LOS ANGELES — A chance for parole was revoked Wednesday for one former Los Angeles police detective is serving a prison sentence of 27 years to life in the 1986 cold case murder of her ex-boyfriend’s wife.
Stephanie Lazarus was convicted in 2012 of killing Sherri Rasmussen, a 29-year-old nurse who was stabbed and shot to death in the apartment she shared with her husband of three months, John Ruetten. She was not arrested until 2009.
The state Board of Parole Hearings heard arguments from attorneys on both sides during a hearing Wednesday that lasted about 90 minutes. The three commissioners then met privately and returned with a decision to revoke a previous parole, according to attorney John Taylor, who represents the Rasmussen family.
Taylor said the family was relieved by the decision.
“Lazarus received her parole in advance and eluded arrest for 23 years after the murder. She has expressed no remorse for the cold-blooded execution of Sherri Rasmussen, committed while she was an LAPD officer. It is unfair to the family that she now goes free and enjoys her life while receiving her LAPD pension,” Taylor said in a statement following the board’s decision.
A select committee of the parole board determined Lazarus was eligible for parole last November. The full board heard her case in May, but the final decision was postponed until this week. An attorney for Lazarus could not be located Wednesday.
Rasmussen’s sisters and widower gave emotional testimony at the May hearing about their pain, describing Lazarus as a conniving criminal who used her police training to cover up the killing.
During her trial 12 years ago, prosecutors focused on the romantic relationship between Lazarus and Ruetten after they graduated. They claimed that Lazarus was consumed with jealousy when Ruetten decided to marry Rasmussen.
The case revolved around DNA from a bite wound. Prosecutors say Lazarus was left on Rasmussen’s arm.
Lazarus was not a suspect in 1986 because detectives at the time believed two robbers who attacked another woman in the area were responsible for Rasmussen’s death.
No suspects were found and the case remained pending until May 2009, when undercover officers tracked Lazarus and obtained a sample of her saliva to compare with DNA left at the original crime scene, police said.
Prosecutors suggested Lazarus managed to avoid leaving behind other evidence, such as fingerprints.
Lazarus rose through the ranks of the Los Angeles Police Department and became a detective responsible for art forgeries and thefts.