They win people over, before bending them to their will. The Congdon story is one that is quite close to me literally. Twenty months later she was released for good behavior. He worked in a lumber mill from the age of fifteen to support his family after his fathers death. They didn't think they could prove the death was murder. If they change to focus to be more about history and the house, Ill reconsider. This time Marjorie had overplayed her hand. We were invited for dinner several times. You want to raise your hand and draw attention to it, even if it might be considered a bit crass. Roger. Developed by. Psychopaths are at their most dangerous when their manipulations are thwarted. But psychopaths are different. Has Ruxandra Porojnicu left Coronation Street? She went up to the prone figure. The next morning Walter Hagen was found dead, the victim of an apparent suicide. If you feel you have received this message in error, please contact the customer support team at 1-833-248-7801. Candance Renalls is a retired Duluth News Tribune reporter and freelance writer. Back in Minnesota for the funeral, police found evidence of foul play in their Duluth hotel room. The LeRoys moved to an eight bedroom house at 4705 Fremont Ave. No. Im interested in at-risk youth, and drawn to help people in difficult situations. Eighty-nine-year-old Marjorie Congdon has been called both a sociopath and a psychopath. They consider the legacy of Chester Congdon and his family too important to be tainted by the troubling story of her atrocious behavior. 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 thought that was kind of brilliant., Although hes best known for his work with The Suburbs, Poling is no stranger to the stage. They cannot believe the things people say about her. The mansion itself is beautiful. Everybody loves a murder mystery! And I whispered to the guide, 'You know she was brutally murdered, right?'". By 1977, she was living in Colorado and married to her second husband, Roger Caldwell. She was seventy-one years old. Marjorie used her inheritance to acquit her of the murder of the person who controlled her inheritance. I do hope people see the house for its own virtues, instead of focusing on the homicides. Sadly, Marjories mother neglected to mention Marjories psychological problems to her new husband before he married her. She recently moved to a house. 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. Before the contract came due, she sold the house but didnt immediately vacate. conniving.''. (function(d, s, id) { In 2010, her attorney's court motion to remove her from intensive probation so she could get into an assisted living complex was denied. The marriage lasted twenty years and cost Dick LeRoy an estimated $1 million in debt and liabilities. Whatever the diagnosis revealed was something Elisabeth would never tell anyone. 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. 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. 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. In an act brazen for the time, Elisabeth traveled to New York City on a summer day in 1932 and adopted a child. We see that you have javascript disabled. Shes had many aliases. Thats different from a psychopath. 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. Marjorie and Dick LeRoy had seven children: When LeRoy was transferred to Minnesota, they lived in Minneapolis, then moved to St. Louis Park. But her mother, who was murdered in 1977, was not. This is especially , Clear ice isnt just for looks. From the outside, it may have looked like her spending was out of control. Rogers trial resulted in two consecutive life sentences, handed down on July 10, 1978. They care nothing about anyone else, although they are often good at making it seem as if they do. He would call it Glensheen after the ancestral home of the Congdon family in Sheen, England. Antabuse is a prescription drug that reacts badly with alcohol. It was the stuff of an Agatha Christie novel. She knew they were unlikely to front her the cash, so she sent Roger to make the plea. Elisabeth Mannering Congdon, Chester Congdons third daughter, didnt prefer the company of men, at least not to the extent that she would marry one. I was only 9 years old when she had a stroke. A portrait of Chester Congdon looks over visitors to the Glensheen Mansion's library on Wednesday. Jennifer was bubbly and outgoing, a treasure to all those who knew her, except perhaps to Marjorie whose behavioral problems got worse after her arrival. The Associated Press and Arizona Daily Star contributed to this report. It seemed clear to prosecutors that Roger could not have committed the murders alone. MP: Your book includes two riveting and fairly disturbing courtroom dramas the murder trial [starring a sneering Ron Meshbesher] and the settlement of your grandmothers estate. Marjorie Caldwell served two prison terms for arson, and she's been linked to several mysterious deaths. A nineteenth century masterpiece of hand-carved oak, stained glass, damask wall coverings and handmade rugs, it sits on twelve acres of land that slopes gently to the shores of Lake Superior. Marjorie did not call the fire department. "She got no bulk sum after the murders - she basically lost it all . EARLY LIFE She was short, wide at the hips and bookish looking. Developed by Prime Marketing Exposition, @2022 - 2022 - All Right Reserved. I visit anonymously and join tours to see what they say, and see how people react. The child shed adopted was olive skinned with straight, black hair and was so nearsighted she had to wear thick glasses. [Its] a very rich Sondheim sound. While darkly comic elements pepper the musical, Poling emphasizes that he and Hatcher have been respectful of the victims. MinnPost thanks these generous donors: INDIVIDUALS AND FOUNDATI0NS Blandin FoundationOtto Bremer FoundationBush FoundationSage & John CowlesDavid . "I think also a downside of the murder is that people always viewed it from that lens, even in the history community," he said, "that they kind of forget it's actually this incredibly important historic site for our state. Ricky LeRoy was only 17 at the time of the murders and is now a well-known attorney and advocate for poor defendants. All Rights Reserved. And they ended up acquitting her. Elisabeth, fearing publicity, did nothing. "Then went upstairs and smothered the 83-year-old heiress in her bed with a satin pillow.". The research was a wonderful process, and I felt privileged to discover so many things about her I didnt know. Box 18438 | Minneapolis, MN 55418 | 612.455.6950, This and is republished here under a Creative Commons license., * Please read before republishing * I had an appetite for travel and interest in other cultures, and worked with aborigines in Australia. 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. Accordingly, when Marjorie was thirteen, Elisabeth bought Marjorie a horse she had been demanding. The Classic and Full Mansion tours are self-paced with most visitors spending. The Arizona Daily Star reported that Hagen was most recently in the news in 2006 after her lawyer was accused of bilking her and another client out of more than $100,000. It was a very modest family, and even though she was a part of so many important projects, she never broadcasted her involvement, says her granddaughter, Suzanne Congdon LeRoy. Roger confessed to the murders, but was freed after serving just over five years in jail. Candleholders on Elisabeth Congdons bedside table in Glensheen Mansion. In the early years of the twentieth century as the demand for iron ore increased, Chester Congdons wealth grew. Investigators quickly identify two suspects with a classic motive: struggling financially, the suspects stood to inherit millions upon the victims death. Much of the following information came from the book Will to Murder: The True Story Behind the Crimes and Trials Surrounding the Glensheen Killings by Gail Feichtinger, John Desanto, Gary Waller, and John E. Desanto (2005:X-Communication). SCL: I always say, Mother Nature was the only mother I ever had. Genres True Crime History Nonfiction Biography Biography Memoir 332 pages, Paperback First published November 23, 1998 Book details & editions He studied dance and theater as a student at CalArts in the 1970s, and wrote scores for the legendary (now defunct) local company Theatre de la Jeune Lune in the 1980s. Police said they believed he was exposed to natural gas from the kitchen stove through a garden hose. Editor's note: This story originally appeared in the June 25, 2017, edition of the News Tribune. Partnering with a friend, Congdon obtained leases for iron ore properties that contained ore mixed with sand. Eighty-one-year old Elisabeth Congdon refused to bail Marjorie out anymore. Elisabeth Mannering Congdon about the age she was when she adopted Marjorie. They may charm you, they may trick you, or they may put you in a difficult position. Marjorie was a compulsive spender and liar, and eventually Dick LeRoy had enough and divorced her on April 29, 1971. "The big mystery still is, did Roger do it alone or with someone else there, and how involved if at all was Marjorie? Marjorie Caldwell and her defense attorney Ron Meshbesher walk into the Dakota County Courthouse. What does it mean when someone is succumb? When authorities called Marjorie to tell her what had happened, she said nonchalantly, It isnt our house. She remains a free womanthough shes been twice convicted of arson or attempted arson, and served two sentences for those crimes. They dazzle and captivate. They married two months later. 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. Female psychopaths are rare, occurring at half the rate of men. 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. SCL: Very much so. It looked like justice was finally catching up with her. Its wonderful to see their reactions. But too many people remember only that she was killed at home at Glensheen mansion, along with her nurse, Velma Pietila, in 1977. 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