With one shot Family murder and a search for justice

Dorothy Marcic

Book - 2018

Ever since she was a teenager, Dorothy Marcic was haunted by unresolved questions surrounding the brutal murder of her beloved uncle, LaVerne Stordock, a respected family man and former police detective. In 2014, she embarked on a two-year mission to uncover the truth behind his death.

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Subjects
Genres
True crime stories
Published
New York : Citadel Press, Kensington Publishing Corp [2018]
Language
English
Main Author
Dorothy Marcic (author)
Physical Description
viii, 371 pages, 16 unnumbered pages of plates : illustrations ; 21 cm
Bibliography
Includes bibliographical references (353-364).
ISBN
9780806538556
Contents unavailable.
Review by Booklist Review

On a cold Wisconsin night in 1970, former police officer LaVerne Stordock is murdered. His wife, Suzanne, confesses that she shot him in the head with a rifle after suffering years of abuse. She pleads insanity and receives an 11-month stay at a mental institution. As no one else in the family ever saw any signs of abuse, nor had Suzanne ever mentioned it before, her motivation was always questioned. Suzanne was already a sore spot, as she actively worked to keep LaVerne apart from his first wife and their daughter, Shannon, as well as author Marcic, who is LaVerne's niece. But it isn't until 2014 that Shannon and the author start truly investigating what happened that night. The story has plenty of twists as Marcic uncovers shoddy police work and the sordid tale of Suzanne, her five husbands, and the significant amount of money she made off all of them. Superfluous details and inconsistent writing slow the pace, but readers will enjoy Marcic's investigation and the picture she paints of Suzanne, a compelling villain.--Sexton, Kathy Copyright 2018 Booklist

From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Library Journal Review

On March 1, 1970, the lives of Marcic (adult learning and leadership, Teachers Coll., Columbia Univ.; Love Lift Me Higher) and her family were thrown into chaos when the author's uncle, LaVerne Stordock, was shot and killed. Stordock's second wife, Suzanne, confessed to the murder, pleaded insanity, and was released from a mental institution within 11 months. But many questions remained about that night. Why were Stordock's stepson David's fingerprints on the rifle? Why did Suzanne use a sniper rifle she had no experience shooting? Why did she call the sheriff's home rather than office to confess the crime? Decades later, Marcic and her cousin Shannon began looking more closely into the case, reviewing evidence, digging up documents, and interviewing David, Suzanne, and other family members. The author indulges in some wild speculation reimagining the night of the murder, but there will be no doubt in readers' minds that the case was poorly investigated and that strings may have been pulled in high places to protect either Suzanne or her son from the consequences of their actions. -VERDICT This engrossing story of one woman's quest for the truth will fascinate fans of Netflix's Making a Murderer and other stories of justice gone wrong.-Deirdre Bray Root, formerly with MidPointe Lib. Syst., OH © Copyright 2018. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.