Murder Near the Crosses - Hardcover

Sandman, Peter

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0976995832 ISBN 13: 9780976995838

Publisher: Barbed Wire Pub, 2006

Synopsis

In 1949 a young woman was killed in Las Cruces, New Mexico. Ovida (Cricket) Coogler became a household name in the small agricultural town just north of the U.S./Mexico border that was celebrating its first 100 years. Her death became national news when Time magazine ran a story about it. The investigation of her murder soon involved not only the local police, but also the New Mexico State Police, and the FBI. Even J. Edgar Hoover took a personal interest in the search for her killer. It wasn't just Cricket's death that interested these government agencies. Organized crime was testing whether New Mexico could soon become the gambling capital of the West. Bugsy Siegel was seen in Santa Fe. The Cleveland Mob was operating illegal casinos in the state. Meyer Lansky, Moe Dalitz, and Butts Lowenstein were making their presence known. The governor, lieutenant governor, and other state officials were enjoying the attention accorded people who could make things happen. In the midst of these activities was a member of the DoÑa Ana County sheriff's department who carefully investigated the young woman's murder, kept extensive notes, and himself became a victim of the times. Roy Sandman, the author's father, knew who the killer was. He didn't live to tell, and so the death of Cricket Coogler remains one of the best known, unsolved murders in New Mexico. This is the story that Sandman would have told.

About this title

About the Author:

Peter R. Sandman was born in Las Cruces, New Mexico. He is a longtime historian and former newspaper reporter now based in northern Michigan. He was a two-time award winning sports columnist when he attended Central Michigan University and has written articles for the Detroit News, Grand Rapids Press, and Soaring magazine. He has written numerous historical books. Sandman was curator of the National Soaring Hall of Fame and Museum in the early 1970s and has written the book, “Soaring and Gliding in the Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore Area,” published in June 2006. He is married to the former Cynthia Stiles, whose father also was a law enforcement officer. They have two children, Jennifer and Jeffery.

About this edition

• Publisher: Barbed Wire Pub
• Publication date: 2006
• ISBN 10: 0976995832
• ISBN 13: 9780976995838
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 153