Stephanie Lazarus, a decorated Los Angeles Police Department detective, was sentenced to 27 years in prison for the 1986 murder of Sherri Rasmussen, a crime she concealed for more than two decades. Lazarus, 51 at the time of her arrest, had served 26 years on the force with a clean disciplinary record.
A Model Career Hides a Dark Secret
Lazarus had married a fellow officer, helped start the department's childcare programme, and worked across divisions including homicide and internal affairs before specialising in art theft cases. Her personal life appeared equally spotless, with no disciplinary hearings on her record.
In 2009, detectives Dan Jaramillo and Greg Stearns asked for her help with an art theft case. They walked her to a basement jail, took her weapon as routine, and questioned her about John Ruetten, her former lover, and his wife, Sherri Rasmussen.
The Night of the Murder
Sherri, a director of nursing at a Glendale hospital, married John in 1985. The following year, John returned home to find the garage door open, broken glass on the ground, and Sherri's body on the living-room floor. She had been beaten, bound by the wrists, and bitten on her left forearm.
The killer used a .38-calibre revolver and a thick quilt to muffle the sound of three point-blank shots to the chest. The perpetrator staged the scene as a burglary, carrying stereo equipment partway out and taking Sherri's silver BMW, but left most valuables inside. The case was closed as a burglary gone wrong.
A Father's Doubt and a Cold Case Breakthrough
Sherri's father, Nels, never believed the burglary theory. Sherri had told him about a woman who had shown up at the couple's home before the wedding to drop off water skis, appearing later in police uniform with a gun. The same woman visited Sherri's office days later.
The lead detective dismissed Nels's concerns, telling him he was "watching too many cop shows." Weeks after the murder, Lazarus reported her backup .38 gun stolen. After Sherri's death, John reconnected with Lazarus, and the two took a scuba trip to Hawaii, though the relationship ended quickly.
In 2004, a criminalist found a swab from the bite mark on Sherri's arm that had been stored for 18 years. Tests showed the bite was from a woman, but detectives dismissed the finding. In 2009, Van Nuys detective Jim Nuttall revisited the case, rebuilt it as an ambush, and traced the evidence to Lazarus through DNA.
Interrogation and Arrest
During questioning, Lazarus initially claimed she barely remembered Sherri. Over time, she admitted she might have met her, then said they may have spoken at the hospital, and later suggested they may have argued "a million years ago." When she realised she was a suspect, her demeanour changed.
According to a transcript published by Vanity Fair, she said: "I know how this stuff works. I’ve been doing this a long time, O.K., and now it all sounds like you’re trying to pin something on me. I got that sense." She tried to leave but was arrested, repeating, "This is crazy. This is absolutely insane."
Lazarus was sentenced to 27 years for Sherri's murder. The Rasmussen family sued the LAPD, though an investigation found no evidence of an internal cover-up.
