Chapter 22: The Murder of Sherri Rasmussen Part 1

In 1986, Sherri Rasmussen was newly married and had the career of her dreams. she was beautiful and intelligent and had a wonderful life ahead of her with her husband, John Ruetten. On February 24th, 1986 tragedy would strike when John came home from work to find their condo ransacked, and sherri murdered. what would follow would be a decades long investigation before the murderer would be found right under the LAPD's nose.


Associated Press. (2013, February 25). Parents of Sherri Rasmussen can’t sue LAPD over her murder in Van Nuys at hands of detective Stephanie Lazarus, court rules. Daily News. Retrieved December 27, 2022, from https://www.dailynews.com/2013/02/25/parents-of-sherri-rasmussen-cant-sue-lapd-over-her-murder-in-van-nuys-at-hands-of-detective-stephanie-lazarus-court-rules/

Bowden, M. (2011, June). A Case So Cold It Was Blue. Vanity Fair. Retrieved December 18, 2022, from https://www.vanityfair.com/culture/2012/07/lapd-lazurus-murder-mystery-killer

Deutsch, C. S. L. A. P. (2016, September 3). Shocking pictures open LA detective’s murder trial - The. San Diego Union-Tribune. https://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/sdut-shocking-pictures-open-la-detectives-murder-trial-2012feb07-story.html

Hanlon, G. (2019, May 29). An LAPD Cop Killed Her Ex’s Newlywed: How Did She Get Away With It for Decades? Peoplemag. Retrieved December 26, 2022, from https://people.com/crime/lazarus-files-book-investigation-los-angeles-cop-killed-ex-boyfriend-newlywed/

Lakshmi, S. (2022, February 12). The Brutal Murder of Sherri Rasmussen by an LAPD Officer. Medium. https://shenbagalakshmi.medium.com/the-brutal-murder-of-sherri-rasmussen-by-an-lapd-officer-cdc98be22f8b

Mahato, N. (2022, May 28). NBC Dateline: Who is Sherri Rasmussen’s killer and where is she now? Sportskeeda. https://www.sportskeeda.com/pop-culture/nbc-dateline-who-sherri-rasmussen-s-killer-now

McGough, M. (2011, June). The Lazarus File. The Atlantic. Retrieved December 18, 2022, from https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2011/06/the-lazarus-file/308499/

Mikulan, S. (2012, September 1). In Plain Sight. LA Mag. Retrieved December 26, 2022, from https://web.archive.org/web/20131203003222/http://www.lamag.com/features/2012/09/01/in-plain-sight1

OConnor, J. (2022, July 13). Inside Sherri Rasmussen’s Brutal Murder By An LAPD Officer. All That’s Interesting. https://allthatsinteresting.com/sherri-rasmussen

Southern California Public Radio. (2012, August 9). Stephanie Lazarus murder trial verdict: Guilty. https://archive.kpcc.org/blogs/news/2012/03/08/5001/verdict-reached-stephanie-lazarus-trial/

Staff, C. (2012, May 11). Stephanie Lazarus, former LAPD detective, sentenced to 27 years to life in prison for 1986 murder. CBS News. https://www.cbsnews.com/news/stephanie-lazarus-former-lapd-detective-sentenced-to-27-years-to-life-in-prison-for-1986-murder/

If you enjoyed learning about this case, check out our Instagram @bookofthedeadpod
Shoot us an email with a case suggestions or just say "hi" at bookofthedeadpod@gmail.com
And don't forget to rate and review and share with your friends

Much Love-
Courtney and Lisa