LAPD Officer Charged In 23 Year Old Murder
According to reports LAPD officers Stephanie Lazarus has been charged with premeditated murder 23 years after the death of Sherri Rae Rasmussen. Rasmussen was found on the floor of her Van Nuys townhouse badly beaten and had been shot three times with a 38 caliber gun in the chest. Rasmussen reportedly was newly married to an ex-boyfriend of the now accused LAPD officer Lazarus.
Lazarus is being held without bail after a 4-month sting was set up and executed, involving collecting of cups and utensils for DNA testing. The original theory by police was that the woman had entered her home and interrupted a burglary, after taking the day off work. Two men were found in the area that were suspected of burglaries and also carrying a weapon and techno master watches. The police believed them to be the right suspects, due to stereo equipment that was stacked up near the woman’s body and her missing car. Lazerus became a suspect after the cold case was reviewed, during an original review of the unsolved crime in 2003 by a newly formed unit; DNA testing was done, which was not available in 1986 when the murder took place. But, it was not until it was reviewed again recently that Lazarus became a suspect. DNA samples from the original murder scene and items collected during the sting are reportedly a match to the LAPD officer. Lazarus had also reported that a gym bag had been stolen from her vehicle in 1986 that along with cufflinks, Techno Master Watches jewelry items, diamond hoops, gold chains, leather jewelry, some clothing, Ladies diamond ring, and tapes, also had her personal 38-caliber gun
