Murder Trial Begins Monday Against Former LAPD Detective
LOS ANGELES (CBS) — Opening arguments began Monday morning in the murder case against a former Los Angeles Police Department detective.
Stephanie Lazarus, 51, is accused of killing her ex-boyfriend's wife, Sherri Rasmussen in a jealous rage on Feb. 24, 1986.
Rassmussen, 29, was found dead in her Van Nuys condo that she shared with her husband. She had been beaten, bitten and shot in the chest three times, according to officials.
Investigators originally thought Rassmussen had been murdered in a botched burglary, but DNA from a bite wound and broken fingernails at the crime scene linked Lazarus to the murder 23 years later, prosecutors said.
Lazarus has been held on $10 million bail since her arrest in 2009. She is a former art-theft detective.
A jury of eight women and four men was selected Friday.
