Wrongful Death Lawsuit Filed Against LAPD
The parents of a woman who was murdered in 1986 filed a lawsuit against the LAPD and a former Los Angeles detective arguing that they ignored evidence implicating the detective in their daughter’s murder.
The report states that former police detective Stephanie Lazarus was implicated in the murder of Sherri Rasmussen following a dispute involving another LAPD officer – John Ruetten. The report states that Ruetten and Lazarus had been dating for several years before Ruetten and Rasmussen got married. When an investigation into Rasmussen’s death began, authorities never considered Lazarus a suspect despite evidence that Lazarus threatened Rasmussen before the murder occurred. LAPD officers disregarded Rasmussen’s father’s claims that Lazarus should be considered a suspect in the crime and instead they treated the crime as a botched burglary. It was only after DNA evidence linked Lazarus to the crime that she was arrested and charged with capital murder. The family’s lawsuit claims the LAPD attempted to cover up the murder and as a result, did not charge Lazarus with any crime until evidence to the contrary surfaced. In their defense, the LAPD claims the oversight was due to incompetence on their part.
It is always the family’s right to get justice for any crimes committed against them or against their loved ones. In this incident, the Rasmussen family deserves to have justice and closure in the investigation of their daughter’s murder. A law enforcement agency should never attempt to cover up a crime committed by one of their officers as this case seems to indicate. If the LAPD in fact deliberately overlooked evidence pointing to the detective being responsible for this crime, it is their responsibility to act in due diligence and give justice to the family of Stephanie Rasmussen.
