In 1908 the family moved into the house. That was also the year that Chester won a House a Representative seat in the State Congress.  He died at 63 of a heart attack. When he died he was the richest person in Minnesota.  The adult children later all moved out of the house and Clara remained, living a less lavish lifestyle. She was still involved in the community but it was less public.  Their youngest daughter, Elizabeth, dropped out of college to stay with Clara when her dad died. Elizabeth never married but adopted two daughters to live with her at the estate. Clara died in 1950 at age 96.  Elizabeth suffered a stroke in 1964 and required a full time nurse.  The murders took place on June 27th, 1977. Someone broke into the mansion and killed the 67 year old nurse, Velma Pietila, on the stairway with a candlestick. The killer then went upstairs and smothered Elisabeth Congdon with a satin pillow. The next day it was discovered that a watch and a ring she was wearing were missing, along with other pieces of jewelry and a wicker suitcase.  Suspicion immediately fell to Marjorie Caldwell, one of Elisabeth’s adopted daughters, and her husband, Roger for several reasons. First, in 1949 she had been diagnosed as a sociopath. In 1973 her mother had to be hospitalized after eating a sandwich with Caldwell’s homemade marmalade. She survived, but hospital staff were unable to explain the high level of tranquilizers found in her system. Also Caldwell and her husband were desperate for money. Caldwell was in line to inherit 8$ million when her mother passed.  A month before Elisabeth was killed Caldwell had asked the Congdon trustees for $750,000 so they could buy a horse-breeding ranch. They’d been denied. After the funeral the two went to the Twin Cities where Roger collapsed. He was taken to the hospital and it was found that he had a high dose of sedatives in him, similar to the ones found in Elisabeth’s body in 1973.  While Roger recovered the police searched the couple’s hotel toom and found the diamond watch, sapphire ring, and wicker suitcase, leading to them being charged.  Roger was found guilty and given two life sentences. Caldwell was also charged with conspiring to kill her mother. Many thought that she was the mastermind behind the crimes.  During Caldwell’s trial she would knit at the defense table. She also brought a birthday cake for one of the lawyers. People believe this helped lead to her being acquitted.  Two years after Roger was found guilty two new pieces of information -a disputed fingerprint and changed witness testimony- lead to him getting a new trial.  Prosecutor’s didn’t want to risk a not guilty verdict so they gave him a deal. Roger confessed to the murders and was freed after serving five years in jail. He later committed suicide.  After being acquitted Caldwell left Minnesota. She later served two prison terms for arson and was accused of murdering her third husband after he died of a drug overdose.  She is still alive and lives in Arizona.  The house is open for public tours but they won’t discuss the murders.