The Lazarus Files

A Cold Case Investigation

By: Matthew McGough

Narrated by: Matthew McGough

Length: 27 hrs and 12 mins

Publisher's summary

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

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😉

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!

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.

Very Detailed

This is a very long listen! The story is extremely detailed, sometimes over detailed. The author did not do the book justice by reading it, very monotone. However if you can get past that you are in for an interesting listen.

Total Immersion

A very thorough and detailed presentation of the crime that the reader goes through step by step. Would you have read the situation correctly and accurately accessed the risk ? Would you have been able to spot the clues and uncover the truth ? What would you have done and when ? So many twists and turns and so many challenges are faced by the reader. This is real life. How well would you have done if you were involved ?

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.

Engrossing story - narration not so much

I love reading true crime books, and I became fascinated with this story when I watched the 2-hour special about this case on NBC Dateline. Originally I wanted to buy the hardbound book but I'm glad I didn't as it would've taken me forever to read. This way I was able to listen to it during my commute. That said, the story is fascinating in that as the author states, this story is not about a whodunit since Stephanie Lazarus declined all interviews, did not take the stand on her own defense, nor did she read a statement during sentencing. So you won't find a smoking gun (no pun intended) as far as how the actual crime was committed, but the bite mark on Sherri's arm is ultimately what came back and bit Stephanie in the a** (pun intended).

All that aside, the story moves slooooowly; there are times when the author re-states a statement from a previous chapter, and I thought I had mistakenly hit the back button. My point is that there should have been a little more proofreading to trim a few more hours/pages from this book. He also goes off on a tangent on a couple of chapters to talk about the Night Stalker and the murder of one Catherine Braley in 1988 to bolster his case about LAPD incompetence or cover-up. In my opinion, this was not necessary. Sometimes, less is better.

Also, he should have hired a professional to narrate the book. The author's monotone voice can put you to sleep. Again, I don't want to detract from the fascinating story on how Stephanie Lazarus was able to get away with murder for so many years. I'm thankful that the Rasmussens lived long enough to see their daughter's killer brought to justice.

Finally, I want to say that Sherri's husband, John Ruetten, was a weasel. In my heart, I believe he suspected that his ex-girlfriend (or whatever you want to call her) was the killer, but was not man enough to divulge this information to the police when he was first interviewed. Most likely, he feared for his safety and wanted the police to find this fact by themselves, so that he would have no culpability in pointing the finger at her.

Speed up the narration by 1.3x

Most everyone is critical of the narration, which I agree is NOT great, but if you speed it up? It's tolerable. I chose 1.5x but anywhere around 1.3-1.5 is better than his normal voice.

This story fascinates me. He clearly did a crazy amount of research and puts it all together in a way that makes sense. I don't understand why he spends so much time discissii the murder of Catherine Braley instead of finishing strong with information about the trial and what the other 24 hours of the book was about. it was so random. You are ready for a closure and the climax... But instead you get over two hours of a murder that really does not have much to do with the rest of the book. I was thrown off by that and unpleasantly surprised. Regardless, I learned quite a bit and I'm glad I read this.

Interesting Event, Dull Presentation.

I have watched numerous documentaries and read many articles on this case. This book seems full of unnecessary details and much of what you want to hear is missing. The author would have benefited from assigning a narrator.

Poor Reading of a Great Story

I was eager to listen to this book because I'd heard of the case. I have to say the reader made it extremely difficult to finish the book. His pronunciation and enunciation is atrocious. It was like listening to a 7th grader read someone else's book report. I am sure I missed important details because listening to the reader was excruciating.