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Stephanie Lazarus: TWO Decades Of Hiding After Jealous Murder — Transcript

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0:00[Music]
0:03news of a brutal
0:05murder is always shocking Cordon has
0:08gone up around the building police said
0:10their search was still going on he was
0:12maybe surprised at the amount of blood
0:14that that produced we know that he's
0:16very manipulative and Charming but when
0:19the crime is committed by a cop it seems
0:21even more horrific locals knew the
0:23couple had not been getting on but no
0:25one expected anything as vicious as this
0:28nobody wants to believe that police
0:30officers and
0:31criminals to die at the hands of the
0:33very people sworn to protect us is for
0:36me the ultimate betrayal of trust this
0:39man has brought shame on the Met he's
0:42got a very warped moral compass and
0:45probably has some sort of Power Trip a
0:47lust for power in his mind he probably
0:49thought well I'm a police officer so I
0:51would get away with it in this series
0:54I'm going to unravel the outlandish
0:56plots lies and deceit of officers who
0:59attempt to to get away with
1:02[Music]
1:12[Music]
1:14murder on the 5th of June 2009 Los
1:18Angeles police detective Stephanie
1:20Lazarus reported for work as normal she
1:24was well respected well liked and had 26
1:27years of service to her name
1:31but that day her life and career would
1:34come crashing down bring up her fellow
1:37detectives had laid a carefully
1:38constructed trap no it's fine I think
1:40we're good and Stephanie was walking
1:42right into it because what she didn't
1:45know is that her colleagues had
1:47uncovered evidence of a murder that had
1:49been hidden for over two decades
1:52evidence that proved Stephanie Lazarus
1:55was a
1:57killer these people are pointing at you
2:00for whatever reason I don't know why
2:02that's just crazy I mean that's just
2:03that's absolutely
2:06crazy to Lead Me Through the
2:08investigation I brought together a crack
2:10team of experts who will help me unravel
2:13what happened in this case and how the
2:15killer cop's training enabled her to
2:17cover up her
2:19crimes former Top anti-corruption Cop
2:22Julie
2:23mcki Serena Simmons a leading
2:26psychologist and former met Detective
2:29Howard Groves who helped solve over 50
2:32murders are going to introduce me to
2:34some of the worst cases of killer
2:36coppers from around the
2:39world Julie McKai is a former detective
2:42superintendent that has spent a large
2:44part of her career dealing with police
2:46officers trying to get away with
2:48breaking the law so if anyone can help
2:50me understand how the mind of a Bad
2:53Apple Works it's
2:55her so this is Stephanie Lazarus
3:00yes and as you can see Stephanie was an
3:03LAPD police officer she was working for
3:06Los Angeles Police
3:08Department and this case is a really
3:11strange one because it actually goes
3:12back to
3:141986 and it started with a
3:17couple the guy called John ruton began a
3:21relationship with a lady called Sher
3:24rasmuson we know that John and Sher were
3:27really happy together it was like a true
3:30story they were living together they
3:32were both really successful in their own
3:33independent
3:35careers so when was the crime
3:38committed so on the 24th of February
3:411986 we know that John had gone to work
3:43as he always did Sher was still at home
3:46and he tried to ring her midm morning
3:49when she didn't answer he rang again
3:51during the course of the day but she was
3:53still wasn't
3:54answering now a neighbor noticed that
3:57the garage door was open and that sh 's
4:00car was
4:02missing there was some workmen nearby
4:05and they discovered a purse which later
4:07was identified as belong to Sherry
4:10discarded outside on some grass of
4:13course these things don't really become
4:15relevant until John gets home at 6:00 in
4:18the evening and he sees that there's
4:21some broken glass and when he goes into
4:23the house he notices that the whole
4:26property has been
4:28ransacked there's items thrown about the
4:31place lamps that are broken and as he
4:33goes through then he makes that Grim
4:36discovery of Sherry lying there with
4:39three gunshot wounds to her
4:44body as well as the gunshot wounds
4:46Sherry had an unusual bite mark on her
4:49arm the crime scene had all the
4:51Hallmarks of a burglary gone wrong and
4:54the case was quickly shelved by the LAPD
4:57with no suspects identified
5:00wind forward to over two decades and on
5:02the morning of the 5th of June 2009 in
5:06LAPD headquarters veteran detective
5:09Stephanie Lazarus was approached by two
5:11fellow cops stating that they had
5:14information on a case she was working on
5:17little did she know her police
5:19colleagues had other intentions and
5:21would capture it all on camera Stephan I
5:24don't know if you know my partner he
5:26great nice see you guys how's it going M
5:29around
5:30uh well have a
5:32see what this is is
5:35uh I didn't want to bring this up in
5:38your squadron we're bring you're going
5:40to bring somebody in right yeah explain
5:42the whole
5:43thing I don't want to talk about this in
5:45the Squadron because I don't know who
5:47people are listening but uh we've been
5:49assigned a case that we've been looking
5:50at okay it's a new case and reviewing
5:53the case there's some notes and to see
5:56as far as your name being mentioned okay
5:58do you know John Ruden
6:02John John ruton ruton were you guys
6:05friends or anything else or yeah we were
6:08we were good friends yeah in
6:121986 John ruton was a recently graduated
6:15engineer from UCLA and had been married
6:18to Sher rasb for three Blissful months
6:21until tragedy
6:23struck local journalist Howard Brewer
6:26has covered this case in detail Sher
6:28rasmon was a real doll she was a nurse
6:32at Glendale Adventist Hospital she was a
6:35supervisor there she had also been a
6:39student athlete she was kind of tall
6:42Sher and John were crazy about each
6:44other from the moment they met at UCLA
6:47in 1984 John and Sherry lived in a condo
6:51in the middle of the San Fernando Valley
6:53which is essentially a suburb of Los
6:56Angeles condo that they lived in was
6:58nice The Valley in
7:02general kind of average there are some
7:06pockets of it that are fairly affluent
7:08and some pockets of it that are very
7:11much not and the area was uh was a
7:15little bit sketchy in spots there were
7:18burglaries here and there it was not
7:20Beverly Hills it was the land of the
7:23Beautiful People it encapsulated Glamour
7:26and Prestige but if you scratch beneath
7:28the surface
7:30drug addiction and gang violence was
7:32lurking I lived out here in a late ' 86
7:35early '87 and I think that was around
7:38the time that you had people just
7:39randomly shooting each other on the
7:42freeway it was a little bit rough there
7:44there was a lot of crime it was on the
7:4624th of February 1986 that crime caught
7:50up with the happy
7:52couple John had been trying to reach
7:54Sher throughout the day she was not
7:57answering her phone and he didn't know
7:59why
8:00but he found out when he came home
8:03walking into the house and seeing Sher
8:06had been
8:07[Music]
8:11murdered what's this all about well it's
8:14relating to uh his
8:17wife okay okay did you know her not
8:21really I mean I knew that he got married
8:23years ago uhhuh do you remember her name
8:25or anything or or what she did for a
8:27living or where she worked or anything
8:30about her well I think she I I'm going
8:32to say I think she was a nurse um do you
8:35know what happened to his wife yeah I
8:36know she got killed do you know what the
8:39circumstances were regarding her
8:41[Music]
8:43death jeez oh let me think back um jez I
8:50don't know if it was you know if it was
8:51a burglar or
8:53something in 1986 after discovering his
8:57wife Sherry had been shot to death John
8:59Ron had immediately called the
9:01police when they got to the scene and
9:04they saw that Sherry had been murdered
9:07that furniture was upturned that there
9:10was stereo equipment stacked at the
9:12bottom of the stairs all appearances
9:15were that this was a burglary gone wrong
9:18and it was an assumption that was
9:21reinforced for them over the next few
9:24weeks when there were a couple of other
9:27burglaries in that same area that were
9:31in some ways similar to what this one
9:33appeared to
9:36be what's how of the day had this
9:38happened we know that it was in the
9:40morning because the fact that the car
9:42was missing from the garage at about
9:44quarter to 10 the purse is found
9:46discarded outside about midday and
9:50Sherry was still in a in a dressing G on
9:52nightwear so she's got up maybe had a
9:54bit of a lion or whatever but she's
9:56downstairs she's certainly not had time
9:58to get dressed and get ready to go to
10:00work Sher was shot dead in the living
10:03room still dressed in her night
10:05gown the detectives at the time
10:07concluded that this was where Sher
10:09rasmuson must have Disturbed the
10:11burglars who then shot her three times
10:13at close range before making their
10:16escape using Witnesses from other
10:18burglaries in the neighborhood police
10:20were then able to create and circulate a
10:22rough sketch of two possible suspects so
10:26most burglars they would go there and
10:27they'll take items out and they just
10:29leave things lying around so it it it
10:32looked an untidy scene so to all intents
10:34and purposes by the time the officers
10:36would have turned up they made the
10:38Assumption rightly or wrongly that it
10:40was obviously an intruder that had
10:42entered the premises she may have
10:44Disturbed the persons who had entered um
10:47she was attacked and then they would
10:49have fled the scene in your opinion was
10:51there any signs that you thought that
10:54there's reasons why this wasn't as
10:57likely to be a burglar we gone wrong
10:59with
10:59I think one of the main reasons of
11:02having looked at the case would have
11:04been the jewelry box it was imp plain
11:07sight for all to see in terms of the
11:09burglars why didn't they take those
11:10items they're not experts to be able to
11:12quickly look at the jewelry and say
11:14that's that's not real that's we're not
11:16going to take it that should have made
11:17the officers start to think well why
11:19have they left this in the mid 1980s
11:23with a crack epidemic in South Central
11:25LA to deal with the overworked homicide
11:28detectives were desperately trying to
11:29locate these two male burglars whom they
11:32believed were responsible for Sher
11:34ranson's death they're talking about
11:37John and Sherry did they have any links
11:39to Crime could this have been
11:42anticipated so they have nothing to do
11:44with any criminals or crime there was no
11:47reason for them to be targeted nothing
11:49at all was uncovered to suggest why a
11:52they've been burgled and B she was a
11:54victim and have been shot and
11:58murdered having inspected the whole
12:00property detectives identified only two
12:03things were missing sher's car which was
12:05found a mile away with the key still in
12:07it and the other thing onone was Sher
12:10and John's marriage
12:12license this was turning into a proper
12:14detective story was this a burglary gone
12:17wrong or was it something else it's a
12:20question that wouldn't be answered for
12:2220 years
12:32in February 1986 in Van n Los Angeles
12:36the lifeless body of 29-year-old Sher
12:38rasmason was found in her California
12:41home she'd been shot three times in what
12:44looked like a burglary Gone Wrong by two
12:46unknown male
12:48suspects but the murderer had left
12:50something on the
12:52body when the forensic examiners were
12:55there in 1986 they discovered a bite
12:58mark on sher's
13:00arm and they could say that happened
13:02about the time she was
13:07killed the police officers worked the
13:09scene and gathered
13:11evidence like the bullets found in or
13:13near Sher rasmason later identified
13:16being from a 38 caliber gun to talk me
13:20through what other evidence was
13:22discovered I've asked former crime scene
13:24investigator Alex iser for her Insight
13:27they looked at the whole scene
13:29and although there was no forced entry
13:31there was a lot of things pulled out and
13:34a lot of things looked like they were
13:35missing and the car was gone so straight
13:38away they wouldn't automatically think
13:40it was a
13:41murder but those bite marks on sher's
13:44arm warranted further investigation even
13:46though DNA analysis was in its infancy
13:48at that stage what gets left behind when
13:51someone bites is DNA so straight away
13:55thinking about how we can use this
13:57evidence so swab would have been taken
13:59quickly and stored in a freezer so that
14:03when further down the line when the
14:04technology has advanced enough we may be
14:06able to use
14:08it if we're seeing a bite mark on an
14:11individual it suggests that there was a
14:13bit of a personal contact especially on
14:16that particular part of the arm would be
14:19wrapping around somebody then biting it
14:23it's an odd act so a lot of times when
14:25you come across bite marks you had to
14:27ask yourself the question was it
14:29struggle that was taking place between
14:30two people prior to her being shot and
14:34um Shere bat at that point that swab
14:38with DNA from the killer would be
14:39securely locked away for over two
14:41decades ready for the Cold Case
14:44detectives to ReDiscover
14:46it despite biological evidence being
14:49found at the scene the LAPD was
14:51struggling DNA science was still in its
14:54early stages using it at a crime scene
14:57investigation was still just a pipe
15:01dream a year after the murder and
15:03despite the investigation uncovering DNA
15:06at the scene bullets from the murder
15:08weapon and appeals for new information
15:10the case remained
15:13unsolved fast forward 23 years to June
15:172009 and LAPD detective Stephanie
15:20Lazarus is being asked questions about
15:22Sherry rasmus's husband John ruton by
15:25fellow detectives she reveals that she
15:28and John had at one time been
15:31close was there any relationship or
15:33anything that developed between you guys
15:36yeah I mean we dated uh uhhuh you know
15:39um I mean is what's this all about yeah
15:43uh well let me see let me ask you you
15:44said you you dated John how long did you
15:46guys
15:48date I mean what are you guys is this
15:51something I mean you said I was going to
15:54interview somebody about art and how you
15:55guys are here's you know I don't
15:58understand you're talking about some guy
16:00dated a million years ago well let me
16:01ask you what ended the relationship
16:03between you and John you know I don't it
16:07was kind of a weird relationship I mean
16:10we we we dated um I can't say that he
16:13was my boyfriend I don't know that he
16:14would considered me his girlfriend and
16:17and once you guys split were you guys
16:19still friends or kind of I mean we were
16:22friendly um had you ever met his
16:25wife I may have do you know do you
16:28remember her name name or anything
16:30or Shelly um
16:34Sherry I don't know something maybe you
16:36know um like I said it's been so many
16:39years and
16:41um the only complications with that case
16:44was that the officers initially thought
16:47that it was a burglar gone wrong when in
16:50fact there were much more Sinister
16:51reasons behind shar's
16:53death Stephanie claimed that her and
16:56John Ron's relationship had ended prior
16:58to to him meeting Sherry but it seems
17:01Lazarus wasn't quick to let go well like
17:05in many real stories the ending of the
17:09relationship between John ruton and
17:11Stephanie Lazarus was not a tidy
17:14one Stephanie tried to play it cool
17:17around JN but once she learned that John
17:21had gotten engaged to Sher M Rasmus she
17:25she started to uh unravel
17:29she went to uh John's mother and said
17:34I'm so heartbroken over this and I I
17:37love John so much I would say Stephanie
17:41was interested in sleeping with John and
17:44then using that as some kind of Leverage
17:47to try to break up the
17:49couple we know that Stephanie was
17:52obsessed John and she didn't like the
17:55fact he was with Sher so she used to use
17:58any excuse to go around there and see
18:00him to the point where she was a
18:02nuisance and sto Kingdom you said you
18:05thought his wife was a nurse do you have
18:06any idea where she was working at the
18:08time or and now that you're bringing
18:10that up I think she worked at a hospital
18:12somewhere and yeah I may have met her at
18:14a hospital at one point I mean he may
18:17have been dating her or I don't know
18:20maybe he was married I don't even
18:21remember and I'm like you know what why
18:23are you calling me if you're either
18:26dating her or living with her or married
18:28to her um and I'm like come on knock it
18:29off and I'm and now I'm thinking I may I
18:31may have gone to here and say hey you
18:33know what you know what is he dating you
18:35he's he's bothering me um and so I'm
18:38thinking that we had a conversation
18:39about that like like at her work or at
18:42their at their house or I'm thinking it
18:44was a hospital somewhere in La when you
18:48said like hey you know he's calling me
18:50he needs to knock it off or what have
18:51you I mean was that was that civil was
18:53there I mean oh yeah no there was not I
18:54don't think there was anything it was if
18:56the conversation
18:57lasted a few so I can't even remember
18:59and what is it like you know we went out
19:00to lunch or anything right but there was
19:02no like arguments or fights or it didn't
19:04get heated or anything like that not
19:06that I recall no I mean I would think
19:08that would stand out so you didn't have
19:10any problems with her then you didn't
19:12have any issues with her no I mean
19:14despite her protests back in 1985 a year
19:18or so before the murder and with John
19:20and Sherry becoming ever closer
19:23Stephanie did in fact visit Sherry at
19:25the hospital where she worked to
19:27confront her over a relationship ship
19:28with
19:30John there was a very heated argument at
19:33the hospital I believe there were
19:35moments where it got a little physical
19:38security was called to escort Stephanie
19:40out and uh for anyone who was looking
19:44for it we saw a hint then of what might
19:48come
19:50next in 1986 at the time of the first
19:54investigation into sher's death sher's
19:56family pushed the detectives to look
19:58further into Stephanie
20:00Lazarus they knew the LAPD cop had been
20:03in a relationship with John before Sher
20:05came on the scene and have visited the
20:07couple at home prior to the murder when
20:10sher's father put all this to the
20:12detectives he was told he had watched
20:14too many cop shows on TV it's too bad
20:18that the detectives didn't take more
20:20seriously information about Stephany
20:22Lazarus coming over to the couple's
20:25condominium in the weeks and months
20:28before for the murder but it didn't seem
20:31like a who done it to them and Stephanie
20:34Lazarus at the time was kind of out of
20:38the picture she was old news she was an
20:41ex-girlfriend she was an
20:43ex-lover by most accounts there was some
20:47interaction but there are so many
20:49stories where the murder is preceded by
20:53a lot more erratic Behavior Uh by the
20:57perpetrator than what we had
21:00here the more I learn about the
21:03Stephanie Lazarus case it's just
21:06absolutely shocking that she was never
21:08considered a
21:09suspect that was until 2004 when a Los
21:13Angeles Police Department C case unit
21:15came across the unsolved murder of Sher
21:19rasmason and decided to reopen the file
21:22a call case is basically a a a
21:24significant crime a major crime that's
21:26not solved so for instance murders if
21:29you had a robbery or sexual assaults
21:31those those types of crimes if they're
21:33not solved they become coasy which means
21:36they are periodically reviewed and what
21:39I would do is somebody would say to me
21:41right Howard have there been any
21:44forensics that were retained that could
21:47be subject of further forensic
21:49examination because forensics back in
21:51the 80s to the '90s to know they have
21:54moved on
21:55significantly and now that two decades
21:58old swab taken from the bite on Sher
22:00rasmus's arm would become
22:03crucial because in the 20 years since
22:05the murder analysis of DNA evidence had
22:08become much more advanced a cold case
22:11was opened and the test tube that was
22:14found in the back of the freezer was
22:16tested in
22:172005 and they would put it through the
22:20database the National Database to see if
22:22there was any hits of any one that had
22:24already committed a similar crime
22:26throughout the database in the US and
22:28nothing came up but one interesting
22:31thing that was discovered in this test
22:34was that the DNA was left by a
22:39[Music]
22:40woman this was a
22:42bombshell made the original story of
22:45burglar rone wrong looked like a tragic
22:56mistake LAPD detect IV investigating the
22:59murder of sherry rasmuson in
23:011986 had finally made a
23:05breakthrough nearly two decades after
23:07the crime in January 2005 DNA analysis
23:11of a bite mark on Sher rasmus's arm
23:14confirmed that it had not been left by a
23:16male burglar Disturbed in the act as
23:18detectives at first
23:20thought but by a
23:22woman the original theory of a burglary
23:25gone wrong was beginning to unravel they
23:28were was no forced entry at the front
23:30door and the alarm was off and it seems
23:32that Sher was upstairs in her
23:34bedroom there's two gunshots to the
23:37sliding doors Somebody went up there to
23:40kill Sherry they shot at her and they
23:44missed there's even gun residue on her
23:47face so that person must have been quite
23:50close to get those shots
23:53out this image here is the bite mark on
23:56the arm of Sher she's there in her night
23:59gown and there's a bike Mark
24:02there quite possibly there was a bit of
24:04a struggle and if Sherry's like got her
24:07arm around the killer like that trying
24:09to restrain her perhaps she's seen the
24:11gun yeah and then of course the killer
24:14bites her to get her to release it and
24:17then shoots
24:20her the LAPD Cold Case investigators
24:23were now beginning to look at the entire
24:25crime scene through fresh eyes the Cold
24:28Case detectives thought that the
24:30struggle started upstairs and then
24:33ultimately came downstairs where Sher
24:36was killed interestingly the stereo that
24:39looked like it was about to be taken out
24:42in a burglary and then they just
24:44abandoned it had an interesting mark on
24:47it and it turned out to be sher's
24:51blood how had sher's blood got to that
24:54stereo that was put there after Sherry
24:57was dead
24:59and what's more the bullets used to
25:01shoot Sher rasmason were 38j plus P
25:05ammunition from a 38 caliber gun
25:09standard issue for LAPD officers my
25:13understanding is that they were issued
25:15only to LAPD officers and even if you
25:18were an LAPD officer and you had a
25:20private weapon you could only use those
25:23bullets in that firearm
25:29when the coal case detectives took
25:31another look at the investigation files
25:33they saw that Sher rasmus's family all
25:36pointed the finger to one particular
25:39LAPD cop Stephanie Lazarus who as well
25:43as her standard issue police firearm
25:46also owned a second gun that matched the
25:48caliber of the murder weapon and that
25:51weapon had conveniently disappeared
25:53Stephanie Lazarus filed a police report
25:56in Santa Monica saying hey somebody
25:58broke into my car stole my gun and that
26:01way uh they could never connect uh that
26:04gun with the shooting and Santa Monica
26:07PD LA PD they they didn't like share
26:11information back in the 80s the way they
26:14do today so it's like the investigators
26:17in the LAPD probably did not even have
26:20it on their radar that Lazarus reported
26:24a lost gun uh you know 13 days after
26:28after the murder um which in hindsight
26:32is one of the things that seems kind of
26:34shocking but as a policewoman and later
26:37a police
26:39detective she knew how to commit the
26:42perfect
26:43crime more damningly still when
26:46investigators relooked at the case they
26:49saw they being reports from rasmus's
26:51family friends and work colleagues of
26:53several instances of Stephanie showing
26:56up at sher's home and workplace on
27:00unannounced you know we had read the
27:01notes as far as from uh sher's friends
27:06saying you you guys had problems or
27:08words they got heated an incident at her
27:11work had occurred and they've also told
27:14us that an incident at her house
27:19occurred that's just not sounding
27:21familiar at all and this is an incident
27:23where you showed up you weren't supposed
27:26to show up and
27:28things got heated at his house
27:33yeah I you know I that just doesn't
27:36sound familiar now you're saying not
27:38familiar cuz it's just something you
27:39remember or it's just well you know what
27:42I would have then I'd have to say I
27:43don't remember cuz I don't remember I it
27:45that doesn't sound familiar I I mean
27:48would you remember something like that
27:49in your life if well I would think but
27:52did fight with her you mean like we
27:54fought yeah did you ever duke it out
27:55with her no I don't think so I mean
27:58you'd remember that right that would be
28:00pretty yeah I would think so what are
28:03they saying they're saying okay I fought
28:04with her so I must have killed her I
28:06mean come on I mean that's it's insane I
28:10if it happened I honestly don't remember
28:13it that's all I can tell you I
28:16mean this is
28:19fascinating it looks like Lazarus had
28:21planned an almost perfect
28:24crime and using her police KN how she
28:27thrown the cops off the scent for over
28:2920
28:31years as it becomes apparent that
28:33Stephanie is a
28:34suspect they then start looking the
28:36investigators as to what indicators are
28:40there that a police officer has done
28:41this and understanding her movements on
28:44that day as well as what she would have
28:46known about Sher and
28:49John so she's taken trouble to cover her
28:52tracks she knows Sherry is on her own on
28:54that day and John is at work although
28:57there is some broken glass at the scene
28:59what she didn't quite do well enough was
29:01make it look like it was a full dentry
29:03she's gone there on her day off she's
29:06used her own personal weapon orbe it
29:08with the police ammunition to commit the
29:11murder and then got rid of it because
29:14she knows if she used her own weapon
29:16police weapon then there would be
29:18questions about where that had gone if
29:20she had to then get rid of that one
29:22she's been aware of the fact it needed
29:25to look like a burglary another crime
29:27not the murder
29:29and also the fact that certainly in 1986
29:32men were suspected of committing
29:34burglaries not women and certainly very
29:38few women who were Corps
29:41kill as the Cold Case investigators
29:44ramped up detectives searched the
29:46California Firearms
29:48database and there on an entry dated 9th
29:51of March 1986 13 days after the murder
29:55was a record of Stephanie Lazarus
29:58reporting a 38 caliber revolver having
30:01been
30:02stolen this clue had been waiting to be
30:04found for 23 years but no one had looked
30:07for it the evidence was stacking up
30:11against Stephanie Lazarus but it was all
30:14circumstantial they knew the secret to
30:16solving this case was in her DNA and
30:20they had a plan to get
30:22it by chance lazarus's office was
30:26located next door to the very cops now
30:29investigating her detectives were given
30:32special authorization to acquire a DNA
30:34sample surreptitiously using the lapd's
30:37internal surveillance unit they either
30:40needed to clear their fellow officer of
30:42the crime or take a murderer off the
30:45street investigators followed her to a a
30:49big Warehouse door and Stephanie got a
30:52soda and the detectives watched her
30:55throw the soda can in the garbage and
30:57then they went over they picked it out
30:59of the garbage they grabbed the straw
31:02and now they had their DNA
31:06evidence her
31:08saliva they took this DNA evidence from
31:11the
31:12saliva they compared it to the saliva
31:16from the bite mark and finally years
31:20later they had a
31:23match they knew who had killed Sher
31:27rasmas
31:29the DNA was a match for Stephanie
31:32Lazarus the decision was made to get
31:34Lazarus into a secure area of the police
31:37building an area where all visitors even
31:40cops were forced to hand over their
31:42weapons they were taking no risks with
31:44their suspected
31:46murderer I've asked psychologist Serena
31:49Simmons to talk me through the footage
31:51on what might be going through the mind
31:52of Lazarus as the interrogation
31:55progresses she doesn't know why she's
31:57been brought in at this point but it's
31:59all been done under a friendly guise of
32:02can you just come in and we want to talk
32:03to you about the case now what's
32:05interesting here is that to go into this
32:07room she had to release her weapon and
32:09that was one of the main reasons that
32:11she was asked to go into this particular
32:13space but what we can see here is that
32:15the officers are very very clever in
32:17terms of how they've approached this
32:19they're very very friendly in their
32:21demeanor they don't seem to be of any
32:23threat to her so she goes in very very
32:26unaware of what's about to happen
32:28and it's why they've really set the
32:30scene well for what they then go on to
32:32ask her do you know John
32:34rutin
32:36John John ruton ruton the police
32:40officers have done something very
32:42deliberate they mispronounce his name so
32:45they said John routon when they know it
32:46was John Russen they've deliberately
32:48done that to make her feel more at ease
32:51she feels comfortable being in control
32:53and that's how they want her to feel at
32:55this stage because the more in control
32:56she feels the more more information
32:58she'll diverge was there any
33:00relationship or anything that developed
33:01between you guys yeah I mean we dated or
33:05uhhuh you know um I mean is what's this
33:08all about when push comes to sh and they
33:12kind of diverge a little bit more
33:13information there she says yeah yeah we
33:15dated in a very flippant way and we
33:17actually know that it was quite a
33:18significant relationship she saw him for
33:20four years for example they would go on
33:23holiday together so she's not really
33:26conveying the significance of their
33:28relationship so she's deliberately
33:29withholding the truth do you know what
33:31happened to his wife yeah I know she got
33:34killed so this is the first time that
33:37there's reference to Sherry being killed
33:39and this is the first time that
33:40Stephanie verbalizes for herself the
33:42fact that she knew she was
33:44murdered now this must have been an
33:47incredible shock to her to actually have
33:49to verbalize this and say this out loud
33:51and so this is a really pertinent point
33:53in the interview I mean if you guys are
33:55claiming that I'm a suspect then you
33:57know I got a problem with you know with
33:59that okay okay so you know if you're if
34:03you're doing this as an interrogation
34:05you're saying hey I'm a suspect well now
34:07I got a problem with you know now you're
34:09accusing me of this okay now what we'd
34:13like to do is obviously you know about
34:15all the DNA stuff and things of the
34:17nature that you know gets done on cases
34:19nowadays you know if we asked you for a
34:22a DNA swab would you be willing to give
34:23us one
34:25maybe cuz now now
34:28now because now I'm thinking I probably
34:30need to talk to a lawyer okay I mean
34:34well I CU I know how this stuff works
34:36and and now it almost sounds like you're
34:38trying to pin something on me now I I
34:40got that sense okay all right well
34:43thanks for giving me the cour I wish
34:45thanks for your time yeah thank you all
34:48right Stephanie take care Stephanie
34:50Lazarus got as far as the hallway of the
34:52LAPD Precinct when she was formally
34:55arrested for the murder of Sher rasmason
34:58she would return to the interrogation
34:59room to be read her rights this is
35:02absolutely crazy let see
35:05Stephanie this is insane
35:08okay Stephanie you know you have the
35:10right to remain silent do you understand
35:12yes anything you say may be used against
35:14you in court do you understand yes but
35:16what can be learned from this killer
35:18copper almost getting away with murder
35:21that's crazy this is AB I'm like I'm
35:24like in shock I'm totally in shock
35:35over two decades later damning DNA
35:38evidence discovered in a bite mark on
35:40Sher Ron's arm was matched to Stephanie
35:43Lazarus this led to a cat and mouse
35:46style interrogation of Lazarus ending
35:49with her arrest but what I want to know
35:52is why an upstanding police officer
35:54might commit murder in your opinion was
35:56there any evidence of a buildup leading
35:59up to this crime I think there certainly
36:01was John ruten was her partner so she
36:04dated him when she was in college they
36:06dated for a few years and what we know
36:09is that their relationship was kind of
36:10on and off at the time and it was during
36:12kind of one of those periods that they
36:14were dating that John picked up another
36:17relationship with Sherry and Lazarus
36:20found out about this relationship but
36:22nothing really happened at that point on
36:23the surface but I think that's really
36:26when things started to kind of BU
36:27beneath the surface really in terms of
36:29her kind of desires for John and kind of
36:31wanting to keep him to herself John Ron
36:34would later disclose in court a shocking
36:37Revelation about his onoff relationship
36:39with Lazarus whilst he was engaged to
36:41Sher rasmason Lazarus went and actually
36:44asked John to not not go ahead and marry
36:48Sherry but also to sleep with her one
36:50last time which John actually did and
36:53really for someone of lazarus's mindset
36:55this is someone who is feeling abandoned
36:58and trying to retain that relationship
37:00so that would have really given her a
37:01sense of hope that really there's
37:03something still here he might still want
37:05me and that would really reduce her
37:07feelings of rejection for Lazarus I
37:09believe that the murder she committed
37:11was completely functional she saw Sher
37:14as a threat she felt like she owned John
37:16and she felt that deep sense of
37:18rejection and abandonment when he got
37:20together with her is this jealousy the
37:23motive yeah so when women do kill
37:25typically in these situations it is for
37:27the the reasons you've said so acts of
37:29jealousy um sometimes it's for financial
37:31gain once she got rid of the person who
37:33she felt was a threat which was Sherry a
37:36lot of that upset I imagine dissipated
37:39for her because this isn't someone who's
37:41committing murder over and over again
37:42this was a functional act so I think
37:45that after she got away with that she
37:47would have felt a deep deep sense of
37:50relief Stephanie Lazarus had worked as a
37:53diligent and well-like cop for decades
37:56and had progressed from A Beat cop
37:58driving a patrol car to become a highly
38:01respected detective in the lapd's art
38:03fraud department but now all that was in
38:08tatters thanks to the DNA evidence
38:11discovered on Sher rasmus's body
38:13Stephany Lazarus was about to face
38:15Justice this case is a perfect example
38:17of how far we've come with technology
38:20when this incident occurred in 1986
38:23surprisingly it wouldn't be that long
38:26until the very first case of DNA
38:28fingerprinting as was it called then was
38:30used in a court case but it would be
38:33years until it was used regularly enough
38:36now coming so far forward we can exactly
38:40pinpoint The Suspect with millions and
38:43quadrillions of chances that it could be
38:45someone else and even though this piece
38:49of evidence was found in the freezer and
38:50it could have been deteriorating we now
38:53know that that's not the case because of
38:55how far we've come with technology and
38:56science we all we need is the smallest
38:59drop of DNA that we can actually find
39:02the suspect Stephanie Lazarus finally
39:05went on trial in March
39:072012 over a quarter of a century after
39:10she'd murdered Sher rasmason despite the
39:12overwhelming case against her she plad
39:15not guilty so what would a mental state
39:18have been living with the fact that she
39:21knew what she' done when we look at
39:23lazarus's Behavior over the years after
39:26the event she goes back into kind of the
39:29normal EB and flow of life so she um
39:32starts another relationship over time
39:34she starts to rise in the ranks of the
39:35police so she seemingly is able to
39:38compartmentalize that part of her life
39:41that's something that I did no one knows
39:43about it no one has to know in March
39:472012 Stephanie Lazarus was found guilty
39:50of the murder of Sher rasmason it only
39:52took the jury about a day to convict
39:55Stephanie of first degree
40:00Murder She was sentenced to 27 years to
40:04life in prison and will remain behind
40:07bars for I believe at least another 12
40:10years before she's El eligible for
40:11parole to 2034 something like
40:17that the sentence handed down to the
40:20disgraced cop was the maximum that could
40:22be given under California state law and
40:25reflected the 23 years of deceit that
40:28allowed Lazarus to almost get away with
40:31murder so Stephanie got 27 years when it
40:35comes to sentencing for murder is there
40:38a difference between the UK and America
40:40in their sentencing and how long you get
40:43for murder is there is there a
40:44difference yeah so the UK's got really
40:46strict sentencing guidelines that the
40:48judges have to adhere to and there's all
40:50sorts of things that can influence
40:52extending and aggravating factors the us
40:56as we see in the news is completely left
40:58a field and often they give sentences
41:00that are clearly going to be far longer
41:02than anybody can ever live and they too
41:05will have their sentencing guidelines
41:07but they are a lot lot longer than the
41:10ones that are ever given out in the UK
41:12but the question remains why did it take
41:15so long to bring this police officer to
41:17Justice there have been many
41:19unsubstantiated rumors over the years
41:21one being negligent by the LAPD
41:23detectives in
41:251986 all too Keen to ignore the evidence
41:28which pointed to one of their own
41:30incompetence is something that nobody
41:32would want to be labeled with but if you
41:34realize that you've made a
41:35mistake sometimes it's just best put
41:37your hands up and say we' made a big
41:39mistake here let's try and they could
41:40have done that 5 10 years before not 23
41:43years just think of the family cuz for
41:45me look at the the stress that that
41:47family would have gone through one they
41:49didn't know to start with who killed
41:51their loved one it would appear that the
41:53police were dragging their feet at
41:55different stages didn't want want to
41:57identify who they may thought was a
41:59possible suspect imagine if you thought
42:01you knew who the suspect was and that
42:03person was still doing their job going
42:04about their their daily life and it's
42:07not till 23 years later that that person
42:09is the one who then gets charged and is
42:11in the box and gets convicted what does
42:14that say for that organization what
42:16message does it send to the public at
42:19large and the question has to be asked
42:21was it because he was a police officer
42:24why it was not dealt with it may not
42:25have been but the certainly the it gives
42:27the view that that's probably what it
42:29was all
42:32about so you know you can talk all about
42:35well the cops back in 1986 really really
42:38bungled this and it's a travesty that it
42:41wasn't solved back then but you know
42:44maybe there's some Serendipity there in
42:46that by the time they did try the case
42:49they had the technology to convict that
42:51they didn't have back in the
42:53[Music]
42:541980s it was reported that the LAPD
42:57carried out an internal inquiry into
43:00Sher rasmus's murder case but did not
43:03find any evidence of a cover up and now
43:06Stephanie Lazarus goes down in infamy
43:09for being the female cop who rejected by
43:11the man she loved killed her rival and
43:15got away with murder for over a quarter
43:17of a century
43:19[Music]
43:25[Music]
43:41[Music]
43:424
43:51[Music]

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