by Joe Kimball
Q Did you have any conversation with the nurse, Velma Pietila, before your confrontation with her?
A No, I didn't.
Q Did you take the coin from the mansion?
A That's another mystery. I don't have any recollection of that coin at all.
Q (Then) where did you go, what did you do?
A There was another room across the hall, which also had a light on, and I was looking for a bathroom. I had blood on me. Surprisingly little, but, nonetheless, blood.
Q The washroom where you washed up was near at hand to the room where you found the keys. Where did you find the keys?
A They were laying on the bed…They were obviously car keys. I think I even peeked out the window and saw the car in the front of the house and I went back on downstairs and out.
Q You passed Velma Pietila's body there?
A I did.
Q Then you get out the front door, what do you do?
A Went immediately to the car, matched the keys and took off for the Twin Cities.
Q Did you, by chance, during the time you were in the mansion, hear the dog barking?
A I did not. I heard nothing. The only sound I heard was the sounds given off by the nurse.
Q ln going to the mansion, as you say to simply burglarize it, to steal from it, what was your original intention of how you were going to get away with this?
A I had no plan. I was drunker than a lord without any – I had no plan. I had nothing. I was stupid. I was – I had no prior experience along those lines. I have never in my life broken into anything.
Q If you're going to commit burglary, though, didn't you have some plan as far as how you were going to get away with the goods?
A No, I didn't.
Q It was just lucky that the keys for the car happened to be there.
A Just dumb luck that the keys for the car happened to be there.
Q What do you remember about the trip (from Duluth to Minneapolis)?
A 1I remember that I had a bottle with me and I was sipping at that, too.
Q A bottle of what? How much, what kind was it, where had you gotten the bottle?
A I don't know if I brought it with me on the plane or bought it here in Duluth. It was a pint bottle. It fit in the hip pocket.
Q You entered the mansion, then, with the bottle in your pocket?
A Oh sure. I wouldn't be without it
Q How did you get back from Minneapolis to Colorado?
A Flew.
Q Commercial airlines?
A Oh, yes. Well, again, I don't have any idea which one. It was a commercial flight.
Q What about purchasing the suede bag?
Q It's hard to believe that. That is, I don't recall that.
Q How did you feel when you saw we were unable to put you on an airline?
A A Dumb lucky. I know I recall our trial, the three months that you and I spent in court, vividly. I was quite sober at the time and I know through the evidence that you presented the lengths you went to put me on an airline and the hours that were spent in trying to get me there and I couldn't imagine how you missed me.
Q (Back in Colorado) why did you make the phone call to Marj?
A Well I had no transportation. I don't know whether you ever uncovered this in your investigation but it wasn't particularly uncommon for me to go off and disappear. I mean this certainly wasn't the first time that happened. At least on several occasions when Marj and I would get into horrendous arguments - her temper was far worse than mine ever will be and she would simply infuriate me and I am not, pardon me for saying so, I am not a violent man and I didn't fight with her or anybody else. I would get very upset with her and my escape has always been booze and on several occasions during our marriage I would just simply get in the car and drive off and go somewhere and get bombed and be gone sometimes many times, overnight, sometimes two, maybe three nights.
Q What did you do with the jewelry after you are back in Colorado? How does the jewelry get in the blue container with Marj's?
A I put it there.
Q When did you do that?
A That night, I think. I know this is difficult for you and it's difficult for me, but you don't - maybe you do know, I don't know what you know, John, but I was on the sauce awful heavy.
Q Mr. Caldwell, when you go open that safety deposit box (and put the June 24th assignment of inheritance in it) you know Elisabeth Congdon is dead, you have murdered her, right?
A Right. I didn't know I had murdered her, no. I knew she was dead. I never thought it was murder.
Q You are not denying doing what caused her death?
A I am not denying that, no.
Q With regard to Elisabeth Congdon, though, then as a result of your actions, the physical evidence somewhat contradicts what you are telling us. I mean, obviously there was more done than simply placing a pillow over her head so that she wouldn't hear, so that you could shut out the light and any noise and if it doesn't jive with the physical evidence, it leads us to question, was there somebody else in the house with you that actually killed her?
A There was nobody else in that house with me. I don't recall doing any more (to her).
Q The physical evidence shows us that she had - that a pillow was placed firmly enough over her that she struggled underneath it'so that skin was scraped from her nose and you're aware of that physical evidence?
A Yes, I am.
Q Based on that, do you have any dispute that there must have been some struggle by her underneath that pillow as you held it over her?
A I don't recall the struggle.
Q What reaction did Marjorie have, when she picked you up at the restaurant (in Colorado)?
A Anxious, hurried. She had been real-estating again. She had seen some properties and was telling me about them and wanting to hurry back up to the animals.
Q What did you say to her about where you had been?
A Virtually nothing. She never had great deal of interest. I told her something to the effect (that I had) a session with the lawyer and I had been off tooting and she didn't want to hear about it. She didn't like listening to stories of drunks.
Q You understand that if she is involved, whether it be before the fact or after the fact, at this stage she is not going to face any criminal consequences. She has the benefit of what we call the double jeopardy clause. Do you understand that?
A Yes, of course I do. Yes
Q I don't want you to sit here with some kind of motive to cover up for her, to protect her. She virtually is home free, do you understand what I am saying?
A Yes, John. I have more reason to implicate her than I have not to implicate her.
Q Don't you think you're getting the short end of the stick right now?
A I know I am getting the short end of the stick, but not financially. I never had any claim to it. I didn't marri Married for her money. When I married her, I didn't even know she had money. I had never heard of the Congdons.
Q Why is it then, if you say Marjorie knew nothing about your going to Duluth, why does she alibi for you?
A Trying to find reasons for what Marjorie ever had done is something that none of us are able to do, including me.
Q Wouldn't you admit that that would point to some knowledge on her part, it's somewhat reasonable to assume she knows where you have gone…?
A No…She would come up with an awful lot of spur of the moment explanations for anything and everything to total strangers…All that I can guess is Marj knew I was off on a toot. That was a source of embarrassment to her. She didn't like to be embarrassed and she would, rather than just stay quiet, she would feel compelled to - she's a compulsive talker - she would feel compelled to explain away my absence.
Q Hadn't you planned any alibi statements on her part for you?
ANo.
Q What about when you came to Duluth for the funeral? Do you do anything with Marjorie as far as covering up your activities and involvement in the murder? Do you do anything,
talk with her about it?
A She had no knowledge of it and, as best I knew, nobody did at that point.You told no one
A No, I had no reason to.
Q Have you been offered any money to protect her?
A None whatever.
Q Has Marjorie ever called you and asked you about this
A I haven't seen or spoken with Marjorie since approximately three weeks after her acquittal. She came to visit me in prison. She was rather cool toward me and, as it turned out, at the time I wasn't aware of it, but as it turned out the only reason for the visit was to ask me if I wanted to continue having Doug (Thomson) representing me, or if I wanted Ron Meshbesher to visit me. I said no, I think I will stick with Doug. And as I noodled over the years I realize that that was goodbye for us and I have never laid eyes on her or spoken with her since.?
Q Did Marjorie ever ask you after you were charged whether you did it?
A No That never came up. At the time I was arrested and charged and for the months that I spent in jail in Duluth, she visited me, she brought me items. We talked as best we could under the circumstances, through the bars and what have you. She seemed to be standing by me and supporting me in every way she could. There was never any question that I was guilty.
Q Did she ask you about where you were when it looked like what happened here was consistent with you committing the murders?
A No. She never connected one with the other. As I say, it had long since stopped being a surprise - when we would get into a real argument that I would go off and go out on a toot. So this was far from the first time that had happened. I had left her high and dry before.
Q Who do you think is getting left high and dry now??
A Me
June 27, 1977:
Elisabeth Congdon, wealthy Duluth heiress, is found murdered in her bed, smothered with a pillow. Her night nurse, Velma Pietila, was bludgeoned to death on the stairway of the 39-room Congdon Mansion, known as Glensheen. Officially, police say robbery was the motive. But privately, they have already begun investigating Roger and Marjorie Caldwell, Miss Congdon's daughter and son-in-law.
July 6, 1977:
Police arrest Roger Caldwell and charge him with committing the murders, allegedly to speed the collection of his wife's hefty share of the inheritance.
July 15, 1977:
University of Minnesota officials, who now own the Congdon Mansion under the terms of Miss Congdon's will, discuss what to do with the property. Some suggestions: a Scandinavian resource center, a retreat for the arts or a center for the study of Lake Superior. Eventually, officials decide to offer tours of the mansion, which prove to be very successful.
Sept. 6, 1977:
Four of Marjorie Caldwell's seven children from a previous marriage ask a court to disqualify their mother from sharing in the inheritance, if she is involved in the murders.
April 10, 1978:
Roger Caldwell's murder trial begins in Brainerd, Mn., moved from Duluth because of extensive publicity. It takes nearly a month to pick a jury and then there are two months of testimony.
July 8, 1978:
After three days of deliberations, the jury finds Caldwell guilty of both murders.
July 10, 1978:
Caldwell is sentenced to two consecutive life terms in prison.
July 11, 1978:
Encouraged by Roger's conviction, officials in Duluth charge Marjorie Caldwell with conspiring to kill her mother and the nurse. She is released on $100,000 bond.
April 2, 1979:
Marjorie Caldwell's trial begins in Hastings, Mn., again moved because of pre-trial publicity.
July 21, 1979:
The jury deliberates nine hours and finds Marjorie not guilty of the charges. After the trial, the jurors throw a party and invite Marjorie.
July 25, 1979:
Roger Caldwell's attorney asks for a new trial, based on new evidence from his wife's trial.
Aug. 7, 1981:
Marjorie Caldwell weds Wallace Hagen of Mound, Mn., in Valley City, N.D., Roger Caldwell doesn't learn of the wedding for two years, and claims he and Marjorie were never divorced.
Aug. 6, 1982:
The Minnesota Supreme Court grants Roger Caldwell a new trial, citing the new evidence from Marjorie's trial. Roger is released from prison after serving more than five years, and goes home to Latrobe, Pa., to await a new trial.
March 20, 1983:
North Dakota officials charge Marjorie Caldwell with bigamy. She will not be extradited, they say, so she faces arrest only if she returns to North Dakota.
May 31, 1983:
Marjorie Caldwell and her children reach an out-of-court settlement in the inheritance dispute. She gets one-fourth of a family trust set up by her mother and she will draw the income from one-third of her children's share until she dies. A good chunk of the inheritance, though, perhaps as much as $2 million, goes for attorney's fees.
July 5, 1983:
Roger Caldwell and Duluth officials agree to a plea bargain in the murder case: Roger pleads guilty to second degree murder. In return, he does not have to serve any more time in prison.
Jan. 13, 1984:
Marjorie Caldwell Hagen is convicted of arson and insurance fraud in connection with a 1982 fire at a house in Mound, Mn. She is sentenced to 2 years in prison.
Jan. 26, 1985:
Her appeal is turned down, so Marjorie begins serving her time for the arson and fraud conviction. She is released 21 months later.
May 17, 1988:
Roger Caldwell kills himself in a small Latrobe apartment, where he lived with a girlfriend. Only nine people attend his funeral three days later.
Mar. 24, 1991:
Marjorie is arrested in Ajo, Az., and charged with trying to burn down her neighbor's house. Police suspect her in 13 other suspicious fires in the small retirement community near the Mexican border, where she lives with ailing husband Wally.
Oct. 29, 1992:
Marjorie is convicted of attempted arson. Although she is supposed to go immediately to jail, she convinces the judge to give her 24 hours of freedom “to take care of Wally.”
Oct. 30, 1992:
Wally Hagen is found dead in his home. At first, police believe he's been gassed to death and Marjorie is arrested and charged with murder. Later, police say he died of a drug overdose, a possible suicide. The murder charges were dropped due to a lack of evidence, but Marjorie is sentenced to 15 years in prison on the attempted arson conviction.
Nov. 15, 2001:
After serving nine years on the attempted arson term, Marjorie attends her first parole hearing. Two of Wally's children - who believe Marjorie killed their dad - attend the proceedings to urge her continued confinement. One of Marjorie's children and Marjorie's sister also request in writing that parole be denied. The parole board agrees and refuses to grant her early release.
Jan. 5, 2004:
After nearly 11 years in prison, Marjorie was released from the Arizona State Prison at Perryville. A rented limo picked her up and zoomed off to the east, toward Tucson. The driver is able to speed away from media cars trying to follow. Marjorie's sister warns: “I'm worried she'll do something awful again.”
Mar. 4, 2009:
Marjorie is sentenced to probation after pleading guilty in a fraud case. Police said she bilked an elderly man's estate after he died.
Joe Kimball, an award-winning reporter for the Minneapolis Star Tribune, happened to be in Duluth on the day of the Congdon murders and is still writing about the story nearly three decades later.
Kimball is the only reporter to cover the case from beginning to end, the only reporter to testify at the murder trial, the only reporter to attend Marjorie Hagen's parole hearing and the only non-family member present at Roger Caldwell's funeral after his suicide.
Kimball's candid insights on these and other exclusive moments have made Secrets of the Congdon Mansion a regional best seller and Kimball the recognized expert on the case.
This publication was produced, illustrated, and designed by
Albarella Design, Inc., South St. Paul, MN
Table of Contents
Cover Page
Title Page
Copyright Page
The Introduction
The Intruder
The Congdons
The Daughter
The Son-In-Law
The Scene of the Crime
The State vs. Roger Caldwell
The State vs. Marjorie Caldwell
The Inheritance
The Deal
The Aftermath
The Mavhem Continues
The Arizona Arson Trial
The Death of Wally
The Parole Hearing
The Release
The Tour
The Ground Floor
The Billiard Room
The First Floor
The Staircase
The Second Floor
The Victim's Bedroom
The Inside Stories
Inside Stories: The Nurse
Inside Stories: Source Trouble
Inside Stories: The Duluth Sleuth
Inside Stories: The Lawyers
Inside Stories: Roger's Trial
Inside Stories: Marjorie's Trial
Inside Stories: Roger's Release
Inside Stories: Roger's Deal
Inside Stories: Marjorie's Out
Inside Stories: Ten Years Later
Inside Stories: Roger's Suicide
Inside Stories: Arizona Ashes
Inside Stories: Chance for Parole
Inside Stories: DNA and Finally She's Free
The Confession