Stephanie Lazarus Murder Case: Shocking Photographs Of The Victim Open The Trial

LOS ANGELES — The lead detective in the case of a newlywed slain 26 years ago concluded just after the death that she was killed by two burglars, a retired police officer testified Tuesday in the murder trial of a former Los Angeles police detective.

The retired officer, Steven Hooks, said he disagreed with the conclusion about Sherri Rasmussen's death but signed off on the report written by his superior.

Prosecutors have said that the former detective, Stephanie Lazarus, was obsessed with her former boyfriend and was driven to vengeance three months after he married Rasmussen. Lazarus was charged on the basis of DNA evidence which linked saliva on the bite wound to her genetic profile.

Arguments flew in court Tuesday about how much jurors could hear about official findings in the case following the 1986 shooting death.

Superior Court Judge Robert Perry at first stopped Hooks from saying why he disagreed with the official report on the case. But after Lazarus' lawyer began exploring the issue of a third party as a possible killer, Perry changed his mind and said that Hooks could tell jurors that he voiced the opinion at the time that the killer was a woman because of the bite mark on Rasmussen's arm.

Deputy District Attorney Shannon Presby told the judge outside the jury's presence that Hooks had offered his superior his opinion that a woman had killed Rasmussen "because that's how women fight, by biting."

He said the lead detective dismissed that suggestion and closed the case by concluding Rasmussen interrupted two burglars who killed her.

In another development, Perry said he may block the defense from exploring other burglaries in the neighborhood at the time. He put off ruling but said he wanted to hear legal arguments from both sides. He said that there would have to be "amazing similarities" in the situations to allow testimony about other crimes.

Jurors were given a virtual tour of Rasmussen's condo with Hooks identifying photos from the crime scene, pointing out bloody marks on walls and a glass door shattered by bullets. They also saw a close-up view of gunshot wounds to Rasmussen's chest.

Comments

[CBYOND]

12:46 AM on 03/11/2012

Dateline did an excellent story coverage on this last night e x c e l l e n t. This cop did a lust crime & almost got away with it.

[xanxia]

03:40 AM on 02/17/2012

What's wrong with her eyes?

[CBYOND]

12:46 AM on 03/11/2012

thyroid condition.

[mdipary2004]

08:04 AM on 02/09/2012

She is an ex police officer an abuser, stalker and a killer. She is the reason for domestic violence laws

[iworkedipaid]

03:10 PM on 02/08/2012

Well it sounds like the story of the victim checked out. I think there is more to her incarceration than we have read here.

[citizen of the universe]

06:52 PM on 02/07/2012

Wait! This lady has been in jail for 3 years based on this "evidence" and a story by the husband of the victim?

[MadMaddy123456]

05:03 PM on 02/16/2012

You're not paying attention to the whole story. Are you some kind of an idiot? I knew Stephanie and at first thought that she couldn't have done this, but after reading everything she is as guilty as hell and I hope she rots in hell. Evidence is strong without a doubt. DNA doesn't lie. A confrontation at the victim's workplace, A gun Stephanie said was stolen from her car real conveniently at the beach was the same calibur that killed the victim. The only thing missing from
the victim was her marriage certificate. She is GUILTY. What world do you come from???

[silkzephyr]

12:42 AM on 02/17/2012

if all of that is true, she does deserve to rot. her eyes are very strange .. i'm not saying you can tell by her eyes or anything like that, just .. those eyes are downright scary

[silkzephyr]

01:03 AM on 02/17/2012

yup, i read the archives. very strong evidence indeed.

[CBYOND]

12:51 AM on 03/11/2012

dna evidence she bit the victim on the arm left saliva this was the one & only piece of evidence that got overlooked for over 20 years. the victims grandpa God bless his soul kept telling the cops to investigate this x-girlfriend of the victims husband because he saw some suspicious goings on but they ignored him until the closed case specialist stepped in 2 decades later..wowee.