LAPD detective charged with capital murder

Prosecutors today charged an LAPD detective with premeditated murder in connection with the fatal shooting two decades ago of her ex-boyfriend's wife.

Stephanie Lazarus, 49, could potentially face the death penalty because prosecutors alleged a special circumstance in the case: that she killed Sherri Rae Rasmussen, who was badly beaten and shot multiple times in her Van Nuys condominium on the evening of Feb. 24, 1986, during a burglary.

A decision by prosecutors to seek the death penalty would be made at a later date, said Jane Robison, a spokeswoman for the L.A. County district attorney's office.

The original homicide detectives assigned to the case did not focus on Lazarus, who was then a patrol officer who had been with the department more than two years. Instead, they pursued the theory that two men who had robbed another woman in the area at gunpoint had killed Rasmussen when she came upon them burglarizing her home, according to news reports from the time.

But detectives revisited the case in February, testing blood or saliva samples from the crime scene thought to have been from the killer. DNA tests showed that the attacker was a woman, disproving the theory that Rasmussen's killer was a man.

In a check of the case file, there was a reference to Lazarus, who had once dated the victim's husband, John Ruetten. Ruetten reportedly broke off the relationship and soon after became involved with Rasmussen, said sources familiar with the investigation who were not authorized to speak publicly.

Police sources said that Lazarus' DNA was recovered from discarded items by an undercover officer who had surreptitiously trailed her. The DNA in her saliva was compared with the DNA evidence collected from the crime scene. The genetic code in the samples matched conclusively, police said.

Lazarus, who is expected to be arraigned Tuesday, was last assigned to the LAPD's art theft detail.

--Joel Rubin and Andrew Blankstein

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Comments

[Dirk]

The woman who was murdered was much prettier than Lazarus. It's obvious she was jealous of her, to the point of beating and killing her.

[No More Money]

There's a thin line between good and evil, police and criminal.

[mike]

terrible for the police department. she deserves the death penalty.

[markiejoe]

"DNA tests showed that the attacker was a woman, disproving the theory that Rasmussen's killer was a man. " Great writing, that.

[Bama3003]

I Love People! Some People!!

[john]

Sometime between 1985-1988, can't remember exactly, I placed a personal ad looking for women to accompany me bicycling. (Pretty clueless way to try to meet women, yes I know). I heard from a woman by this very name! She sent me a letter and we talked on the phone, but we never ended up meeting. When I read the article this weekend I thought, could it be? I looked her up on people search, and yes, she once lived in the SFV city from where she sent me a letter in the 80's. Wow. And I thought my current wife had a bad temper, at least she doesn't off people.

[JR]

She'll walk like most of the rest of them. being a police officer is a hard job but being a prosecutor of police officers is way harder, fact is she would have been a prime suspect back in the day and to this day as well. Does blue wall of silence ring a bell? Same old crap, different day. Yawn!

[Patrick]

Why did they have to trail her to get her DNA? Anyone who works for the police department should have their DNA profile taken prior to employment as part of the background investigation and should be kept on file precisely due to the possibility of cases like this one.

[Dante]

That's some mighty fine sleuthing, albeit 20 years late.

[idjk]

If DNA didn't work with OJ do you really think it will work here after 20 years, her lawyer will ask if a '100% perfect' entry log was kept of the old crime scene- who can say under oath that she did not visit.
Having said that I would hate to see her walk .

[R.]

All police should have their D.N.A. taken as a part of the job. We highly recommend to all departments in the U.S.A. Some cases you would find the police were a part of the crime. Here is another example the police need to have their D.N.A. taken.
Also click on my name for further info.

[Will S]

This is a news story, even though it sounds like an episode of Law & Order. She is accused, but that does not prove 100 percent that she is guilty. (That sort of thing does happen). I hope the truth comes out, either way. Justice delayed...

[Duude]

With the OJ trial it was never that the DNA didn't work. It verifiably did. While the defense attacked it, the attack was without substance. The OJ case was entirely tied to the jury. The jury saw and believed what they wanted to believe. Evidence didn't matter.

[Willy]

The victim's husband must have known that her ex was harassing his wife. Therefore he should have pressed the detectives to look into her seriously -unless he was covering for her too.