Hiding in plain sight. No indications she was ever spoken to . No. Then a new detective took a look at an old lead. He said its a match. And a person no one would have ever suspected of murder. We were going to end this. Was suddenly suspect number one. A perfect murder. Almost. Hello. Welcome to dateline. She was a new bride, married three months, then she was found murdered. What happened to her remained a mystery for decades partly because police mistakenly believed she was killed during a breakin gone bad. But when detectives finally reopened this case, they discovered it wasnt a burglar, but a suspect whose trail led right to their own front door. Heres josh men kowitz with the smoking gun. February 2, 2009. Homicide detective arrived before dawn at the Los Angeles Police departments van nuys station. I was tired. I was tired. He had hosted a Super Bowl Party the night before and the beer had flowed freely. That seemed to be a good way to spend the day was having a cup of coffee and getting caught up on my reading. A couple of aspirin. A couple of aspirin, maybe. Up he reached for a file that had been sitting on his desk for months. The murder of Sherry Rasmussen. Shot to death in her condo just a few miles from where he worked. One of the most horrific crime scenes i have seen. This woman met a horrible ending. And just as troubling, Sherry Rasmussen was murdered a generation ago, february 1986, meaning the odds of catching her killer were slim to none. Memories fade. Evidence has to be relocated. So its obvious its an uphill battle every time. Uphill battle does not begin to describe it. The cold case the detective opened would lead him on the chase of a lifetime and it would shake the foundations of the lapd. It dates back to 1986 and to a battle for the truth by the parents of a young bride. We miss her every day. Those parents are mel and loretta rasmussen. Doesnt make any different what day it is. Its a pain thats always there. Theres no cure for. Who would want to kill sherry rasmus up . She was hard working, caring and popular. Trained as a nurse, she was director of Critical Care at a large local hospital. So we are implementing the program. It was a devastating day. She was 29 years old. And just in the prime of her career. Alfee kennedy had originally hired her. We couldnt believe it, how could somebody do this . People were crying, upset. I mean, the hospital was like a tomb, you know . So the loss was real palpable. Sherry had just been married three months earlier to a hightech engineer named john rutten. Were they happily married . Unusually so. But months after the wedding, john found sherry sprawled dead on the floor of the home. He might seem a likely suspect but john was cleared almost immediately. The lapd focused instead on evidence that this was a burglary that turned violent. This was no accident. Yolanda mcclary is a retired crime scene investigator and was a consultant. Shes reviewed the media reports on this case. We return with her to the actual apartment where sherry was found murdered to try to understand what happened. The killer walked in the front door . Yes, theyre assuming that the front door was open and that the killer walked right in. Right here where were standing is where there was a confrontation . Yeah. Not just a struggle but we have shots fired at this point. We have one shot that clearly goes straight through this back slider. And we have another shot that went through sherry and then back out through the slider also. So sherry is now wounded she tries to get back downstairs . That would be correct. Shes bleeding profusely, and shes trying to go out the door or make it to that alarm box where theres a panic button. At that point, we believe that sherry went down in this foyer area due to the fact that you could see marks in this as well as broken fingernails from her hands. So theres a tremendous fight going on at this point. Well, yes, the killer is actually dragging her back into this area and then the killer takes a vase and hits her in the head with it. Knocking her out. Then grabs a blanket, muzzles the gun and then does a contact shot into the victim. So thats an execution. That would be correct. As for a motive, it seemed to be in plain sight. Just a few feet from sherrys body. They found the vcr and a disc player stacked up on top of each over. As if someone was going to steal them. Yeah. Sherrys purse was missing as was her new bmw, an engagement gift from john. There was no sign of the murder weapon. But detectives did recover two 38 caliber slugs and there was Something Else that caught detectives attention. On the inside of sherrys 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 me long to the killer. Saliva that would contain dna who whoever bit sherry. Remember, this was years before the Dna Technology would arrive, which could link a suspect to a sample like this one. So back then, the dna wasnt much help but the swab was carefully packaged and bundled with all the other evidence. For now, detectives didnt have much else to work with. Except the theory that this was a botched burglary. By the level of violence that occurred in this residence the theory was it was a man or possibly two men who had entered to do a burglary invasion who murdered the victim to cover up the crime and then fled. Gone wrong because sherry somehow surprised them. They panicked. Shot her. And then fled. The theory seemed to make sense, especially since sherry had no apparent enemies. Certainly no one would want to kill her, or so they thought. Coming up sherrys office, and said that if she couldnt have john, nobody could. When dateline continues. t nobody could. When dateline continues protect your pet with the 1 name in flea and tick protection. Frontline plus. Trusted by vets for nearly 20 years. Whose idea was once again commandeered by brad. While he droned, her bladder dripped. But, she keeps it together. Because ella has poise. Poise under pressure and poise in her pants. It takes poise. Anna could only imagine a comfortable nights sleep without frequent heartburn waking her up. Now, that dream. Is her reality. Nexium 24hr stops acid before it starts, for allday, allnight protection. Can you imagine 24 hours without heartburn . Tv sports announcer yeah, thats my man there. Tv sports announcer time out. Lets go to a commercial. Nooooooo not another commercial when you bundle your home, auto and Life Insurance with allstate you could save 25 . In fact, the more you bundle the more you can save. Put the other game on if its important to you allstate can protect it. Home auto and Life Insurance you could save 25 . If its important to you allstate can protect it. What . Bundle and save with allstate. Click or call for a quote today. The year was 1986. Crack was hitting los angeles and the city of angels had become a violent place. The murder rate would hit 831 killings that year, nearly three times that amount in 2016 and the lapd was stretched very thin. This was a time where homicide was just booming in los angeles. Miles corwin is a best selling author whos written several books about the lapd. Its kind of a perfect storm of problems. You had the proliferation of high powered weapons, you had the gangs who were really expanding. You had crack cocaine hitting the streets and detectives were overwhelmed. And now, in february of that year, cops had their hands full with an especially heinous crime in the citys sprawling san fernando valley. Sherry rasmussen has been beaten and shot in her own home and no suspects and no clues and then a possible lead. Former crime scene investigator Yolanda Mcclary was a consultant for nbc news. In the same vicinity another woman was approached in her residence by two males at gun point. Also involved a Home Invasion robbery situation. So police early on thought that was a possibility these two men might have something to do with the murder. A composite sketch was released of the two men. But still, detectives had no prints, no eyewitnesses and no murder weapon connecting them or anyone else to sherrys murder and the dna collected at the crime scene was useless. At least right now. Police went ahead and collected it anyway. Why . Well, at crime scenes if you notice there was possible evidence on anything you werent going to leave it behind. It was great forethought to actually recover it. Detectives scoured the condo and the entire complex. The only thing stolen from the garage was sherrys car and that was recovered a mile away from the crime scene with the keys still in it. The only other thing missing sherry and her husbands marriage license. It seemed an odd thing to steal. Cash, computers and jewelry werent touched. But that wasnt the only thing that struck her family and colleagues as strange. The crime was especially violent for a twobit burglary. It just seemed a little like overkill. Sherrys boss at the hospital kennedy had to review the report for insurance reasons. I thought wow she put up a heck of a fight which wasnt real surprising because sherry was tall, athletic and im sure wouldnt go down easily. The lapd theory back then was that there were two men robbing the house and so that presumably sherry would have fought with two guys. Does that sound like sherry . Well, that part didnt make a lot of sense to me. Because i thought if there were two men and they had a gun, that just seemed a little weird. Because she wouldnt begin a fight with two guys who were armed. I wouldnt think so. What about with a woman . Well, i think she would have taken on a woman. We just really like to know what happened. Sherrys parents never thought it was a burglary. They knew that just weeks before the murder sherry had several strange encounters. One as she dined at a restaurant and thought a woman was watching her. She said she has eyes that can see right through you. Scary eyes. There was also a runin at the hospital where sherry worked. She went to sherrys office and said that if she couldnt have john nobody could. Most terrifying, an encounter in sherrys own home and by now she knew who the mystery woman was. She heard a noise and she looked up and there was johns exgirlfriend. Howd she get in the house . We have no idea. Johns exgirlfriend appeared on the stalking sherry and yet she never mentioned her name to the parents. Instead she told them not to worry. She said i want to see if i cant work this out myself. That conversation happened during a dinner celebrating sherrys 29th birthday. Afterward, her parents took sherry to the airport. As she walked away, she turned and gave me a big smile and i relived that smile for years. Less than three weeks later, Sherry Rasmussen lay dead. The rasmussens insist they told the lead detective about sherrys troubling encounters with johns exgirlfriend. I told the detective not once but probably 15 to 20 times and he said the trouble with you is you have been watching too much tv. Coming up old evidence offers new clues. The suspect made it appear to look like a burglary. They staged it to mislead the initial investigation in 1986. She was executed. When dateline continues. 1. She was executed. When dateline continues show your gut some love. Only activia has billions of our live and active probiotics. A delicious way to enjoy probiotics every day. With 20 years of devotion to gut health. Activia. Like no other. But when allergies and congestion strike, take allegrad. A nondrowsy antihistamine plus a powerful decongestant. So you can always say yes to putting your true colors on display. Say yes to allegrad. past them because she didnt sknow they were talking to her. G and she would just walk right to putting your true colors on display. deborah i just could not hear. I was hesitant to get the hearing aids because of my short hair, but nobody even sees them. avo our nearly invisible hearing aids are just one reason weve been the brand leader for over 70 years. deborah when i finally could hear for the first time, i started crying. I could hear everything. avo call 1800miracle to start your 30 day riskfree trial and schedule your free hearing evaluation today. Years had passed and no arrests have been made in the slaying of Sherry Rasmussen killed in her los angeles condo. The trail kept getting colder. In 1993, sherris parents offered to have the saliva sample tested for dna. Theyd even pay for it. But the lapd declined. They said we dont have a suspect. So if we had a suspect and we had their dna then we have something to match. And the case sat for another decade. But then in 2004, the lapds newly formed cold case unit was conducting dna tests on unsolved cases and one of them was the murder of Sherri Rasmussen. It took two months to actually find that saliva sample. Buried in a refrigeration unit. The envelope was tattered. Theab peeking out, but the saliva was still instead and the dna was enough to blow this case wide open. In the lab report it 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 once again. 23 years it sat with no apparent leads, no suspects, and no answers for the rasmussen family. Then came that monday after the super bowl when detective jim nutall made a remarkable discovery. The dna test that had been conducted on that bite mark back in 2004. Once the department realized that a woman was involved why did it take four years until you finally picked it up . What was the department doing in the interim . From what it appears investigators may have followed the initial theory of this crime that in fact it was a burglary. And that there was a woman involved in the burglary . That there was a woman involved in the burglary. Looking back now in hindsight it was an opportunity that may have slipped through our hands as an organization. But now he took a closer look at the crime scene photos and began to develop his own very different theory. Remember, Sherri Rasmussen was shot at point blank range after a violent struggle and despite the stereo equipment stacked by the front door very little was actually stolen. The suspect made it appear to look like a burglary. They staged it to mislead the initial investigation in 1986. She was executed. In other words, someone had wanted Sherri Rasmussen dead. So nutall dug deeper through the file looking for names, female names. The we had five women that would have had access to sherri and perhaps at least some of them may have had a motive to harm her. Three of them we eliminated almost immediately for insufficient motive. But there were still two names left. One of them was a coworker. A woman named deborah that worked with Sherri Rasmussen at glenn dale hospital. This person of interest was later 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. He asked the local Law Enforcement to watch her and secretly try to snag a sample of her dna for comparison testing. In the meantime, nutall learned more about the second woman. He contacted john ruetten, sherris former husband, now remarried and living in san diego. John explained he had been involved in a dating relationship with Stephanie Lazarus. Stephanie lazarus, that was the only name still on the short list of suspects. Nutall pressed ruetten for more on their relationship which had started when they were both students at ucla. They dated on and off until john got engaged to sherri. Even then youre convinced that the relationship that he had with lazarus overlapped with the relationship with his wife . We know from john that he was engaged that he was intimate with Stephanie Lazarus. There was a love triangle and lazarus had deep feelings for john ruetten and may have had a motive to harm Sherri Rasmussen. Was her killer a scorned lover or a coworker . We had two women. Deborah the nurse and Stephanie Lazarus . Correct. The cops scoop and up a sample of the trash which contained dna and it was sent to the l. A. Crime lab for analysis. She was not the donor from the bite. That left just one possible suspect. Number five on the list. John ruettens exgirlfriend, stephanie last ruz. We came home to a phone message from the detective that they wanted to talk to us and i thought, oh, yeah right. I thought it was just another false hope. This is detective nutall. Right. He said that they were opening the investigation. He was like, where have you been for the last two decades. And rasmussen explained how he told the detectives back in 1986 that someone was stalking his daughter sherri. A woman with crazy eyes. The exgirlfriend of sherris husband. He had never known that her name was Stephanie Lazarus, but he knew Something Else about her, something very important andpy this time, the detective knew it too. He was very cautious of what he said but that wed be hearing more in him. Nutall had ample reason to be cautious because he had learned that Stephanie Lazarus wore the same badge he did. Now you have a Los Angeles Police officer as a person of interest in the murder case. And you thought, i have bitten off more than i could chew. Were not in kansas anymore. That changed everything. Coming up, a top secret investigation as detectives go after one of their own. We would never leave a paper trail of what we were doing. She worked our unit. When dateline continues. She worked our unit. When dateline continues i saw you move in, and i wanted to welcome you to the neighborhood with some homemade biscuits oh, thats so nice and a little tip, geico could help you save on homeowners insurance. Hmm cookies uhh, biscuits. Mmmm, is there a little nutmeg in there . Oh its my mums secret recipe. You can tell me. Its a secret. Is it cinnamon . Its my mums secret recipe. Call geico and see how easy saving on homeowners and condo insurance can be. Ill come back for the plate. With air wick essential