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Former LAPD Detective Gets 27 to Life for 1986 Murder
Los Angeles Times ^ | May 12, 2012 | Andrew Blankstein and Richard Winton

Posted on 05/13/2012 1:17:55 AM PDT by nickcarraway

Stephanie Lazarus killed her former boyfriend's wife, Sherri Rae Rasmussen. Victim's mother calls the slaying a 'selfish, brutal act' that caused 'a pain for which there is no cure.'

It was a murder that prosecutors say was committed in a fit of rage and jealousy and then covered up for more than two decades.

But on Friday, as she was sentenced to 27 years to life in prison for killing her ex-boyfriend's wife, former Los Angeles Police Det. Stephanie Lazarus masked any emotion, other than a glance and wave in the direction of her mother as she was led away in handcuffs.

The sentencing brought to a close a case that garnered national attention for its sensational story line of a lovelorn cop killing a woman she viewed as a romantic rival and then harboring the dark secret for 23 years. Adding to the drama were acknowledgments that original LAPD homicide detectives overlooked obvious clues that could have implicated Lazarus far earlier.

Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Robert J. Perry issued the sentence after several relatives of slain 29-year-old nursing director Sherri Rae Rasmussen delivered brief but visceral victim-impact statements.

Speaking first before the packed courtroom, Loretta Rasmussen called her daughter's murder a "selfish, brutal act" that caused "a pain for which there is no cure." But in a show of empathy, she also said her "hearts and prayers" went out to the family of the 52-year-old defendant, particularly her mother.

A short time later, Rasmussen's widower, John Ruetten, choked back emotion several times. He described the first time he met his wife and imagined the "terror and disbelief"

(Excerpt) Read more at latimes.com ...


TOPICS: Local News; Miscellaneous
KEYWORDS: murder

1 posted on 05/13/2012 1:18:07 AM PDT by nickcarraway
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To: nickcarraway

Good. She is one evil witch.


2 posted on 05/13/2012 1:57:23 AM PDT by onyx (SUPPORT FREE REPUBLIC, DONATE MONTHLY. If you want on Sarah Palin's Ping List, let me know.)
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To: nickcarraway
Sloppy police work.

It makes you wonder how anyone gets caught.

3 posted on 05/13/2012 2:12:18 AM PDT by fortheDeclaration (How strangely will the Tools of a Tyrant pervert the plain Meaning of Words!-Sam Adams)
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To: nickcarraway

Where’s the GLORIA ALRED press conference?


4 posted on 05/13/2012 3:32:02 AM PDT by goron (blowmeuptom.com)
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To: fortheDeclaration

It was a cold case that simply got picked up by the right guy. I would agree...probably half the homicide cases are done in a sloppy fashion...by wannabe cops.


5 posted on 05/13/2012 3:38:57 AM PDT by pepsionice
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To: nickcarraway

Lazarus is obviously a pathological personality. But what is odd, she later married a LAPD detective, and was happily married until arrested. You’d think her husband would have detected something “odd” about his wife....


6 posted on 05/13/2012 5:33:30 AM PDT by ken5050 (FRACK Obama!!!)
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To: goron

“Where’s the GLORIA ALRED press conference?”

Why this wasn’t a “Hate Crime”, I have no idea.


7 posted on 05/13/2012 5:55:58 AM PDT by equaviator (There's nothing like the universe to bring you down to earth again.)
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