The Lazarus Files

A Cold Case Investigation

By: Matthew McGough

Narrated by: Matthew McGough

This program is read by the author.

A deeply reported, riveting account of a cold case murder in Los Angeles, unsolved until DNA evidence implicated a shocking suspect - a female detective within the LAPD’s own ranks.

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 pursued only 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?

©2019 Matthew McGough (P)2019 Macmillan Audio

An Amazing Cold Case Story

A very detailed account of a cold case that was 23 years old at the time the investigation re-opened. Some interesting details that are not outlined anywhere else. The performance and reading is great to go to sleep on - very monotone. It definitely sounds like the script is being read from a paper document. Nonetheless, if you are interested in this case and how it was solved, then it is an interesting script of the intimate details of the Rasmussen case. The interesting part was that Stephanie was named as a suspect by the Rasmussen family early on, but she was not investigated because she was a police officer at the time of the murder. A case of "If I can't have him, then no other woman can". It is good that all of the information regarding the Rasmussen case is all in one place thanks to Matthew McGough!

loooong story.... unecessarily

the author gave waaay too much detail on stories unrelated to Sheri and Lazarus. He could've spent a paragraph on certain topics, but chose to go on and on and on which combined with his dull voice, made my eyes glaze over!!! but overall, a good story😉

To protect and serve?

One would like to think that our police officers are good and willing to follow the sworn credo to protect and serve. But when you have an entire police force as reputable as LAPD acting in their own best interest, it is down right frightening. You will have a whole new perspective of law enforcement after listening to this book. And this is just one case. How many more exist? Great research by the author. I literally could not stop listening and we also purchased the book so we could see the pictures of the victim and her killer.

Heartbreaking but fascinating story, excellent book

Book was perfect. Told the heartbreaking story in great detail and showed the failures that led to it in an objective way.

Best True Crime I've ever read!!

Most of us who purchase True Crime material are already fascinated with the particular case on which the book is based.
This is the kind of research and information someone like myself craves when wanting to take a deeper dive into a particular case.
Bravo to Mr. Mcgough on achieving to deliver a superb telling of the case of Sherri Rasmussens murder and the long awaited justice it deserved.