Rasmussen v. City of Los Angeles, Rasmussen v. Lazarus, Francis v. City of Los Angeles
On February 24, 1986, the body of Sherri Rasmussen (born February 7, 1957[1]) was found in the apartment she shared with her husband, John Ruetten, in Van Nuys, California, United States. She had been beaten and shot three times in a struggle. The Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) initially considered the case a botched burglary and were unable to identify a suspect. Rasmussen's father believed that LAPD officer Stephanie Ilene Lazarus, who was formerly in a relationship with Ruetten, was a prime suspect.
Detectives who re-examined the cold case files in 2009 eventually focused on Lazarus, by then a detective. A DNA sample from a cup she had thrown away was matched to one from a bite on Rasmussen's body that had remained in the files. Lazarus was convicted of first-degree murder in 2012[2] and is serving a sentence of 27 years to life at the California Institution for Women in Corona.[3]
Lazarus appealed the conviction, claiming the age of the case and the evidence denied her due process. She also alleged that the search warrant was improperly granted, her statements in an interview prior to her arrest were compelled, and that evidence supporting the original case theory should have been admitted at trial.[4] In 2015, the guilty verdict was upheld by the California Court of Appeal for the Second District of the state (which includes Los Angeles).[5]
Some of the police files suggest that evidence that could have implicated Lazarus earlier in the investigation was later removed, perhaps by others in the LAPD. Rasmussen's parents unsuccessfully sued the department over this and other aspects of the investigation.[6] Jennifer Francis, the criminalist who found key DNA evidence from the bite mark, unsuccessfully sued the City of Los Angeles. She claimed that she had been pressured by police to favor certain suspects in this and other high-profile cases and was retaliated against when she brought this to the department's attention.[7]
^"Rasmussen Amended Complaint". January 28, 2011. Archived from the original on December 7, 2013. Retrieved December 14, 2013 – via Scribd.
^"Stephanie Lazarus found guilty in 26-year-old murder of ex-lover's wife". CBS News. Associated Press. March 8, 2012. Archived from the original on August 18, 2012. Retrieved September 15, 2012.
^"State of California Inmate Locator". California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation. Archived from the original on July 12, 2023. Retrieved July 28, 2015.
^"Stephanie Lazarus Criminal Appeal – Appellant's Opening Brief" (PDF). forensictranmissions.com. November 21, 2013. Archived from the original (PDF) on January 3, 2019. Retrieved December 1, 2013.
^Jackson, Hillary (July 13, 2015). "Appeal by LAPD detective convicted of gunning down romantic rival fails". MyNewsLA.com. Archived from the original on December 22, 2015. Retrieved December 21, 2015.
^Elias, Paul (February 24, 2013). "Parents of Sherri Rasmussen can't sue LAPD over her murder in Van Nuys at hands of detective Stephanie Lazarus, court rules". Los Angeles Daily News. Archived from the original on December 2, 2013. Retrieved November 25, 2013.
^"Jennifer Francis Lawsuit". October 30, 2013. Archived from the original on December 7, 2013. Retrieved December 14, 2013 – via Scribd.
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