Cricket in the Web: The 1949 Unsolved Murder that Unraveled Politics in New Mexico

by Paula Moore

Overview

After exhaustive research, Paula Moore provides the first objective account of the 1949 murder of Cricket Coogler—a case that shook New Mexico politics.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780826343420
Publisher:	University of New Mexico Press
Publication date:	03/16/2009
Edition description:	New Edition
Pages:	215
Product dimensions:	6.10(w) x 9.00(h) x 0.62(d)

About the Author

Paula Moore is the former executive assistant to the president of New Mexico State University. She is coauthor of One Man's Word: A Seven Decade Personal History.

Editorial Reviews

." . . a meticulously researched book that gets as close to the truth as we are likely to get. Moore's narrative is more than just a rehash of an old case; it is a graphic snapshot of life in Las Cruces after World War II."

." . . for people unfamiliar with the case and those who want a well-researched look at the crime and its aftermath, "Cricket in the Web" delivers the goods."

." . . Paula Moore has done a masterful job of researching and writing . . . a fascinating story. . . ."

"Cricket in the Web" provides a fascinating glimpse into life in a small, politically corrupt New Mexico town in the late 1940s. It also shows that however tragic the murder of young Ovida 'Cricket' Coogler was, her death had a remarkable impact on the life of many people, and who murdered her and why is one of the most enduring mysteries in New Mexico history."

"In the early morning of March 31, 1949, Cricket [Coogler] had the worst date of her life. She got into somebody's car alive and left it dead. She was just 18. . . . Because the mystery remains unresolved, we don't find out who committed the crime. But [Paula] Moore does provide a well-documented timeline of events on Cricket's last night, and she tells what happened to all the players in the story."

From the Publisher

Ovida "Cricket" Coogler attracted much more attention dead than alive. This pretty, semi-educated, hardworking waitress spent much of her free time hanging out at local bars in Las Cruces, New Mexico, often falling for pickup lines and free drinks. After she disappeared on the last day of March 1949, this 18-year-old barfly became a local, if absent celebrity; when her body turned up 17 days later, Cricket began generating the concern that had previously been absent in her life. Her murder was never solved, but it did spawn scores of indictments, the firing of several law enforcement officials, and a political scandal that changed the state forever. This book tells the story as it has never been told before.