Accused LAPD detective Stephanie Lazarus' court hearing postponed

LAPD Det. Stephanie Lazarus was led into L.A. County Superior Court at about 10 a.m. to formally face charges of premeditated murder in connection with the fatal shooting two decades ago of her ex-boyfriend's wife. Instead, her arraignment was continued to July 6.

Lazarus, 49, was dressed in an orange jail jumpsuit; her curly hair was styled straight. She was represented by attorney Mark Pachowicz.

She was wearing handcuffs chained to her waist, and sat in a chair with her legs crossed in the suspect pen. She spoke with her attorney through a narrow, barred window.

Lazarus could face the death penalty because prosecutors have 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.

Rasmussen's parents, Nel and Loretta, sat expressionless in the gallery throughout the brief proceedings

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

-- Andrew Blankstein and Joel Rubin at the L.A. County Superior Court

Comments

[Female]

Please do not use my real name or email address.

I am responding to the slaying of Rasmussen by Lazarus. My concerns are that the victims parents allegedly informed the police of threats made by the perpetrator to the victim and nothing was done. A question I have is did the ex-boyfriend also inform the police of the threats made against his wife and did he inform the police of the prior confrontational incidents? If he did notify the police, why didn't the police investigate?

And if he did not tell the police of prior incidents between his wife and his ex-girlfriend, why not? Had a restraining order been requested the death may not have occurred. The alleged perpetrator would not have been able to carry a gun and then maybe the victim would not have been shot. However, if the alleged perpetrator was as obsessed about John as it appears, she may have found other ways to injury the victim.

Another concern I have is whether there were bullet shells left behind. Lazarus was probably smart enough to remove them. However, she could not remove the bullets from the victim.

I cannot understand how so many leads were available and they were not followed.

Lazarus made a mistake due to being led by her emotions. I am quite sure she regrets what allegedly occurred. Everyone makes dumb decisions when they are young and later regret them. Unfortunately, she allegedly took someones life and she will have to pay the price for doing so.

However, with our judicial system she could probably get off on a technicality ( someones screw up).

Although she appears to be guilty she should not plea guility. The same screw up that led to her not being discovered may be a similar screw up that sets her free.

My heart goes out to the family who lost their loved one. It is unfortunate that no one listened to you and followed your leads. I encourage you to sue the hell out of the LAPD. They deserve every bit of what they get. There should have been a supervisor reviewing cases and maybe their vision would not have been so narrowed.