An elderly woman with a criminal past will remain on intensive probation despite the pleas of her attorney, who says she can't get into an assisted-living facility while on intensive probation.
Marjorie Congdon Hagen, 78, was placed on three years' intensive probation in March 2009 after she pleaded guilty to attempted forgery.
Hagen endorsed and deposited an $11,000 check into a bank account she shared with Roger Sammis the day after he died, according to authorities. She then tried to transfer the funds, which didn't belong to her, into her own account.
Hagen's doctors don't believe she can live by herself anymore, but she can't get into an assisted-living facility while on intensive probation, defense attorney Brick Storts told Judge Clark Munger of Pima County Superior Court.
Storts submitted letters from the doctors describing myriad health conditions, including severe macular degeneration, right-sided weakness and orthopedic problems. They said that even with her guide dog and walker, she can't live alone safely.
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Munger denied the motion, noting Hagen's probation officer opposed the change.
Hagen has been charged with murder several times and served almost 12 years in prison for setting fires in Minnesota and Ajo, according to court documents.
Hagen and her former husband, Roger Caldwell, were arrested and charged with murder in the 1977 slayings of Hagen's mother, Elisabeth Congdon, 83, and Congdon's nurse.
Caldwell pleaded guilty to second-degree murder after his first-degree-murder conviction was overturned, but Hagen was acquitted.
In 1984, Hagen was convicted of arson and insurance fraud for burning down her house in Mound, Minn., and served 21 months in prison.
A couple of years later, Hagen was convicted of attempted arson for using a kerosene-soaked rag to try to burn down a neighbor's home.
The judge allowed her to go home for one day to make arrangements for her husband, Wally Hagen, 84.
That day, however, Wally Hagen was found dead. Tests showed he died of a pill overdose, and police believe he also was exposed to natural gas from the kitchen stove through a garden hose.
Hagen was arrested and charged with murder, but the charge was dropped for lack of evidence.
In May 1992, Hagen pleaded no contest to a criminal damage charge in a July 1990 fire at an Ajo commercial storage yard that prosecutors say was set to support a fraudulent insurance claim.
Hagen was sentenced to 15 years for the fire involving her neighbor's home and to a concurrent term of eight years for the storage-yard fire.
Hagen was released from prison in January 2004.
Three books have been written about Hagen's legal troubles.
Contact reporter Kim Smith at 573-4241 or kimsmith@azstarnet.com
