K!ller Realizes She’s Been Caught 23 Years Later | The Case of Sherri Rasmussen | HO!!!!

When detectives reopened a 23-year-old Los Angeles cold case, they expected dust, forgotten notes, and dead ends.
What they did not expect was this:

The prime suspect—long whispered about but never officially named—was one of their own.

An LAPD detective.
A decorated officer.
A woman sworn to protect the public.

And the victim?
A brilliant 29-year-old nurse named Sherri Rasmussen, murdered inside her home in 1986 in what police claimed was a “burglary gone wrong.”

For decades, the case sat frozen.
Evidence vanished.
Files were trimmed.
Witness statements fell through the cracks.

Until a father refused to give up.
Until a criminalist stumbled upon a clue no one wanted to see.
Until the police finally admitted the truth:

The killer had been walking their hallways for years.

This is the story of how justice finally caught up to Stephanie Lazarus.

A Promising Young Nurse, A Picture-Perfect Marriage — And a Crime Scene That Made No Sense

Los Angeles, February 24, 1986.
It’s 6 PM when 27-year-old engineer John Ruetten pulls his car into the driveway of the townhouse he shares with his wife Sherri.

He immediately senses something off.

The garage door is open.
Sherri’s car is missing.
The front door is ajar.

Inside, chaos.

Furniture overturned.
Electronics scattered.
A towel draped over a motionless figure on the living room floor.

When a paramedic lifts the towel, John collapses into tears.
It’s Sherri.

The investigators arrive moments later. Even after decades, one recalls:

“Her injuries were extensive. This wasn’t a robbery. This was rage.”

Deep scratches on the front door suggest a desperate struggle.
Furniture has been disturbed.
But bizarrely—nothing of value is missing. A “burglary” with no theft.

As officers quietly examine the room, one detective watches John sobbing nearby:

“Something was off. His crying didn’t match the scene.”

It’s Homicide 101: look at the spouse. And John admits he forgot to set the alarm, isn’t sure about the front door, and left Sherri in bed that morning.

Suspicion grows.

The polygraph test doesn’t help—John fails.

But without evidence, police release him.
And the case goes cold.

The Victim: A Brilliant Nurse Beloved by All

Sherri Rasmussen led a remarkable life—gifted student, college at 16, master’s degree by her early twenties, and already a nursing director at Glendale Adventist Hospital.

Calm, compassionate, and fiercely dedicated, she was exactly what her patients needed and what her family cherished.

Her sisters adored her.
Her father, Nels Rasmussen, considered her his pride.
And her coworkers admired her natural leadership.

When she met John in 1984, her family was thrilled. They seemed perfect together.

But someone else didn’t think so.

The Father Notices a Pattern — And a Stalker Nobody Wants to Investigate

In the months before her murder, Sherri repeatedly told her family something disturbing:

She was being followed.

At the gym.
At the grocery store.
On the street.

A woman who stared too long, appeared too close, and showed up too often.
Someone with “eyes that could see right through you.”

Her father begged her to tell police. Sherri brushed it off—she didn’t want trouble.

But after her murder, Nels learned something frightening:

The mysterious stalker matched the description of John’s ex-girlfriend—a woman named Stephanie.

Not just any Stephanie.

Stephanie Lazarus, LAPD.

A trained officer.
A crack shot.
A woman with motive—and access.

Nels immediately alerted detectives. Their reaction?

“Sounds like you’ve been watching too much TV.”

The report was never documented.
The murder book contained nothing about a stalker.
Evidence wasn’t preserved.

And soon, the case was abandoned entirely.

A Convenient Burglary and A Convenient Break-In Nearby

Weeks later, just down the street, a real burglary occurs. Two men flee a home—one armed. Police seize on the coincidence and craft a theory:

Two burglars killed Sherri.
Case closed.

Two sketches are drawn.

Flyers are posted.

But nothing connects the pair to Sherri’s home.

Still, detectives double down. They insist Sherri was killed interrupting a robbery.

But why steal nothing?

Why attack so violently?

Why pick a townhouse deep inside a complex instead of near the street?

Nothing adds up.

Years pass.
Then a decade.
Then two.

And Sherri’s father refuses to let his daughter become a forgotten statistic.

1991: A Father Finds Hope in a New Science — DNA

In Arizona, Nels follows every headline about forensic breakthroughs. DNA is transforming criminal investigations.

He writes letters to LAPD urging them to test Sherri’s evidence.
He offers to fund the tests himself.

They refuse.

Worse—key pieces of evidence “go missing.”

Documents are removed from the murder file for being “too thick.”

Case files are trimmed without explanation.

The Rasmussen family begins to suspect something darker than incompetence.

2001: A New Cold Case Unit — And a Breakthrough in the Freezer

After 15 years of stagnation, Sherri’s case lands on the desk of criminalist Jennifer Francis, one of the unsung heroes of this story.

While reviewing the crime scene report, she notices something odd:

Sherri had a bite mark.

But only one DNA sample was recorded.

Victim bite wounds always produce two samples.

Someone had logged that Sherri may have bitten herself.

Francis knows this is nonsense.

She digs deeper, calls morgues, checks logs—and after hours of searching, a coroner finds a damaged envelope containing a test tube.

Inside?

A swab from the bite mark.

Francis runs the test.

The result changes everything.

The killer was a woman.

This instantly rules out the two male burglars.
It also supports everything Nels reported a decade earlier.

Francis tells her supervisor.

He dismisses her.

She pushes harder.

Suddenly, the pushback becomes personal.

She is called “emotional,” “obsessed,” and “unstable.”

Ordered into counseling.

Pulled off major cases.

Labeled a problem.

Inside LAPD, her persistence makes her a target.

Outside LAPD, she becomes Sherri’s only hope.

2009: A Detective Finally Listens — And the Secret Comes Out

After years of being ignored, Francis receives a call from Detective James Nuttall from Robbery-Homicide.

He has read her notes.

He has reviewed the Rasmussen letters.

And he has the same question she does:

Why did police never investigate John’s ex-girlfriend?

Nuttall quietly forms a secret team within the department.

No loose lips.

No interference.

No tipping off anyone inside the building.

Because their suspect still works in the LAPD—a sworn detective walking the same halls.

Her name: Stephanie Lazarus.

For years, she had been promoted, trusted, and armed.

Now, she is their prime suspect.

To build the case, Nuttall revisits John Ruetten, now remarried and living in Northern California.

This time, John tells everything:

He admits Lazarus was obsessed.

That she showed up at Sherri’s workplace.

That she confronted Sherri in hospital hallways.

That she once broke into their home and fought Sherri.

That she took photos of him while he slept in college.

That she threatened she would never let him go.

Everything Sherri told her father was true.

The DNA Match — And a Trap Set Inside LAPD Headquarters

Detectives covertly follow Lazarus, collecting anything she discards.
One day, she throws away a soda cup.

The DNA from that cup goes straight to Francis.

The match is undeniable.

The DNA found on Sherri Rasmussen belongs to Stephanie Lazarus.

Now, the team must arrest an armed officer trained in tactics, interrogation, and escape.

They lure her to a unit where guns are prohibited under the pretense of interviewing a suspect.

She walks in.
The door closes.

Seconds later, she is in handcuffs.

23 years after Sherri died, her killer is finally caught.

The Trial That Unveiled a Cover-Up

When the trial begins in 2012, the courtroom is packed.

Jennifer Francis testifies—revealing not only the DNA match but years of internal retaliation.

Nels Rasmussen testifies—listing the warnings LAPD ignored for decades.

John Ruetten testifies—confessing his silence, his guilt, and the truth about Lazarus’ obsession.

A jury deliberates for less than a day.

Guilty.

Stephanie Lazarus is sentenced to 27 years to life in prison.

The Final Twist — And the Legacy of a Woman Lost Too Soon

In 2023, 37 years after the murder, Lazarus finally admits what she did.
She confesses in exchange for a chance at parole.

But Sherri’s father, before his passing, recorded a statement to be played at every future hearing. His voice echoes through the room:

“If you saw the damage she did to my daughter’s face, you’d understand. She wanted to destroy Sherri’s beauty.”

The board denies Lazarus’ release.

Sherri’s family continues to honor her—through nursing careers inspired by her, through her wedding dress worn by the next generation, through stories that keep her alive.

And through the truth that finally came to light:

A father’s persistence.

A criminalist’s courage.

A detective willing to break ranks.

Together, they brought down a killer hidden within the police force—and gave Sherri Rasmussen the justice she deserved.