Will to Murder by Gail Feichtinger

Will to Murder by Gail Feichtinger

On June 27, 1977, an intruder entered Glensheen, the stately Duluth manor built along the Lake Superior shore. Before leaving with a basketful of stolen jewelry, the intruder used a satin pillow to smother Elisabeth Congdon and Velma Pietila. Together with former Duluth News-Tribune crime reporter Gail Feichtinger, Duluth Police Detective Gary Waller and St. Louis County Prosecutor John DeSanto--the men who investigated and prosecuted Marjorie and her husband, Roger Caldwell--bring readers behind the scenes of the Minnesota's most infamous double murder. Feichtinger then reaches beyond the Glensheen killings to follow Marjorie through her convictions for arson and presents new evidence that suggests that Marjorie may have gotten away with murder--five times.

Why the Duluth News Tribune calls Will to Murder. The definitive book, the story behind the story of theCongdon-Pietila Murders

-Previously unpublished evidence

-Crime scene diagrams and floorplans

-Results of a DNA test which links key evidence to Roger Caldwell and calls into question Marjorie Caldwell Hagen's acquittal

-More than fifty photographs, including exclusive images of the crime scenes

-A timeline of events from the days before Glensheen was built to Marjorie Caldwell Hagen's 2004 prison release and on to her 2009 sentencing for theft, fraud, and forgery

John DeSanto was born in Duluth and graduated valedictorian from Duluth Cathedral High School in 1964. He received a B.A. from the University of Minnesota Duluth in 1968 and went on to study law at the University of Minnesota, graduating in 1973. In 2009 DeSanto was appointed trial court judge for Minnesota's Sixth Judicial District after 35 as Assistant St. Louis County Attorney; he finally retired for good in 2015. DeSanto and his wife, Lana, live in Duluth and are the parents of three adult children, Amy, Abby, and Adam.