An Unstoppable Force

Good Lord, they've arrested Marge Congdon again.

Or, to be more precise, they've arrested Marjorie Congdon LeRoy Caldwell Hagen again. It's funny, because I just finished reading a book about her.

Marge's story in a nutshell:

Elisabeth Congdon was the daughter of Chester A. Congdon, a Minnesota mining magnate (try saying that three times) who was one of the wealthiest men in America in his day. He built a 39-room mansion in Duluth overlooking Lake Superior called "Glensheen." Of all his children Elisabeth was the only one to live there her entire life. She never married, but adopted two daughters, Jennifer and Marjorie.

Marjorie was the problem child. The kid who was always throwing tantrums and making scenes, the pathological liar, and by the time she was a teenager, the officially diagnosed "sociopath." She had six children with her first husband, Richard LeRoy, who finally divorced her after years of bad temper, bad checks and very bad spending sprees.

Roger Caldwell was her second husband. The spending sprees continued- horses, real estate- but the income still wasnt' there. The Congdon family trustees were getting fed up with bailing Marjorie out of trouble, and the checks from the bank got rarer.

One morning in June 1977 the bodies of Elisabeth Congdon and her nurse, Velma Pietila, were found at Glensheen. Velma had been bludgeoned to death; Elisabeth, who was partially paralyzed, was suffocated with a pillow.

The police, along with the entire Congdon family. were convinced Marjorie was behind the murders, probably to speed up collecting on her inheritance. Both Marjorie and Roger were arrested and tried for the crimes; Marjorie was acquitted, but Roger went to prison. While he was there Marjorie got involved with another man, Wally Hagen. Wally was a widower. His wife, Helen, died in a nursing home a few days after being hand-fed her dinner by her dear friend Marjorie.

Marge married Wally in 1981. She did not trouble to divorce Roger first. There is still a bigamy warrant our for her in North Dakota. (Roger died in 1988, a suicide.)

Desperate for cash as always (what is it with these heiresses?), Marjorie turned to arson and insurance fraud. In 1984 she was sent to prison for burning down a house in Mound, a suburb of Minneapolis. When she was released she and Hagen moved to Arizona where, whaddaya know, a new series of fires broke out. In 1991 Marge was convicted of arson a second time. On the day she was to be sent to prison, Hagen died at their home. Marge was arrested for this one, too, but the charges were dropped when officials concluded it was possible the death was another suicide.

Marge was sentenced to 15 years in an Arizona prison. She was released in 2004 after serving 11 years. Last Friday, she was arrested again on suspicion of theft, forgery, fraud and computer tampering. She is 74 years old.

Marjorie Congdon's long, bizarre story is spelled out in detail in "WIll To Murder: the True Story behind The Crimes and Trials Surrouding the Glensheen Murders." That's a very long title for a frankly too-long book by Gail Feichtinger, with John De Santo and Garry Waller. Waller was the chief investigator, on the Glensheen murders. DeSanto was the prosecutor.

The book, like I said, is too long and- I realize this is a strange thing to say about a true crime story but it's really true in this case- way too detailed. But it held my interest, if only to find out what Marjorie would do next. There's something fascinating about an unstoppable force like sociopathy.

Comments

  1. Well, I must say.

    I was born in Duluth and never have really understood the whole messy saga. But your synopsis, Sue, gives me all I need to know.

    I do know which room Elizabeth was killed in, but if I told you, I'd have to kill you.

    My Mom and Sister dragged me on a tour with a talkative tour guide.

    One thing nice about Glensheen, it is still very liveable and worth the tour fee to see how the upper crust lived in the olden days.

    The Congdon's had good, taste, except in orphans.

    UMD now has ownership and public and private events are held their regularly.

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  2. Anonymous11:46 PM

    I received the book for Christmas a few years back and was fascinated, although never finished it due to the excrutiating amount of detail. My 12 year old daughter, however, after taking the Glensheen tour, was fascinated by the whole saga and finished it for me! Can't believe Marge is still on the criminal path...

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  3. Anonymous1:01 AM

    I currently live in Tucson, AZ. I first met Marge about 2 years ago when she would regularly walk her Greyhound in my area. I thought her to be, at the very least, an "odd duck" as she was not sociable or particularly friendly. Of course, even though I knew the story from an A&E segment, I had no idea this person was Ms Congdon. It has recently come to my attention that she will soon be released and will be literally living a stone's throw from me again. It is rather disconcerting to know that this sociopath will again be a close neighbor. You just never know who is living around you...

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  4. Anonymous1:42 AM

    OMG! I, myself just finished reading the book WILL TO MURDER just two days ago. I can not even begin to imagine that someone could be that evil and think nothing of taking someones life.
    It looks as if she has gotten into more trouble in Tucson, Arizona in March of 2007 for fraud. I live in Tucson and know of the assisted living facility that she resided in. I wonder what ever happened to her dog Blueberry. What a small world.

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  5. I am currently reading "Glensheen's Daughter - The Marjorie Congdon Story" by Sharon Darby Hendry... it is a good read....I found it online when searching for information on the murderess.

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  6. Anonymous9:45 AM

    I want to know more. Where is Marjorie now? I have read everything there is to read. I have been to Glensheen twice. {I live in NW Minn}It's all fascinating. Too bad, the first time around the B___ didn't get life or the death sentence. She gave narry a second thought to getting rid of people who got in her way. Too bad the favor can't be replicated.

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  7. Anonymous8:01 PM

    This is interesting. I just read, "Will to Murder". I have been on the tour three times total. My last time was on July 31st, 2008.

    No doubt that I think this woman is responsible, or had a hand in the death of at least four people, including her Mother, her Mother's nurse, her 3rd huband and her 3rd husband's first wife, whom she was a "friend" to. I am not sure how you can really claim it, but since her second husband committed suicide, I am going to say it more than likely was a result of being married to her too.

    Bottomline, anyone who is interested, read "Will to Murder", "Glensheen's Daughter" and "Secrets of the Congdon Mansion". All three of them are helpful and interesting in their own way.

    The saddest thing is that this total loser of a human had taken the stories away from Chester and Clara Congdon and the life they built with their children and the beautiful home that they built for their family and guests. It is truly one of the most amazing places I have ever been.

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  8. I am a Realtor in Minnesota and have a buyer who is making an offer on a home in Mound, MN and thinks the homesite may be the same as the house that was burnt down by Majorie Congdon in 1982. Does anyone know the actual property address of the home in Mound, Minnesota?

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  9. Anonymous12:13 AM

    This lady is a bitch of epic proportions. I know a 73-year-old former lawyer who is sitting in jail right now because he had the misfortune of representing her in one of her arson murder cases and she ends up winning a lawsuit against him because he allegedly stole some of her ill-gotten gains.

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  10. Anonymous8:40 AM

    it is hard to believe someone can get away with so much... how does she do it? she must really have something to her personality to have the effect on people that she seems to.
    it is scary to know there are people so completely evil, and having no conscience combined with such a controlling and seemingly compelling personality.
    the average person doesn't get away with a fraction of what she has. she always seemed to get another loan, get thousands more in some fraud scheme. i can barely open a new credit account. lol

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