This is an archival story that predates current editorial management.
This archival content was written, edited, and published prior to LAist's acquisition by its current owner, Southern California Public Radio ("SCPR"). Content, such as language choice and subject matter, in archival articles therefore may not align with SCPR's current editorial standards. To learn more about those standards and why we make this distinction, please click here.
Former Los Angeles Police Department detective Stephanie Lazarus appeared emotionless in court this morning as she was handed down her sentence of 27 years to life in state prison for the shooting death of her ex-lover and his new wife in 1986.
Lazarus, 52, was found guilty of the murder of Sherri Rasmussen, 29, in early March. Her sentence was delivered today by Superior Court Judge Robert J. Perry, notes City News Service.
The Lazarus case emerged in the headlines when the art theft detective was arrested in 2009, after re-tested DNA evidence linked her to the brutal killing.
Rasmussen, a nurse, was beaten and shot to death inside the Van Nuys condo she shared with her new husband, John Ruetten. Lazarus and Ruetten had once had a brief affair, which he said he had never considered a serious relationship.
DNA evidence from saliva left on the victim in the form of a bitemark was found to be that of Lazarus; at the time of the crime and its original investigation, however, DNA testing was not as sophisticated as it ultimately has become, which kept Lazarus in the clear.
Jailed since her arrest, Lazarus will be eligible for parole in 22 years.
