LA police arrest veteran detective in 1986 murder - San Jose Mercury News

They need to realize that no one is above the law and will in all probability get caught!!!

LA police arrest veteran detective in 1986 murder - San Jose Mercury News: "LA police arrest veteran detective in 1986 murder

LOS ANGELES—A veteran police detective was arrested Friday on suspicion of murdering her ex-boyfriend's wife nearly a quarter-century ago—a killing police originally blamed on robbers.

Stephanie Lazarus, 49, was arrested at downtown police headquarters after a sample of her saliva taken recently matched the killer's DNA, police said.

Lazarus, who joined the force in 1983, is accused of killing Sherri Rae Rasmussen, director of critical care nursing at Glendale Adventist Medical Center. Her husband found her beaten and shot to death on Feb. 24, 1986, in the living room of their Van Nuys condominium.

'It's very bittersweet,' police Deputy Chief Charlie Beck, who oversees the detective bureau, told the Los Angeles Times. 'Our goal is to always bring people to justice, but this is somebody we know.'

Lazarus was being held without bail at the Los Angeles County jail and could not immediately be reached for comment Friday.

She was mentioned in the original case file because she had a relationship with Rasmussen's husband, John Ruetten, Beck said. However, she was not pursued as a suspect at the time because investigators believed Rasmussen was another victim of armed robbers who had confronted two men shortly after the killing.

No suspects were found and the case went cold for years, until last week when undercover officers followed Lazarus and obtained a sample of her saliva to compare with DNA left at the original crime scene, Beck said.

Lazarus worked patrol duty in the San Fernando Valley when she joined the force. She was later promoted to detective and since 2006 has worked in a unit that tracks stolen art, according to police records.

Paul Weber, president of the Los Angeles Police Protective League, said her arrest is disturbing to the department and the public.

"If convicted, the actions of one police officer should not tarnish the trust and respect the public has for the more than 9,800 dedicated police officers," the union president said. (But we all know that the repspect has already been tarnished Paul!)