NOTORIOUS MURDERS > WOMEN WHO KILL

The Murder of Sherri Rae Rasmussen

By Tricia Romano

Rising in the Force

At the time of Rasmussen's murder, Lazarus had only been on the force for two years, as a patrol officer.

In the course of her career, she became involved with the Drug Abuse Resistance Education program—D.A.R.E.—as a training officer and visited her former junior high school. She served as a treasurer for the Los Angeles Women Police Officer's Association for five years. She helped fundraise to provide reliable, round-the-clock childcare for parents who worked on the force.

At one point, she'd even started her own private investigation company, Unique Investigations.

After over 20 years on the force, she'd been promoted to the high-profile, high-stakes Art Theft Detail, which tracked stolen art and art forgeries. In April 2009, she was featured with the head of her department, Don Hrycyk, in L.A. Weekly's annual L.A. People issue. She told the paper that working the art beat inspired her to become an artist and had been taking oil painting classes.

But in 1986, she was working the streets. She had also just come out of a long-term relationship with John Ruetten, and it seems she was none too pleased with his new wife.

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1. Introduction
2. Rising in the Force
3. Robbery Gone Awry
4. "If I can't have John, then nobody else will."
5. Something out of Law and Order
6. Announcing the Cracking of the Cold Case
7. Redemption: "I told you so."
8. New Details
9. On the Other Side of the Thin Blue Line