Oh, man, wouldn't you love to have been a fly on the wall when they walked in with that arrest warrant? I want to know a whole lot more about the ex-boyfriend, like did he have an insurance policy on his new bride? Also, how do you fight DNA evidence when the case gets to court?

Wow. Great post! Really... You haven't written like this since your own blog...not that you don't do a wonderful job on here. It's been awhile since I have heard this voice. Don't post this if you don't want to. :)

NOTE FROM STEVE: No, I appreciate what you said. Fact is, I just can't always do what I did on my previous blogs, because I post more often here, and I focus much more on very current stories. That said, if you really poke around the archives here, you'll find I've gone pretty in-depth on a number of stories since this blog began last year.

A poster in the comment section of the LA Weekly's 6/5/09 update (the 2nd LA Weekly link in Steve's article) says something that gave me goosebumps....

"The only thing stolen from the home at the time of the attack was the marriage license."

Here's the fly on the wall account (minus her reaction)
http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-detective-arrested6-2009jun06,0,2400854.story

I'm not really all that surprised at this. The cop knew she was likely to be considered above suspicion and really did not think at the time of the commission of the crime that she would be caught.
I doubt there were any emotional troubles with having killed her former boyfriend's wife but there may indeed have been some later worries about developments in forensic sciences. I would expect the cop knew that if she ever became a suspect her dna would match, she just probably never realized there would be the intermediate step of determining the perpetrator was a female and then having the investigators re-focus their attention on the most likely female to be involved.
She turned out to be a fairly political detective within the LAPD, spent her time training police to visit schools and lecture on drugs. Was assigned to the art squad but knew nothing of art. Probably wasn't much of a crime solver.
Probably thought she had gotten away with it and never really went around worried about that knock on the door.

Makes you wonder what others in this department and other departments accross the country have done and got away with over the years. This brings to light that police are human just like the rest of us... Some honest, some not. Next time I'm doing jury duty, I'll have to wonder if the testimony that the police give is credible. The arrest of this officer has far reaching affects, more than just that of an interesting story.

Reading the articles Steve linked to, the following scenario comes to mind:
The nurse, murder victim, suffered an accidental injury at her health club and unexpectedly stayed home from her work at the hospital.
The cop ex-gf may have been stalking the couple enough to know the nurse's work schedule. The cop picks that day to enter the residence to retrieve the marriage license (or do whatever stalkers do.) The cop is caught, mid-stalk, when the nurse returns home from an errand (like picking up something from the pharmacy for her pulled muscle.)
The cop takes out her anger at the nurse in a violent struggle...takes the marriage license with her...and the victim's car too.
It will be interesting to see what defense strategy the cop's lawyers come up with.

Even more bizarre, today's updates state that the DNA captured at the scene was from bite marks the killer inflicted on the victim. Guess it wasn't enough to severely beat and then shoot the unfortunate young bride. What's that old line about "a woman scorned"? I will be very surprised if this is the only violent crime Lazarus ever committed.

NOTE FROM STEVE: Wow. Hearing that, I have to agree with you. That's so pathological it really makes you wonder about her. She was hiding some serious psycho behind the cop's facade. Damn.

This story is odd on a number of levels. First, the technology caught up 10-15 years ago. Second, they knew at the time she was part of a love triangle, yet they didn't investigate her and apparently didn't bother to even after other leads had fallen through. Given the corruption at the LAPD, it's possible - if not likely - that she was being protected. There's no other reasonable explanation for why she wasn't investigated at the time.

The real question here is what has happened recently that they suddenly decided to bring this up...

>>The real question here is what has happened recently that they suddenly decided to bring this up...
-----------------
According to the TV news, a drop in crime in Los Angeles(hard to believe, I know) gave detectives time to dust off some cold cases. This one had a good DNA sample and since it had been assumed that the killer was male, when preliminary DNA came back female that got them looking a whole lot closer at the old files. Lazarus' name had actually been mentioned back then. I believe the ex-boyfriend was also LAPD. How and why the ball was dropped will be interesting to follow.

Sorry, Steve. It's Lazarus' current husband who is the LAPD officer, not Ruetten.

wow she is a friend a long time friend i worry for the all involved and you are right why now ? we are all in shock not in a million years would you have guessed

It's unlikely that a ball was ever dropped.

They knew at the time that she was involved with the deceased and the deceased's husband, so she was a very obvious suspect. Had she not been a cop, she would have been investigated and probably questioned. Someone in the LAPD apparently did what they could to look at other avenues, then dropped the case when those came up cold.

I doubt it's a "drop in crime" that caused this to come up. She's probably made the wrong person angry or something like that.

If I sound like a conspiracy nut take a look at other cases where cops end up being investigated for crimes, along with other cases where cops obviously commit crimes and are protected. It's getting so brazen at this point that even the youtube videos don't help - case in point is the ambulance issue in Oklahoma last week.

Regarding the question about her conscience over the years: I'm guessing she never had one, unless I missed the youtube of her slowling driving a white bronco while whining about the victim's welfare.

As she sits in jail let her wonder about the child care her 5 year old is getting. I hope she gets the chair. Let Mr. Rasmussen flick the switch. Crazy Witch.

Back in the 80's when that scumbag Darryl Gates was chief many cops got away with murder. With that waste of skin as head of the Dept cops were above it all. I have new found respect for the LAPD for arresting this disgusting woman. How she could live 23 years with that knowledge, well, I guess OJ and her have something in common.

Hey I got a question, how is it that when they pulled the slugs out of Ms Rasmussen, it didn't go though ballistics to trace it back to Det. Lazarus' firearm? Hmmmmmm.. looks like someone in the inside knew something and helped cover it up....

49er fan & Derek - that's my point. She was obviously protected at the time. Even without DNA testing, the fact that they didn't even investigate her makes it obvious.

The only question remaining is "what happened that the protection went away suddenly 23 years later?"

Fascinating cold case work. I rather suspect old cases with DNA evidence have routinely re-opened due to the improvement in technology in both capability and cost.

I doubt that there was any conscious misdirection in the original investigation. Consider that the victim would ordinarily have been at work at the time of the incident. She off with a back injury. The likelihood that this was an botched home robbery would seem more likely than a jealous ex-girlfriend.

I have read numerous posts on another blog calling for this woman to be 'forgiven' and stating that she has been punished enough living with this through the years, and should be released because the years since have been her 'rehabilitation.

One comment even declares that if she killed the woman in self-defense (yeah, right), that there is no law requiring the 'killer' (her) to report the killing.

I sure do hope that I am wrong in assuming that these bloggers wear badges.

The notion of killing someone in self-defense with no 'need' to report the killing is absurd!

If I kill an intruder in my home 'truly in self-defense' does this mean that I can throw the body outside and not admit to anything, or offer any help in the solution of this 'who done it' because I know that it was self-defense.

This poster knows first hand, that Stephanie Lazarus' department (2 officers) has, on at least one occassion, 'operated outside the scope, jurisdiction, and realm of the law'. This episode does not surprise me.

Sometimes bad people wear badges. No amount of outward 'actions and appearances', or so-called 'rehabilitations' justifies coddling of this defendant.

At the time of this crime, this woman wore a badge, and had sworn to uphold the law.

I was a friend of Dr Rassmussen at the time their daughter was killed and saw the horrible anguish they went through for years following. I too had lost a daughter to violence and we had this pain in common. I personally knew about the way that Dr. Rasmussen fought to find truth against all odds. They are a wonderful family.
I feel that death is too easy a punishment for Lazurus to suffer. She should be put in jail with all the criminals that she herself put behind bars, before the death sentence is imposed which she really deserves.

Jakester, you're right that the home invasion scenario was more likely, and should have been checked out first.

But, when that didn't pan out, they should have went to alternatives, and they didn't. From the new article at http://blogs.laweekly.com/ladaily/crime/accused-killer-lady-lapd-cop-s/
we find this out:

"Sherri Rasmussen's father Nels has been extremely upset over the way LAPD detectives ignored his insistence back in 1986 that Lazarus should be considered the prime suspect in the brutal slaying of his daughter Sherri."

It's not like they didn't know. Someone made a conscious decision to exclude her from the investigation, almost certainly because of "professional courtesy". Something else has happened that the courtesy got dropped...

I don't even watch CSI (can't stand the crime reinactments) but this case is absolutely fascinating on many levels.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/06/09/stephanie-lazarus-veteran_n_213435.html

I do believe this case and her defense will be a "crime of passion", which usually leads to a lighter sentence...anyways, be grateful for the advancements in technology, forensics and DNA, not only are criminals like Lazarus being brought to justice, but the many wrongly convicted are finding justice also!

To the 49-er Fan...
If you knew anything about ballistics or guns before making such an idiotic statement... "someone inside knew something and covered it up..." You would have known that revolvers do not reveal good ballistic info for "tracing purposes" and to date almost NO matches nation wide have been made to bullet slugs recovered from revolvers or victims. P.S.- LAPD officers did not carry semi-autos until 1989. Oh and yes, I am an officer and trained in ballistics matching just like they do on CSI....

I truly cannot wait for the book on this story. As my Dad used to say, "What's done in the dark will eventually come to the light."

Memories fade with time but it would be nice if we could pinpoint just who would have known the victim was home that day. If the cop thought the home would be empty it may not have been premeditated. I can't see a cop biting when she could keep a good distance and just shoot. Beat, bite and then shoot might mean more than just emotion.
Anyway, I doubt the truth about this crime will actually emerge. It rarely does.

If she was involved in a struggle with the victim, wouldn't she also have some suspicious injuries that some one would have thought to question her about?
Also, what kind of gun was the victim shot with and is it the same kind as the one Lazarus used as an officer, or did she use another gun?
A friend of mine thinks her defense will be that she will say that the victim was alive when she left and that she wasn't the one that shot her. That won't work if the gun can be traced to her though.

Since Lazarus had been stalking and following Rasmussen (per the victim's father) Lazarus knew Rasmussen was home. Her aim wasn't just to get the marriage license, it was to kill Rasmussen.

As stupid as I think the original detectives were for not considering any angle other than the two-man-burglar team another woman in the neighborhood encountered a month - not days - later, I doubt they were consciously protecting another officer.

Except now the incompetence of former detectives Lyle Mayer and Roger Pida will be highlighted to all. Mayer, btw, now claims Rasmussen's father never told him about Lazarus. However, the LAPD still has on file the letter Rasmussen's father sent to then-LAPD-Chief Darryl Gates which will put the lie to that claim.

The gun details don't matter, imo. The DNA is enough.

Im already way past tired of hearing she was the " NICEST" lady and cop. SHE was NOT. I know many officers and friends also say she was NOT. She was very violent and crazy sly like a fox. She busted this 2 ladies with kids 4 x 4 windows out one time in the mountains with her asp because she thought the driver kept giving her dirty looks. Step is NOT a nice lady and we feel really bad for det Scott who got involved with this double personality three faced looser.

FoolsGold is right: "... she just probably never realized there would be the intermediate step of determining the perpetrator was a female... " That was the real major break in the case that the DNA showed the attacker (who left bite marks on the victims body) was a female. Also Froma Anne: "...How and why the ball was dropped will be interesting to follow...." Yes indeed. Someone got pissed of at her. Anyhow she is now facing a life sentence without parole (1st degree murder plus she must have planned it).

The wheels of justice grind exceedingly slowly...but they usually grind nevertheless. exLAPD

This news report would seem to show that Lazarus was feeling the heat a long, long time ago. Draw your own conclusions:
http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-detective-arrest13-2009jun13,0,786537.column

The original Detectives should be put in jail along with this psycho. Their shoddy detective work is JUST AS MUCH to blame. If you see pics of this crazy woman her eyes look like they are going to bug out of her head. I hope those dykes with splintery broom handles do a number on her in jail. She looks like a big dyke anyway. I'm only shocked she had a boyfriend. Karma is a bitch I guess her and OJ have the same mentality to go on after a murder.

It would seem that the murderer was exceedingly lucky or there was malfeasance on the part of the investigators.
When the detectives ignore a former girlfriend of the victim's husband, ignore the recent threats that had been made, ignore the "stolen" firearm report and all the while the victim's family is telling the investigators to look at Lazarus, either there is incredible incompetence on the part of that investigator or there is collusion.

>dealing with what must have been going on inside of her.
To the extent that this implies some sort of psychological difficulties, I think it is an unreasonable assumption. She took steps to minimize any evidence against her (having the revolver "stolen") and I doubt she ever thought much about it after that. If she did think about it from time to time, I would not expect it to hav troubled her in any way.
Forensic advances were ongoing but she knew her dna was not in any databse and I doubt she ever expected anyone to be dusting off those old files.

Many good points brought up here.Just wondering why someone who isn't smart enough to remove her dna from the evidence locker was hired as a detective in the first place.
She needn't have worried about it at the time, but later on you would think she might do something about it.
How often do you see "evidence was lost or destroyed"when reading a true crime story, often enough.
just a sleuther

Concerning removing dna from the evidence locker...
She was NOT working on the murder case and never had custody of the evidence or even access to ANY evidence at the time about any case.
Later, she would have had difficulty signing out any evidence and once it had been sent out for the original testing it may have been stored elsewhere anyway.

I can't wait to see her ugly face when they give her the death penalty. Personally I'd like 5 minutes in her cell with her to give her some of what she gave her victim.

I'm struck by the number of people who seem to feel that there was some sort of emotional burden during the intervening years or that someone who kills feels remorse or regret. The regret is at getting caught and having to do time for it. Darn few people who kill are troubled by it afterwards, particularly if it was a premeditated killing.

"Im already way past tired of hearing she was the " NICEST" lady and cop. SHE was NOT. I know many officers and friends also say she was NOT. She was very violent and crazy sly like a fox. She busted this 2 ladies with kids 4 x 4 windows out one time in the mountains with her asp because she thought the driver kept giving her dirty looks"

Yup I can verify this. I also knew several people who knew her and despite her a,amazing veneer as super cop and fabulous neighbor making chocolate covered cherries for the neighbors she had a dark side that slipped that many people got a glimpse of. I'm also SOOOOO over people commenting on how nice she was. If she did infact do this she was far from nice. Ted Bundy was nice and charming as hell to his victims and John Gacy was a clown at childrens parties and friends with half of the Chicago police department.

These kind of people have good veneers and can hide a very dark sinister nature that only will be shown when threatened or someone gets in their way. She had no reason to show it to people who weren't a problem for her.

The way in which the body was mutilated would lead one to think that only a person with tremendous hatred for this person would be involved. i.e. an ex-girlfriend mutilated that wanted revenge of some type, Stephanie Lazarus would be a likely suspect. This smells of cover-up

Why not wait for her trial before convicting her in the press. Having met and delt with her, I found her very professional and find it very sad for both families.

Darline,alot of people met Ted Bunday before his trial and described him as very intelligent,Harvard graduate,hard working,charmimg and friendly....evil can be hidden well,don't be naive!

i hate to disabuse of the notion that police are honest,they aint, they lie,plant evidence,sell dope then bust them for buying it,police have a higher criminal factor than the general public.

Does anyone know what happened with this? This story just fell off the face of the earth!