She Was a Logical Suspect, but Arrest Took 23 Years

The mystery of who murdered newlywed Sherri Rasmussen in 1986 finally got solved in 2009. But as the Los Angeles Times reports, the related question of why it took the LAPD 23 years to arrest one of their own remains unanswered to this day. The killer turned out to be patrol officer Stephanie Lazarus, who was a seemingly "obvious" suspect, writes Christopher Goffard: She had been in a relationship with Rasmussen's husband before they wed, never got over the breakup, and had showed up to Rasmussen's workplace to harass her. The bullets used in the fatal shooting were those issued to LAPD officers. Detectives, however, insisted the killing was a burglary-gone-wrong (despite Rasmussen's stated fears that she was being stalked) and never even questioned Lazarus.

Might there have been some kind of coverup? "I believe so," Connie Rasmussen, the victim's sister, tells the newspaper. "There's no way I could prove it, but yes, I do." Much of the physical evidence in the case disappeared over the years, but one key piece stored separately doomed Lazarus when cold-case investigators reopened the case two decades later: a sample from a bite mark made by an unknown female on Rasmussen's arm. The team came up with a list of likely suspects, including Lazarus, and a DNA sample from her matched the bite mark. She is now serving a 27-year sentence and has since confessed—in 2023.

Rasmussen's family remains vigilant, however, because Lazarus is now eligible for parole. "The only reason she confessed is because she wants to get out on parole," another sister of the victim, Teresa Marie Lane, told ABC7 last year. "We really have to keep her in because she has no regard for what she did. She does not have remorse." (More LAPD stories.)