The Tragic Murder of Sherrice Iverson
In the early hours of May 25, 1997, 7-year-old Sherrice Iverson entered the ladies’ bathroom of the Primadonna Casino resort in Primm, Nevada where she was sexually assaulted and murdered.
Sherrice Iverson was visiting the Primadonna Casino resort (now called the Primm Valley Resort and Casino) in Primm, Nevada with her father LeRoy Iverson and her 14-year-old brother, Harold. Her father was drinking and gambling in the casino, unwilling to watch his daughter, he left her in the care of Harold.
Casino security returned Sherrice to her father several times as they found her running around unsupervised. A casino floor is no place for a child. However, the casino prioritised taking LeRoy's money rather than asking him leave with his two children and LeRoy had no interest in watching his children, or leaving the casino.
At approximately 4am, Jeremy Strohmeyer, then aged 18, began to play with Sherrice on the casino floor. Jeremy was visiting the casino with hid friend, David Cash Jr.,17 and David’s father. Jeremy played hide and seek with Sherrice in the casino before telling her that a good place to hide would be in the ladies’ restroom.
When Sherrice entered the ladies’ restroom, she was followed shortly by Jeremy Strohmeyer. David Cash Jr. the entered the restroom, witnessing Strohmeyer holding his left hand over Iverson's mouth and fondling her with his right. Cash then left the restroom and then Jeremy Strohmeyer murdered the little girl.
In a hope to catch the killer, Nevada police released the casino CCTV footage. The footage showed an unknown male following Sherrice into the bathroom. The footage was broadcast on the national news, when classmates of Strohmeyer recognised him and alerted police.
Strohmeyer was taken into custody and charged with first-degree murder, first-degree kidnapping, and sexual assault of a minor. When police searched Strohmeyer’s computer, they found images of minors. He claimed that they were from unsolicited emails and that he had no interest in them.
Jeremy Strohmeyer had been adopted at 18-months old by John and Winnie Strohmeyer, a wealthy couple from Long Beach, California. They had one biological daughter but wanted to adopt a child that needed a loving home.
Jeremy had a good life. He attended a good school and lived in a middle-class neighbourhood. In 1999, Jeremy's parents filed a $1 million lawsuit against adoption workers and Los Angeles County. The Strohmeyers’ claimed that they had not been informed about Jeremy's biological mother’s struggles with addiction and her mental health.
Jeremy's mother had suffered from chronic schizophrenia and was a drug and alcohol addict. She had also been institutionalised on several occasions. Jeremy’s biological father was also a drug user. The Strohymers’ claimed that they had only been told that the mother had suffered from drug abuse, but that she did not use during her pregnancy. It was only when Jeremy’s lawyers obtained the adoptions files, that Jeremy’s adoptive parents became aware of these potential genetic issues. The Strohmeyer's claimed that if they had known, they would have been able to get Jeremy the right help earlier.
As a child, there was nothing out of the ordinary about Jeremy, he was a popular athlete and honour student at his school. People said that he was polite, well-spoken and well mannered. In a media interview, Jeremy claimed that he did struggle with his mental health, but never told anyone. When Jeremy was around 16 years old, his parents noticed changes in his personality. He became withdrawn and spent a lot of time alone, they thought that it was just normal teenage behaviour. Unbeknown to them, by his senior year in high school, he was dependant on alcohol and would often take Speed.
His friendship with David Cash Jr. was also a concern to his parents. The pair would pick up prostitutes whilst drunk in their cars, just to steal their money. Jeremy was arrested for driving whilst under the influence of drugs and alcohol, and after coming home one evening and telling his parents that he was ‘screwed up’, they took him to see a councillor.
Jeremy was diagnosed as having Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD) and referred to a psychiatrist. One week prior to murdering Sherrice, Jeremy was prescribed an amphetamine for his condition. He was now on a combination of alcohol, Speed and amphetamines.
Jeremy Strohmeyer claims that he did not intend to molest and murder Sherrice. He claimed she swung a wet floor sign at him, when he flipped and grabbed her. At first, he claimed not to remember, but later would give police a full account of his actions. Jeremy claimed that Cash could have stopped him but did not.
David Cash Jr. got off scot free, despite having not told police what he saw in the bathroom until after Strohmeyer had been arrested. Sherrice’s mother tried to have David Cash Jr. charged as an accessory to murder. However, the authorities claimed that there was not enough evidence to convict him. Cash showed no guilt for not trying to stop Strohmeyer when he caught him in the bathroom.
Cash studied at UC Berkeley, and despite various petitions and campaigns to have him kicked out, the University refused, claiming that he had not been convicted of any crime and so they had no basis to remove him.
Jeremy Strohmeyer has since appealed his conviction on several occasions, all have been denied. He is now 43 years old.
In 1998, the Sherrice Iverson Act was introduced in House. The Act amended the Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act to require a State, to be eligible to receive Federal grants for child abuse and neglect.
Sources
https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1997-05-28-mn-63101-story.html
https://www.congress.gov/bill/105th-congress/house-bill/4531?s=1&r=9
https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1997-05-28-mn-63101-story.html
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