Murder of Sherri Rasmussen
Rasmussen shortly before her 1985 wedding | |
| Date | February 24, 1986 |
|---|---|
| Location | Los Angeles, California, U.S. |
| Coordinates | 34°11′58″N 118°30′1″W / 34.19944°N 118.50028°W |
| Convicted | Stephanie Lazarus |
| Charges | First-degree murder |
| Verdict | Guilty |
| Sentence | 27 years to life in prison |
| Litigation | Rasmussen v. City of Los Angeles, Rasmussen v. Lazarus, Francis v. City of Los Angeles |
On February 24, 1986, the body of Sherri Rasmussen (born February 7, 1957) was found in the condominium she shared with her husband, John Ruetten, in the Van Nuys neighborhood of Los Angeles, California, United States. She had been beaten and shot three times. The Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) initially considered the case a botched burglary and were unable to identify a suspect. Rasmussen's father believed that LAPD officer Stephanie Lazarus, formerly in a relationship with Ruetten, was a prime suspect due to her continued attraction to Ruetten and confrontations with Rasmussen. The investigation stalled after several months; the case went cold for over two decades afterwards.
Detectives who re-examined the files in 2008 focused on Lazarus, by then a detective. A covertly taken DNA sample matched one from a bite on Rasmussen's body. Lazarus was convicted of first-degree murder in 2012 and is serving a sentence of 27 years to life. On appeal, Lazarus argued that the age of the case and the evidence denied her due process, that the search warrant was improperly granted, her statements in an interview prior to her arrest were compelled, and that evidence supporting the original case theory should have been admitted. The conviction was upheld in 2015; California's Supreme Court declined to hear any further appeal. During a 2023 parole hearing, Lazarus confessed to the crime. The panel hearing her request initially granted it but it was rescinded by the full board in late 2024.
Some of the police files suggest that evidence which could have implicated Lazarus earlier in the investigation was later removed or tampered with. Lazarus herself plausibly had access to these files during the 1990s; other LAPD officers may have been involved. Rasmussen's parents unsuccessfully sued the department over this and other aspects of the investigation. The criminalist who found key DNA evidence from the bite mark lost a suit claiming she had been pressured by police to favor certain suspects in this and other high-profile cases and faced retaliation for bringing this to the department's attention.