She rose to the rank of detective and was honored for her work in the art forgery section. In subsequent years, Lazarus married and adopted a daughter. I wish it didn’t end the way it did, and I don’t think I’ll ever understand his decision.” Ruetten: -I’m truly in love with John and the past year has really torn me up. Ruetten’s sister, Gail Lopes, showed jurors a letter to her mother from Lazarus that was postmarked Aug. He said Lazarus, who was exceptionally fit, suggested they do “buddy sit-ups” together and she felt better after that. “She said John told her he was going to marry someone else,” Hargreaves said. Under Overland’s questioning, Ruetten insisted, “I always just made it clear we were just friends and this wasn’t going toward marriage.”Īnother witness, retired Los Angeles police officer Mike Hargreaves, said he lived at Lazarus’ condo for a year and recalled that she woke him once in the middle of the night and said Ruetten had broken up with her. Ruetten acknowledged that Lazarus knew his entire family and in September 1984, unaware of his relationship with Rasmussen, Lazarus threw a surprise 25th birthday party for Ruetten. On cross-examination, Lazarus’ lawyer, Mark Overland, stressed that the relationship with the police woman was more serious than Ruetten said. Presby asked if he had anything to do with the killing and he said no. When the case was reopened in 2009, he said he voluntarily gave a DNA sample. “In those times when you saw the defendant, did she ever ask about Sherri’s death?” asked Presby. When he moved back to the Los Angeles area the next year, he said he contacted her and they had sex again at least twice. He went to live with his parents in San Diego, and in 1989 he made contact with Lazarus again and met up with her in Hawaii. He said he was later assured by a homicide detective that Lazarus was not a suspect, and that his wife was most likely killed by burglars. He said he didn’t mention Lazarus to police as a possible suspect in the murder because, “It never crossed my mind that she could be involved.” But he said he never lived in the condo again, quit his job and moved out of Los Angeles. He said he put a blanket over his wife’s face, called 911 and made himself available to police for interviews. 24, 1986, to find his wife dead on the living room floor. Later in the day, Ruetten told of returning home from work on Feb. Prosecutors are trying to show that Lazarus sought revenge for being spurned by Ruetten. 24, 1986, bludgeoned and shot to death by an intruder at the condo where she and Ruetten lived. Lazarus did not look up as the photos flashed on a courtroom screen. Ruetten identified blissful photos of the couple’s wedding on Nov. He also said he ended all contact with Lazarus, who has pleaded not guilty to the murder of Rasmussen. I want nothing more in the world than to be married to you.” Later, he said, he confessed the incident to Rasmussen and told her: “Don’t let this mess us up. “It was clear she was very upset that I was getting married and moving on.” He stressed that nothing changed that night. She also asked him to have sex with her, which he said he did but now considers it a stupid move. However, he said she later learned of the engagement, summoned him to her condo and through tears expressed her love for him.
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