Research Catalog

Title

The Lazarus files : a cold case investigation / Matthew McGough.

Author

McGough, Matthew

Publication

• New York, New York : Henry Holt and Company, 2019.
• ©2019

Items in the Library & Off-site

Details

Description

xii, 595 pages : illustrations; 25 cm

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?" -- Amazon.com.

Subjects

• Cold cases (Criminal investigation)
• Murder
• Cold cases (Criminal investigation) > California > Los Angeles
• True crime stories
• Lazarus, Stephanie
• Rasmussen, Sherri > Death and burial
• Murder > California > Los Angeles
• California > Los Angeles

Genre/Form

True crime stories.

Contents

Part one. Sherri, John, and Stephanie -- The 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) -- The 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) -- The month before the murder (mid-January to February 23, 1986) -- Part two. The murder of Sherri Rasmussen -- Sherri's final day (February 24, 1986) -- The chrono and crime scene (February 24, 1986, 6:30 to 9:00 p.m.) -- John's interview (February 24, 1986, 9:00 p.m.) -- The bite mark swab (early morning of February 25, 1986) -- "The day was boring and nothing happened that was worth remembering" (February 25, 1986) -- The 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) -- The 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. The murder of Catherine Braley -- Catherine Braley (January 14, 1988) -- Epilogue -- "We do not condone murder" (2008-2012).

Call Number

JFE 19-6475

ISBN

• 9780805095593
• 0805095594

LCCN

2018037256

OCLC

1086407300

Author

McGough, Matthew, author.

Title

The Lazarus files : a cold case investigation / Matthew McGough.

Publisher

New York, New York : Henry Holt and Company, 2019.

Copyright Date

©2019

Edition

First edition.

Type of Content

text

Type of Medium

unmediated

Type of Carrier

volume

Research Call Number

JFE 19-6475