On February 24, 1986, 29-year-old hospital nursing director Sherri Rasmussen was found beaten and shot to death inside her Van Nuys, California home, three months after marrying John Ruetten. The crime scene initially appeared to be a botched burglary, as electronics were stacked near the door and Rasmussen's silver BMW was stolen. However, the killer had staged the scene after a violent struggle, shooting Rasmussen three times with a .38-caliber firearm and leaving a deep human bite mark on her left forearm. For 23 years, the case remained unsolved, while LAPD officer Stephanie Lazarus—a former college girlfriend of Ruetten who had obsessively pursued him and threatened Rasmussen prior to the murder—continued her career as an LAPD detective. In 2009, cold case investigators re-analyzed saliva DNA preserved from the bite mark swab, discovering the killer was female. Undercover detectives obtained Lazarus's DNA from a discarded cup and straw, matching it to the bite mark and skin cells under Rasmussen's fingernails. In June 2009, LAPD detectives covertly interrogated Lazarus under the pretense of consulting an art theft detective on an old acquaintance, recording her evasive responses before arresting her. Lazarus was convicted of first-degree murder in March 2012 and sentenced to 27 years to life in prison. At a November 2023 parole hearing, she admitted to killing Rasmussen.
Country: United States
State/Province: California, United States
City/Region: Van Nuys
Incident Type: Murder
Relationship Status: Ex-partners
Relationship Duration: Approximately 4 years (college to post-college dating)
Incident Date: Feb. 24, 1986
Relationship Origins:
Relationship Stages:
Contributing Factors:
Red Flags:
Motives:
Relationship Outcomes:
How the relationship or connection began.
Approximately 4 years (college to post-college dating)
Important relationship phases recorded for this case.
Reported red flags or early concern points.
Contributing factors and possible motives from the available sources.
1986-02-24
Recorded relationship or case outcome.
English labels are shown first. Original-language titles are preserved for source verification.
Red File · Original language: English
“Friendly” Cop Has No Idea Police Already Matched Her DNA After 23 Years
Jealousy
The case displays an extreme pattern of romantic obsession, rival elimination, and long-term deception. Following John Ruetten's engagement and marriage to Sherri Rasmussen, ex-girlfriend Stephanie Lazarus engaged in persistent stalking, unannounced visits to Rasmussen's workplace and home, and explicit threats. Driven by intense jealousy over losing Ruetten, Lazarus confronted Rasmussen in her home, engaged in a violent physical altercation, and murdered her using a .38-caliber firearm before staging the scene to imitate a burglary. Leveraging her position as a police officer, Lazarus filed a stolen firearm report shortly after the murder to explain her missing gun and successfully evaded detection for over two decades.
Initial 1986 investigators focused heavily on a botched burglary theory, overlooking family assertions regarding Lazarus's harassment due to her status as an LAPD officer. In 2005, cold case criminalist Jennifer Francis located the preserved bite mark swab in a coroner's freezer. In 2009, DNA extraction confirmed a female suspect. Detectives surreptitiously obtained Lazarus's DNA from a discarded cup and straw, confirming a match. Detectives brought Lazarus into an interrogation room under false pretenses in June 2009, systematically questioning her on her relationship with Ruetten and a reported stolen .38-caliber revolver before arresting her in the hallway. Lazarus was tried and convicted of first-degree murder in March 2012. At a November 2023 parole board hearing, she formally confessed to the killing.
Initial investigators were misled by staged crime scene evidence, including stacked electronics by the door, an open garage, a stolen vehicle, and a shot-out glass door, leading them to mischaracterize the murder as a commercial/residential burglary gone wrong. Institutional bias and missing case files—including original interview notes and trace evidence—further delayed suspect identification and prevented early scrutiny of an active police officer.
On the morning of February 24, 1986, after John Ruetten left for work, Stephanie Lazarus entered the condo, confronted Sherri Rasmussen, and engaged in a violent physical fight during which Rasmussen was bitten on the forearm and sustained facial trauma. Lazarus bound Rasmussen's wrists, struck her with a ceramic vase, and shot her three times using a blanket/fabric as a silencer. Lazarus then staged the residence to resemble a burglary, stole Rasmussen's BMW, and abandoned it nearby. Thirteen days later, Lazarus filed a false police report claiming her .38-caliber revolver was stolen from her vehicle. DNA evidence preserved from the bite mark eventually proved Lazarus's presence at the scene, disproving her claims of faulty memory during her 2009 interrogation.
Key risk factors included unaddressed obsessive stalking, workplace confrontations, direct threats of violence ('if I can't have him, nobody will'), access to firearms through law enforcement employment, and ongoing refusal to accept relationship boundaries. Lazarus's specialized knowledge of police procedures allowed her to stage the crime scene and obfuscate investigation efforts for 23 years.
Staged crime scenes must be critically analyzed for physical inconsistencies, such as blood spatter deposited prior to the positioning of allegedly stolen items. Cold case DNA preservation remains vital for solving long-dormant homicides. Investigative teams must maintain objectivity and avoid granting immunity from suspicion to fellow law enforcement personnel.
Lazarus exhibited warning signs including journaling about her intense emotional distress over Ruetten, watching his car, showing up unannounced at his apartment, visiting Rasmussen at her hospital workplace in full police uniform, and telling Rasmussen directly that no one else would have Ruetten if she could not.
A deep human bite mark on Rasmussen's left forearm, blood on top of stacked electronics indicating post-violence staging, and a stolen gun report filed by Lazarus 13 days after the homicide for a .38-caliber revolver matching the murder weapon caliber.
DNA swab from saliva on the bite mark matching Lazarus's surreptitiously collected DNA from a discarded cup and straw, skin cells recovered under Rasmussen's fingernails, journal entries detailing her obsession, and physical evidence of gunshot residue on fabric used to muffle the gunshots.
John Ruetten testified regarding Lazarus's ongoing unannounced appearances and their past relationship. Officer Anita Ortega stated Lazarus claimed in 1985 that she and Ruetten were planning to marry. Friends of Rasmussen reported that Lazarus confronted Rasmussen at work and threatened her at her home.
Initial reporting in 1986 presented the murder as a burglary committed by unknown male suspects. The 2009 cold case DNA match reoriented the investigation entirely toward LAPD Detective Stephanie Lazarus, exposing a premeditated murder motivated by romantic jealousy.
The murder weapon (.38-caliber Smith & Wesson Model 49 revolver) was never recovered. The precise circumstances surrounding how key physical evidence and original police interview files vanished from LAPD archives remain unexplained.