Title:
The Lazarus files : a cold case investigation / Matthew McGough.
ISBN:
9780805095593
Personal Author:
Edition:
First edition.
Publication Information:
New York, New York : Henry Holt and Company, 2019.
©2019
Physical Description:
xii, 595 pages : illustrations ; 25 cm
Contents:
Part one. Sherri, John, and Stephanie -- Aftermath (February 24,1986) -- Sherri Rasmussen (1957 to 1984) -- John Ruetten (February 1984 to May 1985) -- Stephanie Lazarus (1960 to March 1984) -- "Admit nothing, Deny everything, Demand proof" : (March 4, 1984 to March 30, 1985) -- Stephanie at Club Dev (March 31 to June 16, 1985) -- Hospital confrontation (June to August 1985) -- Night Stalkers (August 12 to October 12, 1985) -- Tying the knot (November to December 1985) -- Warning signs (December 1985 to January 1986) -- Month before the murder (mid-January to February 23, 1986) -- Part two. Murder of Sherri Rasmussen -- Sherri's final day (February 24, 1986) -- Chrono and crime scene (February 24, 1986, 6:30 to 9:00 p.m.) -- John's interview (February 24, 1986, 9:00 p.m.) -- Bite mark swab (early morning of February 25, 1986) -- "The day was boring and nothing happened that was worth remembering" (February 25, 1986) -- First 48 hours ends (February 26 and 27, 1986) -- "God holds the key" (February 28 to March 2, 1986) -- "A well-reasoned, carefully-documented and insightful investigation" (March 3 to April 8, 1986) -- Burglary suspects (April 10 to May 21, 1986) -- "There is no power on earth more formidable than the truth" (May 1986 to November 1987) -- Part three. Murder of Catherine Braley -- Catherine Braley (January 14, 1988) -- Epilogue -- "We do not condone murder" (2008-2012).
Summary:
On February 24, 1986, 29-year-old newlywed Sherri Rasmussen was murdered in the home she shared with her husband, John. The crime scene suggested a ferocious struggle, and police initially assumed it was a burglary gone awry. Before her death, Sherri had confided to her parents that an ex-girlfriend of John's, a Los Angeles police officer, had threatened her. The Rasmussens urged the LAPD to investigate the ex-girlfriend, but the original detectives only pursued burglary suspects, and the case went cold. DNA analysis did not exist when Sherri was murdered. Decades later, a swab from a bite mark on Sherri's arm revealed her killer was in fact female, not male. A DNA match led to the arrest and conviction of veteran LAPD Detective Stephanie Lazarus, John's onetime girlfriend. The Lazarus Files delivers the visceral experience of being inside a real-life murder mystery. McGough reconstructs the lives of Sherri, John and Stephanie; the love triangle that led to Sherri's murder; and the homicide investigation that followed. Was Stephanie protected by her fellow officers? What did the LAPD know, and when did they know it? Are there other LAPD cold cases with a police connection that remain unsolved?
Genre:
OCLC Number:
on1086407300
Availability:
South St. Paul - Kaposia~1
Eagan - Wescott~1
