychopaths are not greedy in the same way sociopaths are. Later in the tour, as you pass the landing where Elisabeths nurse Velma Pietila was brutally bludgeoned to death with an iron candlestick holder, where blood had soaked the rug and dripped off the banisters, you want to ask them to stop and acknowledge it. Who wrote youll like my mother?Jo HeimsNaomi A. Hintze. Police suspected that Roger Caldwell flew from Colorado to Minneapolis, drove to Duluth, and committed the murders under cover of darkness. As early as 1966 when she was married to Dick LeRoy, the family garage mysteriously burned to the ground. The bedroom where Elisabeth Congdon was murdered. Im not going to sell the book at Glensheen. A big contingent are coming in opening nighttheyve got their tickets already.. A neighbor remembered Marjorie as being very industrious. Marjorie is now 84 years old and shes still out there. May 17, 1988 "People have seen her as recently as the last couple weeks, walking her dog without a walker," Feichtinger said at the time. The next morning Walter Hagen was found dead, the victim of an apparent suicide. Eighty-one-year old Elisabeth Congdon refused to bail Marjorie out anymore. You are here: Home How What happened Marjorie Congdon? Avoid being drawn in. In fact, LeRoy herself learned about many of her grandmothers projects only when she began to research her new book, Nightingale: A Memoir of Murder, Madness, and the Messenger of Spring, Kitai Press. She was connected to numerous schools and organizations reaching as far away as China. She was a contemporary of Margaret Sanger and in the years after birth control became legal, she helped bring access and information to northern Minnesota, which made a big difference for countless working families and women living in poverty. Duluth police were called to the mansion on the morning of June 27, 1977, after staff discovered the two women dead. I visit anonymously and join tours to see what they say, and see how people react. 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. When authorities called Marjorie to tell her what had happened, she said nonchalantly, It isnt our house. Ricky LeRoy was only 17 at the time of the murders and is now a well-known attorney and advocate for poor defendants. The mansion itself is located in Duluth Minnesota, 2 1/2 hours from my home in Brainerd Minnesota. 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. Marjorie Congdon's mugshot, when she was arrested for arson in Arizona on March 25, 1991. The book shop promotes books about the homicides and I didnt want this book to be with them. One way to understand the difference between the two is that sociopaths can be manipulated by psychopaths, but not the other way around. The next day, DeSanto charged Marjorie with conspiring to kill her mother. The case had all the ingredients of an old-fashioned whodunit wealth, greed, betrayal, even a mansion and a candlestick murder weapon. Roger. MinnPost | P.O. With her history of arson, she was immediately a suspect. The family has written some letters, and weve had discussions. Marjorie Congdon Hagen, 78, was placed on three years' intensive probation in March 2009 after she pleaded guilty to attempted forgery. Though one of the suspects was convicted, and later signed a confession, some elements of the crime remain mysterious, and it has persisted as a source of continued fascination. But too many people remember only that she was killed at home at Glensheen mansion, along with her nurse, Velma Pietila, in 1977. She was Marjorie Congdon, one of the Duluth Congdons, granddaughter of Chester, the mining magnate who made a fortune in iron ore, served in the legislature and built the mansion on the lake at the turn of the 20th century. Everybody loves a murder mystery! Her trustees earlier had cut Marjorie off from the Congdon millions, after the. We see that you have javascript disabled. Marjorie Congdon's mugshot, when she was arrested for arson in Arizona on March 25, 1991. We remember all the wrong things about Elisabeth Mannering Congdon. 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? Shortly thereafter, the house burned to the ground. He worked in a lumber mill from the age of fifteen to support his family after his fathers death. Glensheens Daughter: The Marjorie Congdon Story. The Great Debate: Should A Craft Distillery Purchase Already-Made Spirits? Developed by Prime Marketing Exposition, @2022 - 2022 - All Right Reserved. It has been lightly edited for today's readers. She was arrested again in 1984 when she burned down her house in Mound, Minn. She was convicted of arson and insurance fraud and sentenced to 21 months in prison. 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. TUCSON, Ariz. -- Marjorie Congdon Caldwell Hagen, the 74-year-old woman acquitted in connection with the June 1977 deaths of her mother and her mother's nurse at Duluth's Glensheen mansion, was taken into custody Thursday night at a Tucson assisted-living facility and booked into Pima County Jail on suspicion of theft, forgery, fraud and computer tampering. He died in 1916. The Gateway to Hell in Tagus, North Dakota. But Congdon was betting on the come. Marjorie ended up with about $40,000 a year from a Congdon trust plus Wallace Hagen's pension, according to Feichtinger. Today, Marjorie Congdon is eighty-nine years old. Hare, Robert D. Phd. She took her pulse. I had an appetite for travel and interest in other cultures, and worked with aborigines in Australia. On Jan. 6, 2004, Hagen left prison in Perryville, Ariz., after serving 10 years of the 15-year sentence for arson. I found out that her classmate at Vassar was the poet Edna St. Vincent Millay. Most psychopaths are not violent, but all are treacherous. Glensheen director Dan Hartman talks about a Congdon family portrait. 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. Psychopaths are born without consciences, the way some people are born without sight or sound. The news, analysis and community conversation found here is funded by donations from individuals. 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. How do I create a group in Contacts on iPhone? Better you should stay away from them. Some call it Minnesotas Downton Abbey. A traumatic childhood can turn a person into a sociopath. Glensheen, a new musical about the crime by acclaimed playwright Jeffrey Hatcher and music by The Suburbs Chan Poling, opens October 3 at St. Pauls History Theatre. Two days after Roger Caldwell was sentenced, Marjorie was arrested and charged with conspiracy. If they want something from you, they will stop at nothing to get it. Back at home, her third husband, Walter Hagen, was delighted at her return. Box 18438 | Minneapolis, MN 55418 | 612.455.6950, This and is republished here under a Creative Commons license., * Please read before republishing * Adopted by one of the wealthiest families in Minnesota, she was brought up in lavish surroundings with all the comforts money could buy, Marjorie had an idyllic childhood. But nothing could be further from the truth. [Its] a very rich Sondheim sound. Where Marjorie Congdon Hagen goes, fire and death follow. "Certainly, it isn't surprising she's back in the news today. 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. In a 2009 plea agreement, she pleaded guilty to attempted forgery and was sentenced to three years of intensive probation. As a single woman, this bordered on the scandalous, but Elisabeths regrets would have little to do with the social opprobrium her action invited. Part of the reason is the woman who would drive her died a year ago.". She and Caldwell kept asking Elisabeth for money, reportedly so they could realize their dream of a horse ranch. 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. It might help visitors better understand Marjories behavior, and raise awareness about these dangerous people among us. Marjorie Congdons sudden magnetic appeal to men is remarkable in light of the fact that she was in no way conventionally attractive. When he drank, he turned violent. I thought that was kind of brilliant., Although hes best known for his work with The Suburbs, Poling is no stranger to the stage. In an act brazen for the time, Elisabeth traveled to New York City on a summer day in 1932 and adopted a child. What happened Marjorie Congdon? She parted ways with her second husband, Roger Caldwell, after the trials. Elisabeth Mannering Congdon about the age she was when she adopted Marjorie. This was now two years after the murders and, as Kimball recalled, two new developments hurt the prosecution. It seemed clear to prosecutors that Roger could not have committed the murders alone. At the time, it was not possible to separate ore from sand, so the ore was worthless. She warned Roger if he wouldnt do something about his drinking, she would. Four years into his sentence, though, Roger Caldwell walked out of prison, never to return. SCL: You never turn your back. But psychopaths are different. Its one of Americas great houses. '', DeSanto, who helped author "Will to Murder," a book on the Glensheen murders, said: "My thought is that it is inevitable. How many bedrooms are in the Glensheen Mansion? Velma was covered in blood. "People do see her out and about. Psychopaths are not shaped by their upbringing. Dissatisfied, he moved to St. Paul, Minnesota with $31 in his pocket, passed the Minnesota bar, and joined a law firm. "It really was like a house in a time capsule.". Shes had many aliases. In 2005, the museum reversed course. Twenty months later she was released for good behavior. They married two months later. 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. Marjories mother and the rest of the Congdon family put their foot down and refused to send her money to bail her out. They agreed. How do you feel about the recent moves to open up the private areas of the house to the public? He was treated for a possible heart attack but released after doctors couldnt determine the cause of his illness. Sadly, Marjories mother neglected to mention Marjories psychological problems to her new husband before he married her. 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. It appears someone can be born a psychopath, and it also appears that psychopathology can run in families. My interest in travel, education, nature and nursing all come from her. She loved nature and history, and taught her children and grandchildren to protect them. Eighty-nine-year-old Marjorie Congdon has been called both a sociopath and a psychopath. Sociopaths are shaped by their environment. But when she fully enters their lives, they become entwined in a series of bizarre crimes. Marjorie is now the same age her mother was when her mother was murdered. Candleholders on Elisabeth Congdons bedside table in Glensheen Mansion. Who lived in the Glensheen Mansion? MP: You have a hard time calling Marjorie Caldwell your mother. As her personality emerged from behind a wall of introversion, it was aggressive and unpleasant, and she made people uncomfortable. Elisabeths face was purple, her mouth hanging open. She knew they were unlikely to front her the cash, so she sent Roger to make the plea. Additionally, two other men shes been close to have died in what some have regarded as suspicious circumstances. Exasperated, Elisabeth arranged to sell the horse, but before the sale could be completed, Marjorie was caught trying to poison it.
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