A Mother Denies Guilt In Adopted Son's Death

A Mother Denies Guilt In Adopted Son's Death

AP

LEAD: A woman pleaded not guilty today in connection with the 1965 death of her 3-year-old adopted son, a death that has remained unresolved for more than 21 years. The boy's natural mother persuaded the authorities to reopen the case last year.

A woman pleaded not guilty today in connection with the 1965 death of her 3-year-old adopted son, a death that has remained unresolved for more than 21 years. The boy's natural mother persuaded the authorities to reopen the case last year.

The adoptive mother, Lois Jurgens, 61 years old, was indicted on one count of second-degree murder and two counts of third-degree murder. She was released after posting $25,000 bail.

Her husband, Harold Jurgens, was not charged.

The child, Dennis Jurgens, was found dead at his home in White Bear Lake, a suburb of St. Paul, on April 11, 1965.

The cause of death was originally listed as undetermined. But at the urging of the boy's biological mother, Jerry Puckett Sherwood, the case was reopened last year, and in October the medical examiner's office said the boy had been beaten to death.

Tom Foley, attorney for Ramsey County, where St. Paul is situated, said he could not explain why the case was not prosecuted earlier and refused to pinpoint responsibility, saying only that ''I think the system failed 22 years ago.''

Mrs. Sherwood learned that Dennis had died when she tried to find him in 1980.

Uncertainty about the cause of his death troubled her and her questions led to Ramsey County's Medical Examiner, who reviewed the boy's file and autopsy report and declared the case a homicide.

The Jurgenses had told the authorities that the boy died after falling down a staircase.