meta_pixel
Tapesearch Logo
Log in
True Murder: The Most Shocking Killers

THE LAZARUS FILES-Matthew McGough

True Murder: The Most Shocking Killers

Dan Zupansky

True Crime, News Commentary, Documentary, News, Society & Culture

42.7K Ratings

🗓️ 8 May 2019

⏱️ 67 minutes

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

A deeply-reported, riveting account of a cold case murder in Los Angeles, unsolved until DNA evidence implicated a shocking suspect – a female detective within the LAPD’s own ranks.

On February 24, 1986, 29-year-old newlywed Sherri Rasmussen was murdered in the home she shared with her husband, John. The crime scene suggested a ferocious struggle, and police initially assumed it was a burglary gone awry. Before her death, Sherri had confided to her parents that an ex-girlfriend of John’s, a Los Angeles police officer, had threatened her. The Rasmussens urged the LAPD to investigate the ex-girlfriend, but the original detectives only pursued burglary suspects, and the case went cold.

DNA analysis did not exist when Sherri was murdered. Decades later, a swab from a bite mark on Sherri’s arm revealed her killer was in fact female, not male. A DNA match led to the arrest and conviction of veteran LAPD Detective Stephanie Lazarus, John’s onetime girlfriend.

The Lazarus Files delivers the visceral experience of being inside a real-life murder mystery. McGough reconstructs the lives of Sherri, John and Stephanie; the love triangle that led to Sherri’s murder; and the homicide investigation that followed. Was Stephanie protected by her fellow officers? What did the LAPD know, and when did they know it? Are there other LAPD cold cases with a police connection that remain unsolved? THE LAZARUS FILES: A Cold Case Investigation-Matthew McGough

Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0

When you join Tinder, you might not have been looking for answers, but there were some good

0:05.0

clues, like in the way they smiled with their eyes. Like how they didn't reach free

0:09.6

hand before you'd reach for theirs. And when the time was right, they popped the question,

0:15.1

Will you keep a toothbrush at my place?

0:18.0

From toothbrush proposals to non awkward silences, there's a world of possible connections on Tinder.

0:24.2

Whatever you're looking for, it starts with a swipe, explore the possibilities on Tinder.

0:29.0

Hello today.

0:41.8

You are now listening to True Murder, the most shocking killers in true crime history,

0:47.3

and the authors that have written about them. Gacy, Bundy, Domer, the Nightstocker,

0:54.0

BTK, every week another fascinating author talking about the most shocking and infamous

1:00.0

killers in true crime history. True Murder with your host, journalist and author Dan Zufansky.

1:17.3

Good evening. A deeply reported riveting account of a cold case murder in Los Angeles

1:24.2

unsolved until DNA evidence implicated a shocking suspect, a female detective within the LAPD's own

1:31.4

ranks. On February 24, 1986, 29-year-old newlywed Sherry Rasmussen was murdered in the home she

1:40.8

shared with her husband, John. The crime scene suggested a ferocious struggle, and police

1:46.4

initially assumed it was a burglary gone awry. Before her death, Sherry had confided to her

1:52.5

parents that the next girlfriend of John's, a Los Angeles police officer, had threatened her.

1:58.4

The Rasmussen's urged the LAPD to investigate the ex-girlfriend, but the original detectives

2:04.2

only pursued burglary suspects in the case went cold. DNA analysis did not exist when Sherry was

2:11.8

murdered. Decades later, a swab from a bite mark on Sherry's arm revealed her killer was in fact

2:17.3

female, not male. A DNA match led to the arrest and conviction of veteran LAPD detective Stephanie

2:24.0

Lazarith, John's one-time girlfriend. The Lazarith files delivers the visceral experience of

...

Please login to see the full transcript.

Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from Dan Zupansky, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.

Generated transcripts are the property of Dan Zupansky and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.

Copyright © Tapesearch 2025.