• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Home
  • About the author and this website
  • What others say about my work
  • Archives
  • Frequently Asked Questions
  • Contact DCC

Defrosting Cold Cases

Research website by Alice de Sturler

  • My Research Method: Cold Cases 101
  • How to search for an unsolved case
  • Cold Case Database
  • Miscarriages of Justice
  • Book Reviews
  • Case of the Month: Susan Jessica Morey
You are here: Home / Book Reviews / Samantha and Gianna Rucki

Samantha and Gianna Rucki

October 23, 2018 By Alice

Samantha and Gianna Rucki Grid AdS
Samantha and Gianna Rucki with authors Michael Brodkorb and Allison Mann, Grid AdS

Today a new book came out about the Samantha and Gianna Rucki case. It is called “The Girls Are Gone: The True Story of Two Sisters Who Vanished, the Father Who Kept Searching, and the Adults Who Conspired to Keep the Truth Hidden” by Michael Brodkorb & Allison Mann.

Wise Ink Creative Publishing was kind enough to send me some information.

On the evening of April 19, 2013, Samantha and Gianna Rucki disappeared. Two of five children born to David Rucki and Sandra Grazzini-Rucki, the teenage sisters vanished in the midst of their parents’ divorce.

The girls’ father, David Rucki, worked tirelessly with law enforcement to search day and night for his two missing daughters, following every lead while raising the three remaining children at home.

Their mother, Sandra Grazzini-Rucki, used her newfound freedom to travel around the world, having abandoned her children. As the investigation intensified, catching the attention of the media, Sandra disappeared too.

On November 18, 2015 – 944 days after the girls disappeared – law enforcement found them. The girls were living on a ranch in northern Minnesota.

Criminal charges were filed against four people, including the girls’ mother, for their role in the disappearance of the Rucki sisters. “The Girls Are Gone” chronicles key events during the criminal trials of the people who were later convicted or plead guilty for their involvement in this heinous crime.  The book examines the other adults who aided in the conspiracy to hide the truth and the Rucki sisters.

About the Authors:

Michael Brodkorb and Allison Mann met during the 2016 criminal trial. Allison worked at a law firm representing David Rucki, the father, who was trying to find his girls. Michael was working for the Star Tribune at the time and covered the story as the case developed.

Michael and Allison have spent the last two years working together investigating and researching to find answers to many questions left unanswered for years. They analyzed court documents, reviewed investigative files, and conducted many interviews to offer a completed story about how and why two children vanished from their family and friends for 944 days. Their passion for following the case and connecting the dots to figure out the truth of what really happened led them to write “The Girls Are Gone.”

“The Girls Are Gone” provides new details about the disappearance of Samantha and Gianna Rucki and includes interviews with members of the Rucki family, including exclusive interviews with Samantha and Gianna Rucki. The book also discusses the connection between Michelle MacDonald, who is currently a candidate for the Minnesota Supreme Court. MacDonald was labeled a “person of interest” by the Lakeville Police Department in the disappearance of Samantha and Gianna Rucki, but did not cooperate in the investigation.

I have not read this book yet. If you do, let me know your thoughts.

Please share this post, thank you.

  • Tweet
  • Print
  • Email
  • More
  • Share on Tumblr
  • Telegram
  • WhatsApp
  • Pocket

Related

Filed Under: Book Reviews Tagged With: Minnesota, missing children, Samantha and Gianna Rucki

Reader Interactions

Trackbacks

  1. The Girls are Gone by M. Brodkorb & A. Mann - Defrosting Cold Cases says:
    January 14, 2019 at 11:30 am

    […] The Girls are Gone by Michael Brodkorb and Allison Mann tells the story of Samantha and Gianna Rucki, two teenage sisters, who vanished on April 19, 2013 while their parents Sandra Grazzini-Rucki and David Rucki battled each other in court over custody and other elements of their divorce. I announced the release of the book here. […]

Primary Sidebar

Dina Fort

Author Notes

I am a true crime writer raising awareness for old unsolved cases from the pre-DNA era that are in need of renewed media attention. I do not actively investigate these cases. I leave that to the professionals.

My posts are about homicides, missing and unidentified people, wrongful convictions, and forensics as related to old cases.

I review books but only select works of true crime, crime fiction, and historical fiction and/or mysteries.

My database has more than 289 cases listed by the victim’s last name. You will find a brief description there as well.

All case suggestions that come in by email for writing considerations are added to my to-do list in the order in which they were received. Please be patient as my to-do list is very long.

If you have any questions about my website please check the Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) page, the about page, and the tabs in both menu bars. If you still cannot find the answer there, please contact me.

Thank you, Alice de Sturler

Copyright

If you use my work, please add a link back. Let your readers know where you found your information. I do the same for you. Thank you!

Protected by Copyscape

Categories

Top Posts & Pages

  • Cold Case Database
  • Remembering the Frog Boys
  • How to search for cases
  • The 1980 Tim Hack and Kelly Drew murders
  • Susan Jessica Morey (Aug 13, 1962 - June 18, 1990)  

Subscribe to DCC by email

Enter your email address to get new posts notifications in your inbox

RSS Defrosting Cold Cases

  • Susan Jessica Morey (Aug 13, 1962 – June 18, 1990)  
  • Defrosting Cold Cases 2009-2019
  • The Butchering Art by Lindsey Fitzharris
  • Sonia Carmen Herok Stone
  • Janet Eva Roberson Gregston

William Thomas Zeigler

Category: ALL POSTS

On March 31, 2016, an evidentiary hearing was held to request touch DNA testing. On July 18, 2016, Judge Whitehead denied that request.

On November 23, 2016, an appeal was filed with the Florida Supreme Court. On April 21, 2017, the Florida Supreme Court denied the request for touch DNA analysis.

On May 8, 2017 a motion for a rehearing with the US Supreme Court was filed. It was denied November 13, 2017.

In the summer of 2019, the appeal for DNA testing to the Florida Conviction Integrity Unit was denied.

Richard Lapointe

Category: ALL POSTS

In March 2015, the Connecticut State Supreme Court ordered a new trial. On Oct 2, 2015, International Wrongful Conviction Day, Richard Lapointe was set free. The judge ruled that he cannot be retried.

We close this wrongful conviction aspect of the file but now we must work on it as a unsolved murder case. In 1987, someone killed Bernice Martin. I hope that she will not become a forgotten file.
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License.
Copyright: Please add a link back if you use my work. Let your readers know where you found your information. I do the same for you. If you need help with this, just contact me. Thank you, Alice de Sturler

[footer_backtotop]

Copyright © 2009–2019 - Defrosting Cold Cases - All rights reserved · Hosting & WordPress: 3J WordPress Write Data

wordpress counter

loading Cancel
Post was not sent - check your email addresses!
Email check failed, please try again
Sorry, your blog cannot share posts by email.