Overview of Fatal Attraction: The Murder of Sherri Rasmussen
SiriusXM’s MK Confidential episode “Fatal Attraction” tells the full story of the 1986 murder of Sherri Rasmussen, a 29-year-old nurse from Van Nuys, California, and the extraordinary 23-year cold case that eventually led to the arrest of Stephanie Lazarus, an LAPD detective and Sherry’s husband’s former girlfriend. The episode traces the initial police missteps, the disappearance of crucial evidence, the later DNA breakthrough, and the eventual conviction and parole battles that followed.
Who Sherri Rasmussen Was
Sherri Rasmussen is portrayed as:
- A high-achieving, deeply family-oriented nurse
- A gifted student who advanced quickly in school and nursing leadership
- A newlywed who had just started her life with husband John Rutten
- Someone her sisters describe as the “glue” of the family
She was murdered just 17 days after her 29th birthday.
The Murder Scene and Initial Police Theory
On the morning of February 24, 1986, Sherri is attacked inside the condo she shared with John Rutten. By the time John returns home that evening, she is dead on the living room floor.
Police initially conclude the killing looks like a burglary gone wrong:
- Electronics are stacked near the front door
- Sherri’s purse is missing
- Her BMW is missing
- The scene appears chaotic, with broken glass and signs of violence
But the episode argues this theory was flawed from the start.
What the Crime Scene Really Showed
Key evidence pointed away from a random burglary:
- Three gunshot wounds to the chest
- A bite mark on Sherri’s arm
- Blunt-force injuries suggesting a brutal, close-up struggle
- Signs she may have been bound or restrained
- A bloody fingerprint and other evidence that were poorly handled or never properly processed
The episode emphasizes that some of the most important physical evidence was either not booked, not tested, or later disappeared.
The Investigation’s Biggest Failures
The series highlights several major problems in the original LAPD investigation:
- The lead detective, Lyle Mayer, locks onto the burglary theory early
- The possibility of a personal motive is not seriously pursued
- Evidence that could have helped identify the killer is lost or mishandled
- The original handwritten investigation log later disappears
- Crucial trace evidence checked out of the coroner’s office in 1993 vanishes from the record
- The bite-mark swab is preserved, but for years no one can find it
The episode suggests the case suffered from tunnel vision, institutional inertia, and possibly a reluctance to scrutinize a fellow officer.
Stephanie Lazarus: The Ex-Girlfriend With Motive
The murder ultimately centers on Stephanie Lazarus, an LAPD officer who had dated John Rutten before he married Sherri.
The relationship history
According to the episode:
- Stephanie and John had a long, intermittent sexual relationship
- John later became engaged to Sherri
- Stephanie allegedly confronted Sherri at her workplace
- Sherri told her family that Stephanie had been threatening and intrusive
- John eventually admitted to detectives that he had slept with Stephanie after becoming engaged to Sherri
Why Stephanie stood out
Stephanie had:
- Access to police databases
- A history of obsession over John
- A .38-caliber revolver that was reported stolen shortly after the murder
- Potential knowledge of Sherri’s home and routine
The episode frames her as the most plausible suspect once the burglary theory collapses.
The DNA Breakthrough
The case breaks open in the 2000s when cold-case detective Cliff Shepard and criminalist Jennifer Francis revisit the evidence.
The key breakthrough
- A preserved bite-mark swab from Sherri’s arm is finally found in storage
- DNA testing shows the sample belongs to an unknown female
- That female DNA is later matched to DNA recovered from a discarded Pepsi cup and straw used by Stephanie Lazarus during surveillance
That match is the turning point: the bite mark and the cup DNA are from the same woman.
The Arrest and Interrogation
Once the DNA match is confirmed in 2009, detectives move quickly but discreetly because Lazarus is still an LAPD officer.
They:
- Never say her name out loud during the early phase of the reopened investigation
- Use undercover surveillance to obtain her DNA
- Lure her into an interview at Parker Center
During the interview, Stephanie initially acts confused and shocked, but once confronted with the evidence, she realizes the case is closing in on her. She is arrested for Sherri’s murder.
The Trial and Conviction
At trial in 2012, prosecutors argue that Stephanie killed Sherri out of obsession and jealousy over John Rutten.
Evidence presented
- John’s testimony about the relationship
- Stephanie’s letters, diary entries, and photos showing fixation on John
- The recovered DNA evidence from the bite mark
- The stolen and later discarded revolver
- The staged burglary scene
The jury convicts her of murder, and she is sentenced to 27 years to life.
Parole Hearings and Later Admissions
The episode also updates the story through Stephanie’s parole process.
Key developments
- In 2023, she begins admitting more details about the murder
- In 2024, a parole grant is rescinded after public and official pushback
- In 2025, she more directly admits:
- She went to the condo intending to kill Sherri
- She used police records to find Sherri’s address
- She staged the scene to look like a burglary
Despite these admissions, parole is denied.
Main Takeaways
1. The original investigation was deeply flawed
The murder was treated as a burglary almost immediately, and that theory dominated for years.
2. The case hinged on preserved evidence
The bite-mark swab, kept frozen for nearly two decades, became the key to the DNA breakthrough.
3. Personal motive mattered
The episode strongly supports the idea that jealousy and obsession, not burglary, drove the killing.
4. Institutional failure delayed justice
The story raises hard questions about LAPD’s handling of the case, especially given that the eventual suspect was one of their own.
5. The Rasmussen family never gave up
Sherri’s parents and sisters kept pressing for answers for decades, and their persistence helped keep the case alive.
Bottom Line
Fatal Attraction is a true-crime story about more than a murder. It’s about a gifted woman whose life was cut short, a police investigation derailed by bad assumptions, and a cold case solved only after a preserved piece of evidence linked the crime to a fellow officer obsessed with the victim’s husband.