Mitzi Rapkin’s in-person podcast features Sarah Gerard at TACAW

Sarah Gerard had already published one novel, “Binary Star,” and was included in a retrospective by the time her friend, Carrie Carolyn Coco, was murdered in 2016. She published a collection of essays, another novel, and a novella within the seven years it took her to research and write her latest nonfiction work, “Carrie Carolyn Coco: My Friend, Her Murder, and an Obsession with the Unthinkable.”

On Tuesday, Mitzi Rapkin, host and producer of the weekly literary podcast “First Draft: A Dialogue on Writing,” interviews Gerard during a special, in-person podcast at TACAW. The event is slated for 6:30 p.m., Jan. 14.

“I’m so interested in Sarah’s decision to dedicate so much of her own time to meticulously researching and sharing the story of her friend’s life and cruel death,” Rapkin said. “I think when obsessions become art, there is a transformation that happens in the creative process, and I look forward to talking about this, as well as the practical aspects of doing such meticulous research and turning it into a narrative that is quite unique in its voice and tone.”

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She found herself staying up into the wee hours of the night to read Gerard’s latest book, trying to understand the minds of so many people at the heart of this story, which portrays very real, beautiful, and pained lives.

The book reveals not only the story of 25-year-old Coco’s murder, but also her life, as well as those close to her.

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“It tells her life story and the years afterward and how friends coped with grief and how the courts and other entities responded to her murder,” Gerard said, adding that, while the book covers the trial, it’s more about her life. “She was my friend. I didn’t want her life to be overshadowed by her death.”

Gerard began her writing career as a freelancer around 2008, honing her skills as a journalist. This is her first book-length work of journalism. When she began attending the trials of her friend’s murderer, she didn’t know much about how the justice system operated. She would travel 2 ½ hours to attend a trial, only to discover that the murderer didn’t show.

Her interview skills became important, as she spent thousands of hours gathering information from those close to not only Coco, but also the murder. She read obscure writings and internet posts and researched court documents. Throughout the process, she discovered the importance of creating allies in the courthouse in order to arrive at the shocking conclusion of how the connection between her poetic friend and Coco’s reserved, art-handler roommate ultimately resulted in a brutal stabbing.

“There’s a disincentive to answer journalists’ questions. You have to know how to request records and get them; it depends on your wording and the clerk who’s on that day. Sometimes some records are available, and other times they’re not,” she said, referring to how friendly and open the clerk on staff happens to be.

Gerard’s research actually led her to become a private investigator, working for two Denver agencies in the last couple of years as she finished her book.

“My experience as a journalist helped me be a better private investigator, and learning about private investigation helped my journalism,” she said.

She even has had two cases in Aspen: One going undercover at a nightclub in an attempt to catch someone buying cocaine and another regarding a slip-and-fall case.

“I am so looking forward to hearing some tales from Sarah’s life as a private investigator because let’s face it: It’s fun to hear juicy tidbits about life undercover,” Rapkin said.

Gerard spent 13 years living on and off in New York, where her friend was murdered. She returned to her home state of Florida with her husband for about 18 months during the pandemic and then moved to Denver in 2021 when her husband took a job as a professor teaching literature and creative writing within University of Denver’s doctorate program.

As a writer himself, he helped Gerard move through the many moments of frustration, sadness, anger, confusion, and conflicts by listening. The two support one another’s writing, each of which revolves around different topics and interests.

In January 2024, she began a master’s degree in criminal justice at CU Denver, studying gender-based violence. In addition to improving her private investigator skills, she hopes it will allow her to find a steady, full-time position with benefits through a nonprofit or other organization — perhaps in anti-trafficking, diversion programs, victim services, crime analysis, or other specialties — as opposed to contracting with two different private investigation agencies. She also plans on continuing to write books, including possibly a middle-grade novel series about a young private investigator.

Proceeds from the sales of “Carrie Carolyn Coco: My Friend, Her Murder, and an Obsession with the Unthinkable” benefit the Denver-based Lighthouse Writers’ Carolyn Bush Fund, which provides writing workshop tuition assistance, with a preference for female, transgender, and nonbinary writers in need.