An additional note: The History Theatre musical, "Glensheen" is on stage starting July 6 and runs through July 30, 2017. At the age of nineteen she emerged as an engaging, charismatic young woman. She was introverted and spent most of her time reading alone or playing by herself in the nooks and crannies of the vast mansion. 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. It was as if she was determined to spend every last penny of Chester Congdons fortune. In a 2009 plea agreement, she pleaded guilty to attempted forgery and was sentenced to three years of intensive probation. May 17, 1988 He did a masterful job. Marjorie was released from prison on January 5, 2004, to much trepidation. As early as 1966 when she was married to Dick LeRoy, the family garage mysteriously burned to the ground. 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. Rogers conviction was overturned on August 6, 1982, and instead of retrying the case, Roger was freed on his five years time served after he confessed to two counts of second-degree murder. She wanted the money, and she was not content to wait for her inheritance. Compulsive spending was Marjorie Congdons modus operandi. said Kimball. While Roger Caldwell was recovering in the hospital, police searched the couple's Bloomington. People are drawn to psychopaths like moths to a flame. This was now two years after the murders and, as Kimball recalled, two new developments hurt the prosecution. Police said they believed he was exposed to natural gas from the kitchen stove through a garden hose. Chester Adgate Congdon was a go-getter. They were set to inherit millions of dollars when Elisabeth died. SCL: She made a big difference for maternal and child health. That's because 40 years later, Hartman said, about 70 percent of visitors don't even know about the murders. Marjorie Congdon Hagen admitted she endorsed and deposited an $11,000 check into a bank account she shared with Roger Sammis four days after Sammis died, said defense attorney Brick Storts.. Psychopaths are driven by their need for control. Surprisingly, there are some rather significant connections between Marjorie and St. Louis Park. They are not trying to get money to feed a desire for things. There are a million little convoluted rivers that flow from that, he says. Marjorie got good grades but was considered something of a weirdo by her classmates. Marjorie was charged with murder but charges were dropped. The blood type turned out to be type O; the same blood type of Velma Pietila and Roger Caldwell. After all, it should be part of a complete picture of the mansions history, which also includes the remarkable story of Chester Adgate Congdon, Elisabeths father and the builder of Glensheen. If you can make a difference in even one life, its meaningful. Marjorie is a text book example. Whether or not he had taken the pills of his own volition was never determined. If todays Duluth is an unusually lively and progressive city for its size, that is in part due to Congdons passions. In 2005, the museum reversed course. Whats more, investigators found a dark hair near Velma Pietilas body. Tags: Glensheen, Majorie Congdon, Summer 2017, Sign up for the Artful Note newsletter, our guide to the good life delivered right to your inbox. ", "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.' Psychopaths are not shaped by their upbringing. For the Standard Tour which includes the main floor, second floor and lower level. And I loved nursing; I was very privileged to work in Minnesota, nationally, and internationally as a nurse. Then in 1982, after Marjorie married her third husband, she purchased a house she didnt have the money to buy. 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. A satin pillow was lying over Elisabeths face. And I have taken all the necessary precautions to keep myself safe. And he said it's too grisly to discuss on tours with families. In 1991, she was caught trying to set fire to a neighbor's house. They know exactly what theyre doing. Three years later on March 2, 2007 she was caught trying to forge the signature of a recently deceased friend on an inheritance check. They didn't think they could prove the death was murder. 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. 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. Has Ruxandra Porojnicu left Coronation Street? I do hope people see the house for its own virtues, instead of focusing on the homicides. Editor's note: This story originally appeared in the June 25, 2017, edition of the News Tribune. MP: In the book, you implicate her in numerous murders across the country, although she never served time for any. "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 was still in jail Saturday on $250,000 bond. 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. A stroke had left her mobility and speech seriously impaired, requiring full-time medical supervision. 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. The Duluth newspaper archives included thousands of mentions of her activities. 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. Hagen endorsed and deposited an $11,000 check into a bank. He now operates a consulting service doing organizational and facility assessments. The mystery became a media sensation. It took the authorities less than two weeks to arrest Roger Caldwell, but not before he wound up in the hospital after having collapsed at breakfast with seizures. In 1995 an Arizona judge decreed that Wally Hagens ashes must be divided between Hagens children and Marjorie. Marjorie is now 84 years old and shes still out there. Clarity means quality, and , We cant fight it any longer. At the age of twelve Marjorie began spending her mothers money with a vengeance, running up her charge accounts at local merchants. What does that mean? The primary victim, Elisabeth Congdon, was 83 years old. Cable Publishing, 2014, Mansion with blood red sky, by Toa Heftiba, Glensheen Mansion exterior, Public domain, Glensheen bedroom where murder took place, Damien Enwhistle, Chester Congdon by Daniel Haas, CC by-SA 4.0, Hallway in Glensheen mansion, Damien Enwhistle, Elisabeth Condon in her eighties, Popular Bio, Staircase landing at Glensheen, Damien Enwhistle, Roger Caldwell mugshot, John DeSanto, Zenith City Press, Marjorie Congdon Caldwell walking with attorney, Art Hagen, Minneapolis Start Tribume, Candleholders on nightstand in murder bedroom, Hansen Family blog, Marjorie Congdon mug shot, Pima County Sheriffs Office, Smiling Marjorie in her seventies, Arizona Department of Corrections, Lake Superior shoreline, by Taylor Friehl. Also that year, she pleaded no contest in connection with arson fires at an Ajo storage yard believed set for a fraudulent insurance claim. Her adopted daughter Marjorie LeRoy's mother along with her new husband, Roger Caldwell, were accused of murdering Congdon in an attempt to inherit her fortune. Four years into his sentence, though, Roger Caldwell walked out of prison, never to return. I loved her deeply. Thats when Marjorie got an idea. 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 would be strange. Thats different from a psychopath. She is released 21 months later. In 1986, he was elected St. Louis County Sheriff; he retired in 1999. Today, Marjorie Congdon is eighty-nine years old. She and Caldwell kept asking Elisabeth for money, reportedly so they could realize their dream of a horse ranch. Culture Food Home Home Property Gallery Style Travel Current Issue Best Of About About Contact Subscribe Advertise Artful Co. Shop She told the new buyers she wanted to do some work on the house before handing it over to them. Death Becomes Her: With Lianne Appelt, Scott Bruffey, Tom Cutler, Erin DeCaprio. Marjorie Congdon Caldwell Hagen's son is a candidate for a state judge spot. I wanted more people to understand why she was so special. She was a role model and a mentor and laid a foundation not only about conduct and responsibility but about how to approach life. "She's still doing crafts.". If she could not get it by lying, cheating and stealing, she would find some other way. conniving.''. In the world Marjorie Congdon grew up in, wealth was everything. Later it came to light that her friend had thought the world of her. They are thinking about restoring the greenhouses, which were torn down in 1971, and bringing in bee hives and selling Glensheen honey. They dazzle and captivate. How many bedrooms are in the Glensheen Mansion? After a long trial, it took the jury just twenty-four hours to convict Roger Caldwell. When she was alerted to the fire, she was nonchalant. Sadly, Marjories mother neglected to mention Marjories psychological problems to her new husband before he married her. Congdon Caldwell married Wally Hagen in 1982. js = d.createElement(s); js.id = id; On Jan. 6, 2004, Hagen left prison in Perryville, Ariz., after serving 10 years of the 15-year sentence for arson. Glensheens Daughter: The Marjorie Congdon Story. Donations made by check can be made out to MinnPost and mailed to us at PO Box 18438, Minneapolis, MN 55418. [Its] a very rich Sondheim sound. She was arrested in Tucson, Arizona, at her residence at an assisted living facility on March 23, 2007, on charges of computer fraud and several other counts. She instilled that in me, and the power of possibility. Partnering with a friend, Congdon obtained leases for iron ore properties that contained ore mixed with sand. On March 24, 1992, she was arrested for burning down her neighbors house. So they made a deal. She was sentenced two and a half years in prison and fined $10,000. A wealthy woman is murdered in her bed, smothered with a pillow in the landmark lakeside mansion built by her parents. "I don't have any comments about the facts of the new crime," DeSanto said Saturday. From 1993 to 2004, Marjorie served 11 years of a 15-year prison sentence for the arson fires in Ajo. And new things are happening. Dumbest of all, a rare Byzantine coin that had been taken from Elisabeths Congdons room on the night of the murders turned up in Roger Caldwells home in Golden, Colorado. She went up to the prone figure. As a single woman, this bordered on the scandalous, but Elisabeths regrets would have little to do with the social opprobrium her action invited. The case went to trial in the searing summer of 1978. To control that wealth mustve been very enticing to someone like Marjorie. The victims' families "were really hopeful that we would not have to retry the case with a chance of Roger walking free," DeSanto said. Marjorie Caldwell and her defense attorney Ron Meshbesher walk into the Dakota County Courthouse. Member donations are crucial to the work of our nonprofit newsroom. At family reunions, we talk about history, and people knew a little bit, but so much about her was forgotten. From 1993 to 2004, Marjorie Caldwell served 11 years of a 15-year prison sentence for arson. The staff rarely saw her. She was charming and talkative. We remember all the wrong things about Elisabeth Mannering Congdon. She was released on October 19, 1986, and she and Wally moved to Ajo, Arizona. 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. An iron candlestick holder lay discarded nearby. Caldwell served five years for the murder; Marjorie was acquitted. The landing where Velma Pietila was bludgeoned to death with a candle holder. The case had all the ingredients of an old-fashioned whodunit wealth, greed, betrayal, even a mansion and a candlestick murder weapon. It might help visitors better understand Marjories behavior, and raise awareness about these dangerous people among us. In 1883 at the age of thirty he started his own practice and traveled to Duluth on the shores of Lake Superior where he became interested in mining. Marjorie and Dick LeRoy had seven children: When LeRoy was transferred to Minnesota, they lived in Minneapolis, then moved to St. Louis Park. Elisabeth Mannering Congdons legacy is long, yet her individual accomplishments have largely been forgotten. She had a particular impact on quality of life issues for women and children. 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. They married two months later. 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. On January 13, 1984, Marjorie was given 21 months in the Shakopee Womens Prison for burning down her and Wallys home in Mound, Minnesota. Just before the fire, Marjorie was seen carrying valuables out of the house and loading them into her car. Marjorie Caldwell Hagen, seen in a photo from when she was in Arizona prisons from late 1992 to early 2004, serving time for arsons in Ajo, Ariz. Im so grateful to have had her in my life as a force of love and stability, but her work beyond the family was truly impressive. Better you should stay away from them. Marjorie Congdons sudden magnetic appeal to men is remarkable in light of the fact that she was in no way conventionally attractive. Suddenly his ore was worth a fortune. Today, the University of Minnesota-Duluth operates the mansion, tours and events that take place inside and on the mansion's grounds. 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. From an early age, Marjorie showed signs of devious behavior, and as a teenager she was diagnosed as a sociopath. I found out that her classmate at Vassar was the poet Edna St. Vincent Millay. A garden hose was found running from the gas stove in the kitchen to their bedroom. When word reached Jennifer Congdon, Marjorie Congdons younger sister, the first thing she said was, Marjorie did it. But proving that was going to be difficult. In 1983 Roger Caldwell confessed to the Glensheen killings, pleading guilty to two counts of second-degree murder. 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. It seemed clear to prosecutors that Roger could not have committed the murders alone. The next day the house caught fire. Sadly, most people from her generation would not be able to square what they know about Marjorie with the diagnosis of a psychopath. 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. Roger. Who wrote youll like my mother?Jo HeimsNaomi A. Hintze. There was a level of service and attention to detail we just cant fathom in todays world. Marjories mother and the rest of the Congdon family put their foot down and refused to send her money to bail her out. In 1984, Marjorie was convicted of arson in the burning of the Mound, Minn., home she had just sold but remained an insurance beneficiary. He worked in a lumber mill from the age of fifteen to support his family after his fathers death. And I whispered to the guide, 'You know she was brutally murdered, right?'". Elisabeth Congdons way of dealing with Marjorie was to appease her. He would call it Glensheen after the ancestral home of the Congdon family in Sheen, England. When Marjorie was sixteen, Elisabeth sent her away to a boarding school in New England. As far as I know, she is still living. 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. Curiously, he never said who did. From 1993 to 2004, Marjorie Caldwell served 11 years of a 15-year prison sentence for arson. Caldwell's conviction was. He was taken into custody and arraigned on charges of first degree murder. Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. All marjorie congdon caldwell hagen artwork ships within 48 hours and includes a 30-day money-back guarantee. Roger confessed to the murders, but was freed after serving just over five years in jail. My interest in travel, education, nature and nursing all come from her. But if anyone thought Marjorie was the victim in this relationship, they had another thing coming. When Marjorie was three, Elisabeth adopted a second daughter who she named Jennifer. But when she fully enters their lives, they become entwined in a series of bizarre crimes. I had an appetite for travel and interest in other cultures, and worked with aborigines in Australia. The crime immediately attracted national attention. The family has written some letters, and weve had discussions. It is so beautiful and wonderful Im glad that everyone can enjoy it. But psychopaths are not greedy in the same way sociopaths are. Its a significant part of the mansions history, even if it is a bit unsettling, especially in light of the fact that the likely murderer is still alive and not in prison. The next owner of this house remembered Marjorie well. The book shop promotes books about the homicides and I didnt want this book to be with them. We hope Marjorie doesnt show up at the theater with a box of matches, Poling says. Eighty-one-year old Elisabeth Congdon refused to bail Marjorie out anymore. She added that she hasnt had contact with her for 40 years. In 1979, she was acquitted in the smothering of her adoptive mother and the beating death of a night nurse. Marjorie kept on spending, writing bad checks and driving her new husband deeper and deeper into debt. Her ability to coerce him in this way hinted at deeper implications. The stables at Glensheen Mansion where Marjorie was discovered trying to poison a horse. She is sentenced to 2.5 years in prison. January 26,1985 Her appeal is turned down, so Marjorie begins serving her time for the arson and fraud conviction. She was a product of her upbringing, in that she liked a genteel life. Caldwell was a bad alcoholic. 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. Intelligent and often charming, Marjorie married and had six children before the marriage ended amid stresses exacerbated by her exorbitant spending. "We spend a lot of time trying to make sure that the focus of Glensheen is not the murder. Roger had gray hair. 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. During World War I, she worked with the Red Cross. How many of the Andes Survivors are still Alive? Starched and pressed, plus she loved to entertain. In addition, they are charming, charismatic and engaging. The mansion itself is located in Duluth Minnesota, 2 1/2 hours from my home in Brainerd Minnesota. "She got no bulk sum after the murders she basically lost it all," Feichtinger said. "People have seen her as recently as the last couple weeks, walking her dog without a walker," Feichtinger said at the time.
Marjorie ended up with about $40,000 a year from a Congdon trust plus Wallace Hagen's pension, according to Feichtinger. A traumatic childhood can turn a person into a sociopath. MP: You write with such rich detail about visiting your grandmother at Glensheen, and the functions of the house the service, the secret call buttons. Shes had many aliases. She decided to ask the trustees of her estate to lend her $750,000 to buy a horse ranch in Colorado. Marjorie did not call the fire department. The combination of Antabuse and alcohol can produce seizures, congestive heart failure and even death. EARLY LIFE The next day, DeSanto charged Marjorie with conspiring to kill her mother. 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. 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. Suzanne Congdon LeRoy, one of Marjories daughters, recently published a biography of her late grandmother, highlighting Elisabeths philanthropic legacy. Marjorie Congdon Caldwell with her attorney Ronald Meshbesher. To them, a psychopath is a person like Norman Bates in the classic 1960 Hitchcock thriller Psycho, a deranged maniac with little control over his mental state, a twisted monster made that way by abuse and trauma. She was so much more than the last day of her life. 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. Sure, there've been times over 40 years when I wished the whole thing. 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). Since Marjorie's release from prison, she has lived in several senior residential communities in Tucson, where neighbors often had conflicts with her and her service dogs. 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. Female psychopaths are rare, occurring at half the rate of men. Marjorie did not attend a single day of his trial. 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. Shop for marjorie congdon caldwell hagen wall art from the world's greatest living artists. "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. 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. How can I tell how big my Cockapoo will be? 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. 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. And internationally as a nurse at half the rate of men art from the kitchen through! 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