Transcripts For MSNBC Dateline 20240910

One of the most extraordinary cases. A murder just months after her wedding. She gave me a big smile and i remembered that smile for years. All the time the killer was hiding in plain sight. No indication she was ever spoken to . No. And then a new detective took a look at an old lead. He said its a match. A person no one would have ever suspected of murder. We were going to end this. Was suddenly suspect Number One. Perfect murder. Almost. Hello and welcome to dateline. She was found murdered and what happened to her remained a nightmare. But when detectives reopened the case, they discovered it wasnt a burglar, but a suspect that led to their own front door with the Smoking Gun. Arriving before dawn at the police departments police station. I was tired. Reporter he hosted a super Bowl Party the night before, and the beer flowed freely. That is a good way of spending the day, getting caught up on my reading with a couple of aspirins, maybe. Reporter he reached for a file that had been sitting on his desk for months. The murder of sherry rasmussen. Just as troubling, sherri was murdered a generation ago. February, 1986. Meaning the odds of catching her killer were slim to none. Memories would fade, so it is obviously an Uphill Battle. Reporter the Uphill Battle does not begin to the Monday Morning would lead him on the chase of the lifetime. It would shake the foundation of the lapd. And for the truth of the parents of the young pride. Lazarus its a pain that is always there and there is no cure for it. Who would want to kill Sherri Rasmussen . Trained as a nurse. Sherri was director of critical care at a large local hospital. So we are implementing the program. And it was a devastating day. Reporter kennedy was Sherris Boss at the hospital and originally hired her. We couldnt believe it, first of all. It was like how could someone do this . People crying, people upset. I mean the hospital was just like a tomb. So the loss was real pal papable. Sherri married john. But just months after the wedding, john found sherri sprawled dead on the floor of their home. He might seem a likely suspect, but john was cleared immediately. Focused instead on evidence that turned violence. A retired crime Scene Investigator and was a consultant to date line. Shots are fired in close range. We return to the actual apartment, where sherri was found murdered to try to understand what happened. Rutten they assumed the killer had just walked in. There was a struggle here. Not just a struggle, but shots fired at this point. We have one shot that goes through the backslider and another shot that went through sherri and then back out through the slider also. And so sherri is now wounded and she tries to go back downstairs . That is correct. She is bleeding, she gets down these steps. It appears she is trying to make it to the Alarm Box with a panic button. At that point, we believe sherri went down in this foyer area, due to the fact you could see marks in this as well as broken fingernails from her hand. And the killer is dragging her back into this area and then takes a vase and hits her in had the head with it and muzzles the gun and does a Contact Shot into the victim. So thats an execution . That would be correct. The motive seemed to be in plain sight. They found a Disc Player stacked up on top of Each Other as if they were about to steal them . Yeah, that this was a Burglary Or Home invasion gone wrong. There was no sign of the Murder Weapon, but detectives recovered two. 38 caliber slugs. And there was something else that caught detectives attention. On the inside of her left arm, they found a Bite Mark, a crime Scene Analyst at the time went ahead and swabbed the mark for any possible saliva that could possibly belong to the killer. Saliva that would contain dna from whoever bit sherri. Remember this was 1986, years before Dna Testing Technology would arrive, linking a suspect to a sample like this one. Back then the Dna Wasnt much help. But the swab was packaged with all the other evidence. For now they did not have much to work with, no eyewitnesses, no usable fingerprints. And by the level of violence that occurred in this residence that it was two men or a man that had gone completely wrong, and then fled. Gone wrong because they shot her and then fled. The theory seemed to make sense and no one who would want to kill her or so they thought. Coming up. They went to her office and said if she couldnt have john, nobody could, when dateline continues. Up to 50 of people with graves could develop a different condition called thyroid eye disease, which should be treated by a different doctor. See an expert. Find a ted Eye Specialist at isitted. Com nexium 24hr prevents Heartburn Acid before it begins. 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So, i didnt think i needed swiffer, until, i saw how easily it picked up my hair. Every time i dried it it only takes a minute. Look at that the heavy duty cloths are extra thick, for amazing trap lock. Even for his hair. Wow. Youll love swiffer or your money back. The year was 1986. Crack was hitting Los Angeles and the City Of Angels to become a violent place. The Murder Rate would hit 831 killings that year. Nearly three times the amount 30 years later. And the lapd was stretched very thin. This is a time when homicide was booming in Los Angeles. Reporter Miles Corwin is a best selling author. It is a perfect problem with the gangs, creating the tremendous homicide rates. And now in february of that year, cops have their handsful in the city sprawling the san fernando valley. Brutally beaten and shot in her own home. And then a possible lead. Former crime Scene Investigator was a consultant for nbc news. Another woman was approached by two males at gunpoint involved in this situation. So police early on thought there was a possibility that they might have something to do with the murder. A sketch was made of these two men and they had no Murder Weapon connecting them or anyone else to her murder. Now the dna collected at the Crime Scene was useless. You are not going to leave it behind, so it was great on their behalf to recover it. And that was recovered, sherris car, just a mile away from the Crime Scene with the keys still in it. The only orating misses, sherri and her husbands marriage license. It seemed an odd thing to steal. Cash, computers, Jewelry Werent touched. But that wasnt the only thing that struck Sherris Family and colleagues as strange. But was especially violent for a burglary. It just seemed a little like overkill. Reporter Sherris Boss at the hospital had to review Sherris Autopsy Report for insurance reasons. She was struck by what she saw. I thought wow, she really put up one heck of a fight, which wasnt real surprising because she was tall, athletic, and wouldnt go down easily. And the theory that there were two men robbing the house, so she would have fought with two guys. Does that sound like sherri . If there were two men and they what gun, that just seems a little weird. Because she would not get in a fight with two guys who were armed . I wouldnt think so. Yoshi she would have taken on a woman. They never thought it was a burglary. And she had several strange encounters. One as she dined at a restaurant and thought a woman was watching her. She said she has eyes that could see right through you. Scary eyes. Reporter also a runin at the hospital where she worked. She went to Sherris Office and said that if she couldnt have john, nobody could. Most terrifying, an encounter in sherris own home. By now, she knew who the Mystery Woman was. She heard a noise and she looked up. There was johns exgirlfriend. How did she get in the house . We have no idea. Reporter johns Ex Girlfriend appeared to be Stalking Sherri, yet sherri never mentioned the Womans Name to her parents. Instead she told them not to worry. She told me i want to see if i Cant Work this out myself. Reporter that conversation happened during a dinner celebrating sherris 29th birthday. Afterwards her parents took her to the airport. She turned and gave me a big smile and i relive that smile for years. Less than three weeks later, she laid dead. They insist they told the detective about her troubling encounters. I told the detectives not once, but probably 15 to 20 times, and he said the trouble with you, youve been watching too much tv. Offering new clues where they staged it to mislead the investigation in 1986. She was executed. Reporter when dateline continues. Could these be Warning Signs of something bigger . Thank goodness we called his cardiologist because these were signs of attrcm, a rare and serious disease. That gets worse over time. If you see any of the Warning Signs, dont wait, ask your cardiologist about attrcm today. Years had passed and no arrests were made. Sherri rasmussen killed in her Los Angeles condo. In 1983, sherris parents offered to have the Saliva Sample from that Bite Mark tested for dna. They would even pay for it, but the lapd declined. They said we dont have a suspect. But if we have their dna, then we have something to match. The Case Sat for another decade. But then in 2004, conducting Dna Tests and one of them was the murder of Sherri Rasmussen. The envelope was tattered. The label torn. And the vile was poking out. But the saliva was still inside. The dna was just enough to blow this case wide open. And now the court indicated that the suspect that had bitten Sherri Rasmussen during the struggle was actually a female. A woman, not two male burglars as the original detectives had suspected all those years. But it would take a few more years before investigators began to understand what that crucial Dna Test Result meant. It was now 2009, and the case was cold. No apparent leads, no suspect, no answers for the Rasmussen Family. Then came that monday after the super bowl when the detective started picking through the old Case File and made a remarkable discovery. The Dna Test that had been conducted on that Bite Mark back in 2004. And once they realized that a woman was involved, why did it take four years until you finally picked it up . What were they doing . From what it appears, investigators may have followed the initial theory of this crime that, in fact, it was a barry and there was a woman involved in the burglary . A woman involved in the burglary. Looking back it was an opportunity that may have slipped through our hands as an organization. And now they took a closer look at the Crime Scene photos. Now remember she was shot after a violent struggle. Very little was actually stolen. The suspect staged it to mislead the original investigation in 1986. Someone had wanted Sherri Rasmussen dead. So they were looking for female names. Five women would have access to sherri. Three of them we eliminated immediately for insufficient motive. And there were still two names left. One was a coworker. A woman named deborah that worked with Sherri Rasmussen at glenday hospital. This Person Of Interest was replaced by Sherri Rasmussen in an official capacity. And problems followed almost immediately after that. So there was bad blood between them . There was a motive. Deborah had moved to northern california. And asking them to watch her and secretly try to snag a sample of her dna for comparison testing. In the meantime learning more about the second woman. He contacted John Ruetten, sherris former husband, now remarried and living in san diego. John explained he was involved in a relationship with Stephanie Lazarus. Stephanie lazarus. That was the other name still on the short list of suspects. He pressed ruetten for more when it started when they were both students at uclla. But youre convinced the relationship that john had with Stephanie Lazarus was overlapped with the relationship he had with his wife . We know from john there was at least on one occasion when he was engaged that he was intimate with Stephanie Lazarus. There was a love triangle. Stephanie lazarus had deep feelings for John Ruetten, and may have had a motive to hunt Sherri Rasmussen. Was her killer a scorned lover or a jealous coworker . We had two women on the list who in our opinion had a Motive To Harmer had. Deborah, a nurse, and Stephanie Husband russian . Correct. Reporter cops Tracked Down Deborah and secretly scooped up a sample of her trash, which contained dna. It was sent to the Crime Lab in l. A. For analysis. 72 hours later came an answer. She was knocking on the door with a bite. Reporter that left one possible suspect, number five on the list. John ruettens exgirlfriend, Stephanie Lazarus. We came home and there was a message on our phone from a detective that they wanted to talk to us. I thought oh yeah right. So i thought it was just another false hope. This is the detective . Right. They said were opening an investigation. And it was sort of deck ittive, where have you been for the last two decades . And they explained it all. Telling detectives that someone was stalking his daughter, sherri. A woman with crazy eyes. The exgirlfriend of sherris husband. And they never knew the Girlfriends Name was Stephanie Lazarus, but he did know something else about her. Something very important. By this time, the detective knew it too. He was very cautious of what he said, but he said that we would be hearing more from him. He had ample reason to be cautious because he learned that Stephanie Lazarus wore the same badge he did. And we now have a Los Angeles Police Officer as a Person Of Interest in a murder case. And you thought . We are not in kansas anymore. That changed everything. Coming up. A Top Secret Investigation as detectives go after their own. We would never leave a Paper Trail. She worked our unit. Everyone and is not for those with severe allergic reactions to its ingredients. Those with weakened Immune Systems may have a lower response to the vaccine. The most common Side Effects are injection site pain, fatigue, muscle pain, headache, and joint pain. Arexvy is Number One in Rsv Vaccine shots. Rsv . Make it arexvy. Emergenc Crystals Pop and fizz when you throw them back. And who doesnt love a good throwback . Now with Vitamin D for the dark days of winter. Upset Stomach Iberogast Indigestion Iberogast Bloating iberogast thanks to a unique combination of herbs, iberogast helps relieve six digestive symptoms to help you feel better. Six digestive symptoms. The power of nature. Iberogast. 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And that is within the margin of error. For now, back to dateline. Welcome back to dateline, im andre yeah canning. Sherri rasmussen was murdered in the 1980s. A cold Case Detective was focusing their attention on the same woman who happened to be a member of the lapd. With more on the Smoking Gun. They had one narrative for Sherri Rasmussens murder. Now this Cold Case was too hot to handle. The Prime Suspect, an Lapd Detective named Stephanie Lazarus. But as Detective Jim went back through the murder book, he found nothing on lazarus even though she was the Ex Girlfriend. No. Just one notation from back in 1986. Writing Stephanie Lazarus, p. O. , Police Officer, as if her name had come up, but not as a suspect. No Paper Trail. Reporter she seemed to be someone above suspicion. Stephanie husband russian had grown up in southern california. A tomboy of sorts. It was during her college days that she met and Dated John after graduating in 1982, lazarus surprised her family by joining the lapd. When only a handful of women entered the force. I dont think i knew she was applying. I was very proud. I mean i thought it was a cool thing. Reporter Stephanie Lazarus quickly rose through the ranks. From Patrol Officers to e detective. She was popular, friendly, well regarded. Her assignments also included project d. A. R. E. , a Drug Prevention Program aimed at kids. She was twice named detective of the year. Later lazarus worked at Internal Affairs, investigating other officers accused of Wrong Doing or corruption. Then promoted to the Lapd Art Theft unit. Her personal life was good too. In 1986, lazarus got married to another Lapd Detective. Together, they adopted a baby daughter. Life both at home and on the job never seemed better. She was a happy person. She loved what she did for work. She loved her husband, she loved their life. Reporter but in 2009, this high achieving cop became the focus of a homicide investigation. And their team of three detectives had to be mindful that lazarus had many friends on the force. Her husband worked at the same station as they did. And we were going to work behind closed doors, after hours. We would never leave a Paper Trail of what we were doing. They even gave lazarus a code name, number five, and contrary to police procedure. They decided not to tell Lapd Headquarters that their new suspect was a fellow detective. You are doing it to protect her or to protect your investigation from her . It would protect the integrity of the investigation. If she was not involved, then nobody would ever know about it. Four cops, Knowingly Skirted The Department Rules to investigate one of their own. It was a difficult things of our careers. She was one of us. She worked our unit and worked Side By side with the people around us. Reporter but the three fellow detectives did not waiver. They built a case by exhaustively reviewing the original files. And interviewing sherris friends and family. It became clear to them that Stephanie Lazarus had the means, the motive, and the opportunity to kill Sherri Rasmussen. She seemed obsessed with john and jealous of the new wife. Was she the same person with the scary eyes who had been Stalking Sherri . And it seemed to add up. Especially when he considered this. Sherris purse and all the contents, stolen during the crime were recovered soon after the murder except for one item inside. The only thing to this day that was never recovered was john and Sherris Marriage certificate. Reporter after three months of intense secretive investigation, the team needed one last piece of evidence that would either clear Detective Lazarus or incriminate her. We needed a sample of Stephanie Lazarus dna. Our investigators were not cut out for undercover surveillance work. So he finally brought in the Internal Affairs detectives into the loop. Hoping they could close the deal by somehow secretly obtaining lazarus dna. She was tailed for days as undercover cops waited for her to leave some small piece of herself behind. Finally at a Retail Store it happens. Lazarus ordered a Soft Drink and drank it. A trace of her saliva was on the straw, which she then tossed in the trash. It was more than enough for testing. And separated by two decades. 48 had hours later, jim got a call from his supervisor. It was real simple and he said it was a match. A good feeling, bad feeling . Both . Surreal. That moment, that call, ill never forget it. Reporter but Stephanie Lazarus was still free and had no clue that after 23 years, her very own department was on her tail for murder. Detectives wanted to speak to stephanie to get perhaps a confession, but they would have to do it without revealing how deeply implicated she was in Sherri Rasmussens murder. So another secret plan was hatched. This time to get Stephanies Side of the story. And all of it would be captured on tape. Stephanie lazarus was asked by fellow detectives to help in an interrogation, only to discover shes the suspect. Coming up. And i mean come on. When dateline continues. ®,. And some lost over 46 pounds. And im keeping the weight off. Wegovy® helps you lose weight and keep it off. Im reducing my risk. Wegovy® is the only fdaapproved Weightmanagement Medicine thats proven to reduce risk of major cardiovascular events in adults with known Heart Disease and with either obesity or overweight. Wegovy® shouldnt be used with Semaglutide Or Glp1 medicines. Dont take wegovy® if you or your family had medullary thyroid cancer, multiple endocrine Neoplasia Syndrome Type 2, or if allergic to it. Stop wegovy® and get medical help right away if you get a Lump Or Swelling in your neck, severe stomach pain, or an allergic reaction. Serious Side Effects may happen, including Pancreatitis And Gallbladder problems. 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All in one delicious, monthly, soft chew. Use with caution in dogs with a history of seizures or neurologic disorders. Nexgard® plus the one you want for oneanddone protection. Protect against rsv with arexvy. Arexvy is a vaccine used to prevent lower Respiratory Disease from rsv in people 60 years and older. Arexvy does not protect everyone and is not for those with severe allergic reactions to its ingredients. Those with weakened Immune Systems may have a lower response to the vaccine. The most common Side Effects are injection site pain, fatigue, muscle pain, headache, and joint pain. Arexvy is Number One in Rsv Vaccine shots. Rsv . Make it arexvy. Emergenc Crystals Pop and fizz when you throw them back. And who doesnt love a good throwback . Now with Vitamin D for the dark days of winter. June 5, 2009 started oddly enough for Stephanie Lazarus. She took the train from downtown l. A. And after arriving, stephanie was told to meet with two detectives. A man she didnt know from the elite Robbery Homicide Division to help them interrogate a suspect involving some stolen art work, which was stephanies beat as a detective. So lazarus went down to a secured area in the basement to meet with her two colleagues in a small Interview Room because it is a part of the jail, all cops are required to give up their guns, she didnt realize she was being recorded. Hi. And that is when they revealed this Conversation Wasnt about art. Do you know John Ruetten . John ruetten . And how long did you Guys Date . Is this something . You said it was about art. She seemed uncomfortable in her answers, especially when detectives asked about Sherri Rasmussen. And i know you had talked to her. And that you may have talked to her in a hospital . Yeah, i mean im thinking now that youre bringing up old memories. Did you have a fight with her . No. I dont think so. You would remember that . Yeah, i would think so. Most of us would remember the number of fistfights. But at one point, she would answer no. And at other points, she cannot recall whether that happened. It doesnt sound familiar and so okay, i must have killed her, i mean come on. And she realized she was the Prime Suspect in sherris murder. Now youre accusing me of this . Is that what youre saying . Were trying to figure out what happened. Well, im just saying, you know, do i need to get a lawyer . Reporter and it must have been uncomfortable for all of them. I know, you need to do your job. Thats fair. Because i know how this stuff works. Reporter she was read the same words she was read over the years. And you have the right to remain sigh leapt, do you understand . Yes. You can see the handcuffs placed on her. Im in shock. Word of Lazarus Arrest traveled fast to tucson, where the detective was standing by to deliver the news for the razz many sen family. Tell me what you said . You were right, folks. You folks were right and i apologized that it took us over two dekids to give them that closure. Do you feel better . The most great Fying Moment of my career. I was extremely happy. And i said i feel like i knew it all along. The Lazarus Family also got the news. Well, it was numbering. One of the things you said, they got it wrong somehow . Some error was made here . It did not happen. She didnt go home that day. Bail set at 10 Million and much higher than most murder cases. The judge considered her a flight risk, citing the strong case against her. And for the lapd, it was a bittersweet day, a 23yearold Cold Case they believe was finally cracked. But the Prime Suspect worked right beside them. For the Rasmussen Family, Stephanies Arrest was a vindication, but it also brought back their bitter memories of the original lapd investigation. I think it is because she was a Police Officer, so they figured they would cover this one up. The family hired John Taylor who filed a lawsuit against Detective Lazarus and the lapd claiming they ignored clues that pointed to a fellow officer. And the missteps werent missteps, they were intentional conduct and intentional ignoring of evidence, and their duties. Beyond just being sloppy and lazy. The fact they did not close the case and that they did not listen to the family, thats not evidence of a coverup. Its not that they did not close the case, they did not do anything to create a case. Reporter he said in 1986, the e detectives were protecting Stephanie Lazarus. They actively covered up the identity of the person who committed this crime. The lawsuit alleging a Cover Up was dismissed in 2011. Charlie beck was in the Lapd Chief and spoke to us. I can accept somebody that is unable to solve a crime. I cannot accept somebody that covers it up and i have no indication that is what happened here. And no indication that it is a road they wanted to go down . It was lack of ability. Not a deliberate act to exclude stephanie. In february of 2012, nearly 26 years to the day since Sherri Rasmussens murder, Stephanie Lazarus would have her day in court. A chance to clear her name and reputation. And to show Dna Evidence Isnt always right and they had it all wrong. Coming up, did the lapd have it wrong . Stephanie went to tell sherri, look, you guys are getting married, i was telling him not to call me. We find the defendant, stephanie Eileen Lazarus. When dateline continues. Thats not for sudden breathing problems. Dupixent can cause allergic reactions that can be severe. Tell your doctor right away if you have rash, chest pain, worsening shortness of breath, tingling or numbness in your limbs. Tell your doctor about new or worsening Joint Aches and pain or a parasitic infection. Dont change or stop asthma medicines including steroids, without talking to your doctor. Ask your specialist about dupixent. Introducing New Advil targeted relief. 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Then i saw my doctor and found out i have afib, and that means theres about a 5 times greater risk of stroke. Symptoms like irregular heartbeat, Heart Racing, chest pain, shortness of breath, fatigue, or lightheadedness, can come and go. But if you have afib, the risk of stroke is always there. If you have one or more symptoms, get checked out. Making that appointment can help you get ahead of stroke risk. This is no time to wait. Frizz. Dryness. Breakage. New Dove 10in1 Serum Hair Mask with peptide complex. Fortifies hair bonds at a molecular level. Helps reverse ten signs of damage in one minute. Keep living. Well keep repairing. The moment i met him i knew he was my soulmate. Keep living. Soulmates. Soulmate [giggles] why do you need me . [laughs sarcastically] but then we switched to tmobile 5g home internet. And now his attention is spent elsewhere. But im thinking of her the whole time. Thats so much worse. Why is that thing in bed with you . This is where it gets the best signal from the Cell Tower ive tried everywhere else in the house theres always a new excuse. Well if we got xfinity you wouldnt have to mess around with the connection. Therapys tough, huh . Mmm. Its like a lot about me. [laughs] a Home Router should never be a home wrecker. Oo this is a good book title. Welcome back. There was a lot at stake at the Murder Trial of Lapd Detective, Stephanie Lazarus, who stood accused of murdering Sherri Rasmussen. The prosecution believes the Dna Evidence was their Smoking Gun, but the defense said it was tainted what would the jury believe . Here is josh with the conclusion of the Smoking Gun. Reporter it took 26 years to get here. A familys frustration. A police departments nightmare. February 6, 2012, the people verses Stephanie Lazarus finally began in a Courtroom Downtown Los Angeles. The prosecution laid out a clear case on how Stephanie Lazarus was deeply in love with John Ruetten. And then she executed it and covered it up by staging a burglary. Linda duetch covered the trial. The Opening Statement was quite dramatic. And the case was about a bite, a bullet, a gun barrel, and a broken heart. The judge Saw Journals Police seized from stephanies home, detailing how upset she was when she learned john was engaged to somebody else. And that could explain why there was no Force Entry to the condo. On the day of the murder, then patrol officer, lazarus, happened to be off duty. The ammunition used in the shooting was the same type issued by the lapd said prosecutors and was the same caliber as lazarus offduty weapon. A. 38 revolver she reported stolen just two weeks after the murder. But the real Smoking Gun was the Bite Mark dna found at the Crime Scene. Dna was definitely the Center Piece of it this case. This shows she was there. Without the dna, they could not have placed her at the condo. And the statistics were staggering. A 1. 76 to one chance that the dna belonged to someone other than Stephanie Lazarus. Defense Attorney Mark overland aggressively attacked that Dna Evidence, suggesting it had been mishandled, improperly stored and sealed, which compromised the sample. The vile was protruding. You cant rely on the scientific results. Overland said the hair, blood, fingerprints found at the Crime Scene did not come from lazarus. As for the weapon that fired the fatal shot, there were other types of guns besides stephanies that could have fired that weapon. And john was still calling her and stephanie went to tell sherri, look, you guys are getting married, i would tell him not to call me. After five weeks, it was up to the jury. They waited a lot longer than that. And as confident as you could be with the jury. We, the jury, find the defendant, stephanie Eileen Lazarus guilty of the crime of murder of Sherri Rasmussen. We further find the murder was of the first degree. The day the Rasmussen Family thought would never come finally did. As their attorney John Taylor explained. And the family is overwhelmingly relieved that again their suspicion and Todays Verdict reflect and confront the identity of the person who killed the daughter, their daughter and the intent in which she did it. It is a tremendous relief. For the Lazarus Family, their wife, daughter, sister, and once decorated detective was now a convicted kill or. We really did not expect this result with the state of the evidence and the way mr. Overland presented the case, so it is devastating. For the lapd, a Cold Case was finally solved, but with painful Side Effects. Im very pleased, but it is bittersweet than thrilled that some form of justice has been brought to the family. We would rather this not be a Los Angeles Police Detective, thats for sure. I have known her for a lot of years. This is not something that were proud of in that we had a Los Angeles Police Detective involved here. Stephanie lazarus was sentenced to 27 years in life in prison. And they were awarded 10 Million, and so ended the case of the detective, finally caught by her own department. She almost got away with it. It was almost a perfect murder. When better to do that than a Police Officer . Thats all for it this edition of dateline. Im andrea canning. Thank you for watching. Every day i was evertold it was unknown. Rs. People dont just die. Lester holt she was a loving mother