one of the most extraordinary cases in lapd history. toto, were not in kansas anymore. a newlywed murdered months after her wedding. as she walked away, she gave me a big smile and and i lived in that smile for years. and all the time episode the killer was hiding in plain sight. no indication she was ever spoken to? no. then a new detective took a look at an old lead. he just said it s 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. welcome to dateline . she was a new bride married just three months, then she was found murdered. what happened to her remained a mystery for decades partly because police told us the thief must have killed her during a break-in gone bad. they discovered it wasn t a murder, but a suspect whose trail right to their own front door. here is josh mankiewicz with the smoking gun. february 1st, 2009. the dete
department s nightmare. february 6th, 2012. the people versus stephanie lazarus finally began in a courtroom in downtown los angeles. the prosecution laid out a clear case of how stephanie lazarus was deeply in with john ruetten and was devastated when he became engaged to sherri. then executed her and covered it up by staging a burglary. linda deutsch of the associated press covered the trial. the opening statement by the prosecutor was quite dramatic. and he came up with a theme which was the case was about a bite, a bullet, a gun barrel, and a broken heart. and that kind of resonated in the courtroom. the jury saw journals police seized from stephanie s home detailing how upset she was when she learned john was engaged to someone else. stephanie s date book was also introduced which mentioned
versus stephanie lazarus finally began in a courtroom in downtown los angeles. the prosecution laid out a clear case of how stephanie lazarus was deeply in with john ruetten and was devastated when he became engaged to sherri, and then executed her and covering it up by staging a burglary. linda deutsch of the associated press covered the trial. the opening statement was quite dramatic by the attorney and he came up with a theme which was the case was about a bite, a bullet, a gun barrel, and a broken heart. and that kind of resonated in the courtroom. the jury saw journals police seized from stephanie s home detailing how upset she was when she learned john was engaged to someone else.
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 believed the dna evidence was their smoking gun. but the defense said it was tainted. what would the jury believe? here is josh mankiewicz with the conclusion of the smoking gun. reporter: it took 26 years to get here. a generation of false leads, missed opportunities. a family s frustration. a police department s nightmare. february 6th, 2012, the people versus stephanie lazarus finally began in a courtroom in downtown los angeles. the prosecution laid out a clear case of how stephanie lazarus
february 6th, 2012, the people verse stephanie lazarus began in a courtroom in downtown los angeles. the prosecution laid out a clear case of how stephanie lazarus was deeply in love with john rutten and was devastated when he was engaged to sherry. then executed her and covered it up by staging a burglary. linda deutsche of the associated press covered the trial. the opening statement by the prosecutor was quite dramatic and he came up with the theme which was that the case was about a bite, a bullet, a gun barrel eand a broken heart and that resonated in the courtroom. the jury saw journals of stephanie s. stephanie s date book was introduced which mentioned