![]() ![]() It was saliva from a bite wound on the victim's arm that had never been analyzed.īack in 1986, when the killing occurred, it was assumed the bite came from a man - probably a burglar who broke into the couple's condominium.īut a DNA laboratory came up with a shocking result. There was one piece of physical evidence that intrigued detectives who were giving the case a second look. Investigators on the case noted there had been a series of robberies in the neighborhood and chalked it up to a killing during a burglary. She and Ruetten married a few months before she was killed. She was 29-years-old, a nursing director at a hospital and a newlywed. The murder scene had blood spattered walls, overturned furniture and Rasmussen's body bludgeoned and shot through with three bullets. He discovered his wife dead, shot and bludgeoned presumably by an unknown intruder. Lazarus had been mentioned in the original file because she had been the ex-girlfriend of Rasmussen's husband, John Ruetten. It is the classic cold case which gathered dust in a police evidence room for decades until a new review suddenly raised suspicions among detectives who wondered if one of their own could be involved. Without the science of DNA, developed in intervening years, Lazarus, 51, probably would never have been charged with the murder of Sherri Rasmussen and would still be working at the Los Angeles Police Department. ![]() On Monday, attorneys will present their opening statements outlining the evidence. The case of Stephanie Lazarus has already inspired multiple TV reality shows.
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