Death of Meegan baby ‘like dying twice’ for couple

Bill Gang

Friday, Aug. 9, 1996 | 11:59 a.m.

Although now divorced, the California couple who had tried to adopt Francine Meegan six years ago sat together outside a Clark County courtroom after testifying in the murder trial of the baby's father.

Dennis and Valerie Jensen seemed still bound together by the legacy of the daughter they had embraced but lost, they said, amid demands for more money by the birth parents and threats against their own three sons.

They had Francine -- who they renamed Danielle -- from the week she was born until she was 9 months old. It was then that James and Lillian Meegan showed up on their doorstep demanding the return of the baby, they testified on the first day of the trial.

They admitted in an interview with the SUN that the trial has refreshed the trauma that they had suppressed during the past few years.

"It's like dying twice," said Dennis Jensen, who manages a California citrus farm.

"It's been extremely, extremely difficult," added Valerie Jensen, a sales executive with a computer parts manufacturer.

They said even after Francine was gone, their family still celebrated her Dec. 9 birthday -- not knowing that she was dead within weeks of the Meegans reclaiming her.

"She was a very special Christmas gift that year," Dennis Jensen said.

"Each of our sons have something that was a part of her," Valerie Jensen added. "It is still very difficult for them."

The pair said after the Meegans "repossessed" the child during a confrontation in the middle of the night, legal action was contemplated but never pursued.

Dennis Jensen said a lawyer assured him they could regain custody and eventually win a court order to become Francine's adoptive parents, but they feared the price might be too high.

They testified Wednesday that James Meegan had threatened that night that if they didn't turn over Francine immediately, they would learn what it is like to lose one of their own children.

The Californians said they took the threat seriously.

"It was very scary, very scary," Dennis Jensen said.

"I was afraid for my kids," his former spouse added. "It got to a point where our boys couldn't go out in the front yard to play, even after we gave back the baby. He was quite angry."

In her testimony Thursday, Lillian Meegan disputed the story, claiming that James Meegan wasn't with her when she went to reclaim her daughter from the couple the Meegans had known socially for years.

As part of the deal for the girl, the Jensens had provided a house for the Meegans and provided a car. But they said there were additional demands for money that they refused to fulfill.

The Jensens said they believed that Francine would someday return to them, but the belief was dashed early this year when they learned of her death.

"It was very painful again," Dennis Jensen said. "Even though she was not physically with us, she was still with us."

"She touched a lot of lives," Valerie Jensen said. "She was a very special girl."

Although the strain of losing Francine still haunts them, the pair said it played no role in their decision to divorce.

"Now we would just like the truth to come out," Dennis Jensen said before they left the courthouse together for a return flight to separate California homes.