INVESTIGATIVE CASE DOSSIER: THE MURDER OF SHERRI RASMUSSEN: HOW BITE MARK DNA CONVICTED LAPD DETECTIVE STEPHANIE LAZARUS
- Victim: Sherri Rae Rasmussen (Age 29; Director of Critical Care Nursing)
- Date of Crime: February 24, 1986
- Location of Crime: Condominium in Van Nuys, Los Angeles, California
- Perpetrator: Stephanie Ilene Lazarus (Born April 26, 1960; Active LAPD Detective)
- Motive: Romantic obsession / Jealousy over husband John Ruetten
- Breakthrough Evidence: STR DNA extracted from bite mark saliva swab taken in 1986
- Date of Arrest: June 5, 2009 (Inside LAPD Parker Center Headquarters)
- Sentence: 27 years to life in California state prison (Convicted March 2012)
On February 24, 1986, 29-year-old newlywed critical care nurse Sherri Rasmussen was found brutally beaten and shot to death inside her Van Nuys, California condominium. Initial LAPD detectives concluded the crime was a botched burglary committed by unidentified male intruders. But Sherri’s family maintained that an obsessive ex-girlfriend of Sherri’s husband—an active LAPD police officer—was responsible. For twenty-three years, the case sat cold inside police lockers. In 2009, cold case detectives re-examined a preserved bite mark saliva swab, uncovering female DNA that led straight to one of their own: decorated LAPD Detective Stephanie Lazarus.
The Crime Scene in Van Nuys: February 1986
Sherri Rasmussen was an accomplished director of critical care nursing at Glendale Adventist Medical Center. Just three months prior to her death, she had married John Ruetten, an electrical engineer. On the morning of February 24, 1986, Sherri stayed home from work to rest. When Ruetten returned home that evening, he found the front door unlocked, Sherri’s new BMW missing from the garage, and Sherri lying dead on the living room floor.
Sherri had fought desperately for her life. She had been severely beaten, shot three times in the chest through a decorative quilt at close range, and bitten viciously on her left inner forearm. Investigating officers from LAPD’s Van Nuys division concluded the murder was a burglary gone wrong, ignoring pleas from Sherri’s father, Nels Rasmussen, who warned detectives that John Ruetten’s former lover—LAPD patrol officer Stephanie Lazarus—had been stalking and threatening Sherri.
The Bite Mark Swab Preserved in Freezers
During the 1986 autopsy, criminalist Lloyd Mahaney made a pivotal forensic decision: he swabbed the deep bite mark on Rasmussen’s arm for saliva, dried the swab, and sealed it in an evidence tube. Because forensic DNA profiling did not yet exist in 1986, the tube was cataloged and placed inside LAPD evidence freezers.
Over the next two decades, Stephanie Lazarus steadily climbed the ranks of the LAPD, earning promotions to detective in the Internal Affairs Division and later becoming a lead investigator in the Commercial Crimes Art Theft detail.
Cold Case Re-Opening: The 2009 DNA Shock
In February 2009, the LAPD Cold Case Homicide Unit re-opened the Rasmussen case to screen old evidence for CODIS upload. Criminalist Jennifer Francis analyzed the preserved 1986 bite mark swab using modern Short Tandem Repeat (STR) DNA technology. The test yielded a complete, high-quality profile—and delivered a staggering revelation: the DNA belonged to a female.
Detectives Jim Nuttall and Shannon White re-interviewed John Ruetten, who revealed the full extent of his past relationship with Lazarus, including encounters after his engagement to Rasmussen. Detectives realized that Stephanie Lazarus was their prime suspect—operating as an active, armed detective just floors away from them in LAPD headquarters.
The Covert Operation and Dramatic Interrogation
To obtain a reference sample without alerting Lazarus, undercover detectives shadowed her off-duty. In May 2009, detectives retrieved a discarded soda cup and straw that Lazarus tossed into a trash bin outside a Costco store. Laboratory analysis confirmed that the DNA on the straw was an exact, indisputable match to the saliva on Sherri Rasmussen’s arm.
On June 5, 2009, detectives invited Lazarus into an interrogation room under the pretense of consulting on an art theft case. When detectives transitioned to questioning her about Sherri Rasmussen, Lazarus became evasive, defensive, and abruptly attempted to leave. She was immediately disarmed, arrested, and charged with first-degree murder.
Trial, Conviction, and Justice
In March 2012, a Los Angeles jury found Stephanie Lazarus guilty of first-degree murder. She was sentenced to 27 years to life in state prison. The Rasmussen homicide remains a testament to the uncompromising power of objective forensic science to pierce even the highest ranks of law enforcement.
Explore related landmark forensic breakthroughs and genetic genealogy investigations including the April Tinsley 1988 cold case, the Bear Brook Murders, the Carla Walker Fort Worth cold case, and the 1987 Van Cuylenborg-Cook murders.
Case Timeline & Key Forensic Milestones
| Date / Year | Milestone / Event | Forensic Significance |
|---|---|---|
| Feb 24, 1986 | Sherri Rasmussen murdered in Van Nuys, CA | Case labeled as a botched burglary; bite mark swab preserved |
| 1993–2006 | Stephanie Lazarus promoted to LAPD Detective | Lazarus works in Internal Affairs and Art Theft units |
| Feb 2009 | LAPD Cold Case Unit tests bite mark swab | DNA confirms perpetrator was female, destroying burglary theory |
| May 2009 | Covert soda cup DNA collection | Match confirmed between Lazarus and bite mark saliva |
| March 8, 2012 | Lazarus convicted of first-degree murder | Sentenced to 27 years to life in prison |
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
How did police prove Stephanie Lazarus killed Sherri Rasmussen?
Detectives matched DNA from a saliva swab taken from a bite mark on Sherri’s arm to DNA covertly collected from a soda cup used by Lazarus in 2009.
Why wasn’t Stephanie Lazarus investigated in 1986?
Initial 1986 detectives prematurely concluded the crime was committed by male burglars and dismissed warnings from the victim’s family regarding Lazarus.
What was Stephanie Lazarus’s sentence?
She was convicted of first-degree murder in March 2012 and sentenced to 27 years to life in California state prison.
