Defense attorney Mark Overland, left, and Stephanie Lazarus sit in Superior Court just before Lazarus is found guilty of first-degree murder in the 1986 killing of Sherri Rasmussen. (Brian van der ...

An attempted cover-up? Questions linger about why it took the LAPD decades to arrest Det. Stephanie Lazarus in the 1986 murder of Sherri Rasmussen, who married a man Lazarus wanted for herself.

An attempted cover-up? Questions linger about why it took the LAPD decades to arrest Det. Stephanie Lazarus in the 1986 murder of Sherri Rasmussen, who married a man Lazarus wanted for herself.

Sherri’s dad, Nels Rasmussen, told the police to look into Stephanie Lazarus, then 25. She was an LAPD officer who had once dated John while they were at university.

Lazarus was charged with Sherri’s murder and pleaded not guilty. In February 2012, 26 years after the murder of Rasmussen, Lazarus stood trial at a courthouse in downtown Los Angeles.

Lazarus was charged with Sherri's murder and pleaded not guilty. In February 2012, 26 years after the murder of Rasmussen, Lazarus stood trial at a courthouse in downtown Los Angeles.

Even though the LAPD had these new suspects, there was no evidence directly tying anyone to Rasmussen's murder. Sherri's family and friends believed the motive to be personal.

Stephanie Lazarus was convicted of murdering Sherri Rasmussen, a 29-year-old hospital critical care nursing director, who was shot three times in the home she shared with her husband, John Ruetten.