The Murder of Sherri Rasmussen
Manage episode 349412406 series 3425174
On the evening of February 24, 1986, John Ruetten came home to find his wife, Sherri Rasmussen, dead on the living room floor. She had been shot three times and had a noticeable bite mark on her arm. LAPD investigators ruled in a burglary gone wrong. Due to the rising gang violence and crack epidemic in Los Angeles, the case went cold. In 2004, evidence that had gone missing was recovered. It was a cotton swab that contained the DNA of a possible suspect that was taken from the bite mark on Sherri's arm. The case continued to sit until 2009, hen it was reopened by police. The DNA was linked to a well respect, veteran LAPD detective named Stephanie Lazarus. Prior to John's marriage to Sherri, he had an intimate relationship with Stephanie. He only saw her as a hook up but she was in love with him. Stephanie became jealous of Sherri, eventually stalking her. While working as an LAPD officer, she killed Sherri and staged the scene to look like a burglary. Stephanie was charged with first degree murder and was sentenced to 27 years to life in prison. At this time, she has exhausted all her appeals
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