Pat LaLama Reports: A Simple Broken Heart Or A Murderous Obsession? (Lazarus Trial Update)
February 16, 2012
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Stephanie Lazarus Murder Trial
Day 8 Update
Here are the key points made by the prosecution in the afternoon session of day 8:
A simple broken heart or a murderous obsession?
Prosecutors in the murder trial of former LAPD detective Stephanie Lazarus showed entries from the defendant’s personal journal that reveal heartbreak over the end of her relationship with John Ruetten:
June 10, 1985 -“I found out that John is getting married. I was very depressed. This is very bad. My concentration was -10.”
June 16, 1985 -“I really didn’t feel like working. Too stressed out about John. I’m having a real hard time concentrating these days so I called up and said could I have a T.O. (time off). They gave it to me.”
Lazarus’ day planner and corroborating LAPD documents show Lazarus had a scheduled day off on Monday, February 24, 1986 (the day Sherri Rasmussen was murdered).
Lazarus’ personal journal seemed to show a meticulous account of her daily activities—most of them related to work matters. But when she reported that her gun was stolen shortly after the murder of Sherri Rasmussen, she made no entry of the incident in her journal.
A former fellow police officer testified that Lazarus once showed her a lock picking kit. Prosecutors contend that Lazarus had been trained in the area of locksmithing and believe she used that knowledge to break into the home of Sherri Rasmussen.
Read Pat LaLama's Past Reports On This Case
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