![]() While the murderer is now in prison, the "feeling of justice having been served is notably absent from 'The Lazarus Files'," per People.When my Galapagos Conservancy calendar informed me that today is World Lizard Day, I knew right away I’d be putting in a call to Peruvian herpetologist Pablo Venegas.I’ve known Pablo since doing a story from Peru in 2021 on the discovery of new animal species at a time of alarm over mounting extinctions.Pablo has discovered and registered 34 lizard species previously unknown to science over his two decades of research in Peru’s mountains, deserts, and rainforests. Clendenin/Los Angeles Times via Getty Images) Nels, left and Loretta, in red, Rasmussen, parents of Sherri Rasmussen and other family members, stand behind their lawyer as he speaks to media following the guilty verdict against former LAPD Detective Stephanie Lazarus, in the 1986 death of their daughter Sherri Rasmussen, in front of Los Angels Superior Court, March 8, 2012. ![]() Stephanie Lazarus was arrested when tests proved a perfect match. She was trailed and, eventually, police were able to recover DNA from a soda cup she'd used. The contents, fortunately, included DNA evidence from the bite mark on the victim’s arm, as most of the other trace evidence had been discarded.ĭNA tests later indicated the suspect was female, thereby placing Lazarus under the magnifying glass of fresh investigators. It was sparked when a box containing the Lazarus case files was inexplicably left at the desk of LAPD detective Jim Nuttal. The probe into Rasmussen's death had reportedly been revived just weeks before the author's chance encounter with the killer. The officer allegedly told her if she couldn't have him, nobody could. She said she was confronted by an LAPD cop, who claimed to be her husband's ex-girlfriend, at the hospital where she worked as a nurse. He later revealed he had relayed to authorities what his daughter once told him. Rasmussen's father was not satisfied with the investigation from the start. ![]() However, no arrests were made at the time and the case went cold. Police eventually fingered two unidentified Latino men as suspects after a nearby home was burglarized shortly after Rasmussen's murder. Responding officers found that her living room was ransacked, her car stolen, and she had been beaten and shot at least three times in a violent struggle. The author states in his book that Lazarus was “off the radar” of law enforcement early on because Rasmussen’s killing first appeared to be a botched burglary. That said, the initial mistakes during the probe reportedly seemed innocent. ![]() The Lazarus Files: A Cold Case Investigation (Henry Holt & Co.) In order to lend validity to that argument, McGough, who has also written for 'Law & Order', scoured the department's chronological log of the investigation, Lazarus’ diary and several other documents pertinent to the case.Īccording to People, the book is "as engrossing as it is disturbing, using an understated style to take the reader through the complex and sensational case with great clarity." McGough said his book simply asks how the killer managed to get away with the crime for more than 20 years while climbing ranks at the same department responsible for investigating her.Īccording to the victim's family, the LAPD covered up Lazarus' involvement for years as she was part of their team. He said it was already proven in court in 2012 that Los Angeles Police Department detective Stephanie Lazarus had murdered 29-year-old Sherri Rasmussen, the newlywed wife of a man she dated in college. Matthew McGough, author of 'The Lazarus Files: A Cold Case Investigation', has refuted claims that his book is a "whodunit". ![]()
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