That was the headline that appeared in the Chicago Tribune late in May of 1988. This article lit a fire under the authors to get the meat and potatoes of Laurie Dann and the tragedy that ensued and ended her life.
The three authors who collaborated on this book have done an awesome job in investigating the life of Laurie Dann and just how this awful tragedy came about. Since Laurie Dann was never herself able to explain just why she was in so much pain and what the tragedy was that changed her and set her on the path to madness and self destruction the authors had a mountain of statements and news articles to peruse and ponder in attempting to map this young woman's decline and why she did not receive the proper mental attention that she had needed for quite some time.
Laurie Wasserman was the daughter of somewhat affluent parents who, for all intents and purposes, appeared to be the typical 50's mom and dad. Add a big brother for Laurie and you have the perfect American family. Right?
Apparently not.
Laurie Wasserman was always a little different than the other children. After several plastic surgery procedures her physical appearance was improved but somehow she still never quite fit in. When her parents moved into a new house in a more affluent neighborhood she hoped for a new beginning and maybe some friends. Most of her friends turned out to be boys. She met an affluent young man with a bright future ahead of him. He fell in love with Laurie and they were planning their wedding in a very short time. His name was Russel Dann.
Russel's parents thought she was a little odd but acknowledging her as their son's choice for a wife they bent over backwards to welcome her into the Dann family. Any young woman would be on top of the world to be marrying a prosperous,well liked young man who was head over heels in love with her. Right?
Nope. Apparently not.
This brings to mind a question. Could she be happy? Or was her mental illness already developed to the point that she made her happiness impossible? She may still have been treatable at this point. Maybe not. We will never know for sure how differently things may have turned out if she had received the therapy she needed.
Russel Dann was somewhat of a neat freak and it became apparent right away to the newlywed hubby that his newlywed wife was no housekeeper. Trash was strewn throughout the house, dirty clothes draped over every piece of furniture in the house,food left to rot on the counter and more tell tale clues. This was a total shock to him.
There were other signs that things were not OK: Laurie's ritual of opening her car door at every traffic stop to tap her foot on the pavement. This is but one of the many ritualistic fixations described in the book. Psychiatrists would say she was making a feeble attempt to gain control or get control of an area of her life in which she felt helpless.
Laurie could never hold a job. Her bizaare behavior cost her job after job. She had no friends at all. none. She was a pathological and habitual liar.
After a year of marriage trying to hold down a job,do Laurie's housework,pick up after Laurie,manage the budget,prepare and facilitate social engagements Russel felt defeated and turned to psychiatry for help. Laurie began therapy right away and attended her first three sessions. Before her fourth appointment she cancelled out of the whole therapy deal and did not return. Her doctor pled with her. he felt she really needed help in coping and assimilating some issues dealing with her childhood and family history. Laurie declined. Russel let it slide.
Going into the second year of marriage things had not improved and had,in fact,gotten worse. The evidence that Laurie was losing her grip on reality continued to mount up. Some new signs,in addition to the old ones,that things weren't OK: storing money in the oven and/or freezer and hiding her makeup in the microwave so she would know where these things were at when she needed them. Russel would repeatedly find money,sometimes $100 bills,thrown into the backseat of Laurie's car like so much garbage.
At this point in the marriage and his dealings with laurie and her problems Russel knew he was in way over his head and that he was not properly equipped to deal with the situation. Now he was in debt over his head for a new house he had bought for Laurie hoping it would help and strapped with a wife who was slipping further and further away from reality. He was running out of patience as well as energy. He gave Laurie an ultimatum: either she get help for her emotional and mental problems or he would leave her. He felt he could deal with her problems as long as he knew she was getting help and trying to help herself by participating and cooperating in some kind of therapy or counseling.
However,not too far into the therapy the doctor scheduled a joint session with both Laurie and Russel and he quickly deduced from the conversation that Laurie had not been discussing any real issues and the doctor had no idea what the extent of her problems were nor that she was close to totally helpless and unable to function socially at all. his family was urging him to get out of the marriage for a long time and he was beginning to feel that they were right. He asked Laurie to prepare for his departure and dissolving the marriage.
Here's the kind of parents Laurie had grown up with: When Russel made his decision to leave Laurie he first contacted Laurie's parents,Norm and Edith Wasserman. He felt Laurie would need them for moral support to get through the divorce ordeal. The Wasserman's were preparing for a trip abroad and decided it would be best if they went ahead and went but they would be right back if anything came up. Well, it did. When Laurie fell totally to pieces thinking and contemplating the divorce Russel called them and told them Laurie needed them. Norm replied that they could all sit down and talk in two weeks when they returned from vacation!!!
Although there are lots of examples of emotional abandonment by her parents throughout Laurie's life it is ironic that Norm and Edith Wasserman backed up every ridiculous story Laurie purported. They were in total denial and had an excuse for why every strange behavior of Laurie's ever brought to their attention. Admitting she had a problem may have been very distasteful or maybe socially embarassing for them. I am just thinking out loud on that point.
The separation soon became very ugly and Laurie became fixated on getting revenge against Russel and his family. What for? I am not sure. She intercepted Russel's mail,interfered with bank accounts,made around the clock hang up phone calls to his family and to him(eventually these hang up phone calls would be experienced by nearly everyone she had known in her adult life). She made veiled threats to Russel and told another friend she planned to buy a gun. She started reporting to the police that Russel was breaking into her house and trying to rape her,assaulting her and threatening her. She filed some false burglary reports to the police and indicated to them she felt it was Russel again.
It was about this time that Laurie DID get herself a gun. She got it all legal like and everything. It was a nickel plated .357 Magnum. Wow. That's alot of gun for a little lady who is a little off. Somehow Russel found out and they contacted the police to let them know. The police had no evidence of anything on either Laurie's allegations or on Russel's and they were treating the whole matter as just an ugly divorce case.
This definitely rates up there as some of the weirdest goings on I have come across! It's unbelievable that someone could be as emotionally disturbed as the young woman in this book apparently was and not receive some kind of help,be able to purchase a gun with no problem and be trusted in the care of small children. This tragic story is a good example of how individuals fall through the cracks of the system until we are made to take notice by a horrible incident such as what occurred in the case of Laurie Dann.
Things were out of control and Laurie's behavior from here on out make Glenn Close's character in Fatal Attraction look like the Avon lady. Laurie was running emotionally rampant. Her voyage into madness continued unchecked. The result, of course, was somebody getting caught in the crossfire of her raging emotions. Someone innocent. What could be more innocent than a classroom of small school children?
On May 20, 1988 Laurie set a strange plan into motion. She swung by an old friend's house, a friend she used to babysit for, and picked up the friend's children telling the mother they were going to a school carnival. On the way to the "carnival" Laurie delivered small juice boxes which had been poisoned to people on her special list. A number of people reported finding these strange leaky Hi-C juice boxes in their mail boxes or on their porches.
The trail of revenge led to an elementary school,the death of an 8 year old boy and five other children critically wounded. The aftermath of her plan is a devastating end to this sad story.
This is one you won't want to put down. Tension mounts word by word and as the final explosion of rage and madness takes place it is hard to look away. We can see her steady and terrible slide toward catastrophe with hindsight and twenty twenty vision. Apparently those around her couldn't, or wouldn't, see what was happening. Those who had first hand knowledge of just how far Laurie might go were disregarded by both her family and the authorities until it was too late.
Read the book and then think about how many people there are out there who need mental health treatment and either can't get it or won't get it. (In some states you can't force anyone to seek help). This is an enormous problem in our society today and until we find a solution stories like the story of Laurie Wasserman Dann will continue to surface. The authors have done an excellent job of making this clear.
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