Featured on Court-TV!
“When the producer’s of Dominick Dunne’s
Power, Privelege, and Justice set out to tell the story
of the Glensheen killings, the network turned to the authors
of Will to Murder to get the facts. In “Mystery in the
Mansion,” Gail Feichtinger, John DeSanto, and Gary Waller
set the record straight about Marjorie Caldwell Hagen. Check
it out here.
Praise for Will to Murder
“The most informed account yet of the chilling details, bizarre
twists, and lingering mysteries surrounding the murders Minnesota
can’t forget.”
— Larry Oakes, Minneapolis Star-Tribune
“Fascinating, well-written, and gripping, Will
to Murder gets you hooked like a good crime novel, takes
you for a ride and leaves you wanting more. Finally, the definitive
book, the story behind the story of the Congdon-Pietila murders.”
— Candace Renalls, Duluth News-Tribune
“[Will to Murder] contains a wealth of known
and new information, but keeps one turning the pages in much
the same way as a well-plotted mystery.”
— Hugh Bishop, Lake Superior Magazine
“The definitive work on the [Congdon-Pietila murders]...the
authors provide an inside story that has never been heard
before... riveting... compelling... Will to Murder
covers all the bases.”
— Kyle Eller, Duluth Budgeteer“
[Will to Murder is the] ideal read for those non-native
Minnesotans who may not know what went on, or for those who
simply cannot get enough of the family Congdon and the travails
that ultimately left two people dead.… The book sizzles.”
— Minnesota Law & Politics
“More detail and depth than any previous account.”
— Minnesota Monthly
photo by Tony Dierckins |
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The Killings at Glensheen
On June 27, 1977, an intruder entered Glensheen, the stately
manor built along the Lake Superior shore by Chester A. Congdon,
patriarch of one of Duluth, Minnesota’s most generous
and respected families. Before leaving with a basketful of
stolen jewelry, the intruder used a satin pillow to smother
Chester’s last surviving daughter, Elisabeth Congdon,
after killing the heiress’s valiant nurse, Velma Pietila,
by beating her with a candlestick—crimes set in motion
by a hastily hand-written will penned just days before the
killings.
For the first time the story of the Glensheen killings and
the crimes and trials surrounding Marjorie Caldwell Hagen,
Elisabeth Congdon’s notorious adopted daughter, is told
through the eyes of former Duluth Police Detective and St.
Louis County Sheriff Gary Waller and St. Louis County Prosecutor
John DeSanto, the men who led the investigation and prosecution
of Marjorie and her husband, Roger Caldwell.
Together with former Duluth News-Tribune crime reporter
Gail Feichtinger, DeSanto and Waller bring readers behind
the scenes of the most infamous double murder in Minnesota
history. The authors frankly discuss their successes and failures
in order to explain just how a man who claimed innocence was
convicted of two counts of murder and later confessed to the
crimes—but was then set free. Feichtinger then reaches
beyond the Glensheen killings to follow Marjorie through her
convictions for arson and presents evidence that suggests
she may have gotten away with murder—four times.
New Evidence!
The authors also offer information never before presented,
including evidence that was not brought to trial, previously
unpublished photographs of the crime scene, and the results
of DNA tests—unavailable at the time of the investigation—which
link a key piece of evidence to Roger Caldwell and call into
question Marjorie Caldwell’s acquittal. |
