Sep 11, 2026 · 36 min
DNA Reopens a 1986 Murder Case Against an LAPD Detective
Fatal Attraction: "It’s Been a Million Years Ago" — Ep. 3 | MK Confidential
The episode shows how a suspected killer’s name, a missing gun, and investigative failures remained unresolved for 23 years.
- 1Detectives used DNA from a discarded cup to identify former LAPD detective Stephanie Lazarus as a murder suspect.
- 2Lazarus’s past relationship with John Rutten and confrontation with Sherry Rasmussen became central to the reopened investigation.
- 3Unrecorded interviews and overlooked leads left Lazarus’s name out of the original case for decades.
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Detectives tell Stephanie Lazarus that DNA may link her to the crime scene; after she declines to continue speaking, they arrest her.
The brief
The 1986 murder of Sherry Rasmussen remained unresolved until detectives revisited the case in 2009, tracing a hidden connection to LAPD detective Stephanie Lazarus.
Nels Rasmussen had previously identified Lazarus to police, but the lead was apparently not pursued or documented, leaving investigators to reconstruct what the department knew.
Lazarus minimized her past relationship with John Rutten and tentatively recalled confronting Sherry, while detectives examined her police background and a stolen .38 revolver.
The missing gun was never recovered, and the original investigation contained no clear record that Lazarus had been interviewed about the murder or her conflict with Sherry.
After detectives confronted Lazarus with DNA evidence and requested a sample, she invoked her investigative experience, considered a lawyer, and was arrested after declining to continue speaking.
The episode’s central tension is not only who committed the murder, but how a documented lead could vanish from the case for 23 years.
What was said on this episode
5 statements · 1 positive · 4 neutral
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Stephanie Lazarus’s stolen .38 report remained searchable in a state database for 23 years.
“For 23 years, the information that Stephanie Lazarus had reported her .38 revolver stolen shortly after Sherry was killed with .38 caliber bullets sat in a state database any LAPD detective could search.”
Listen at 9:28
Detectives needed Stephanie Lazarus’s DNA without alerting her.
“The next problem, DNA. They need Stephanie's. And they need to get it without letting her know they are looking at her.”
Listen at 10:06
Investigators had the DNA match one week before Stephanie Lazarus’s interview.
“They had the DNA match a week before she sat down.”
Listen at 35:44
Statements are attributed to the speaker as said on the episode and reflect their view at the time, not PodLume's. They are not advice.