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Veteran LAPD Det. Stephanie Lazarus is accused of killing the wife of her ex-boyfriend in Van Nuys in 1986. (Los Angeles Times) |
LOS ANGELES -- The brother of a veteran Los Angeles police detective accused of murdering her ex-boyfriend's wife says the $10 million bail amount is outrageous and wants it lowered.
49 year old Stephanie Lazarus, a 26 year veteran police detective, is accused of bludgeoning and then shooting Sherri Rae Rasmussen in 1986 in Van Nuys.
Her brother Steven Lazarus says her bail is unreasonable, especially when compared to wealthy celebrity defendants such as Phil Spector and Robert Blake, who remained free on $1 million bail during their murder trials. Steven Lazarus spoke to media after a pretrial hearing Friday.
Lazarus was arrested in June, 2009 after cold case detectives re-examined the evidence in the case and linked her to the murder through saliva found in a bite mark on the victims.
She faces a possible life sentence.
Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Robert Perry set bail at $10 million dollars in December saying he believed that the defendant would flee if granted a lower amount.
At the time bail was set, Lazarus' attorney said the amount was unfair.
"It's ridiculous. Phil Spector gets $1 million bail? Robert Blake get's $1 million bail? They've got the money to go anywhere," he said. "Who has $10 million cash? It is basically preventative detention."
Judge Perry said that if Lazarus were to be freed on bail, she would have access to weapons and could be a risk to herself and others. He called the case "unusual" and said there was compelling evidence that Lazarus would flee and go on the lam if released on bail.
During her preliminary hearing, friends and colleagues said Lazarus was desperately in love with John Ruetten, whom she dated for several years before he married Rasmussen.
The acquaintances say Lazarus was deeply upset when Ruetten broke up with her and got engaged. He married Rasmussen, a hospital nursing director, three months before her death.
Lazarus wrote in a journal that she was shattered by his engagement.
"This is very bad. My concentration is negative-10," Lazarus wrote in 1985 when she learned that Ruetten was going to wed, according to testimony.
Lazarus later wrote that she asked for time off work because she "was too stressed out about John," according to a journal entry read in court.
Former LAPD Sgt. Mike Hargreaves, Lazarus' former roommate, testified saying Lazarus woke him up "crying" in the fall of 1985 because Reutten had just broken up with her.
Hargreaves testified that Lazarus had earlier told him Reutten was "her idea of a perfect guy."
Prosecutors say the case against Lazarus focuses on a key piece of evidence: saliva collected from a bite mark left on the victim.
The 25-year police veteran, who handled art forgery cases, pleaded not guilty to capital murder in May, 2009. She was arrested June 5, 2009 by detectives who worked across the hall from her. She has remained in custody ever since.
During the first day of testimony for Lazarus' preliminary hearing, a former criminalist from the L.A. County Office of the Coroner testified he responded to the bloody crime scene and collected a saliva sample from a bite mark on Rasmussen.
49 year old Stephanie Lazarus, a 26 year veteran police detective, is accused of bludgeoning and then shooting Sherri Rae Rasmussen in 1986 in Van Nuys.
Her brother Steven Lazarus says her bail is unreasonable, especially when compared to wealthy celebrity defendants such as Phil Spector and Robert Blake, who remained free on $1 million bail during their murder trials. Steven Lazarus spoke to media after a pretrial hearing Friday.
Lazarus was arrested in June, 2009 after cold case detectives re-examined the evidence in the case and linked her to the murder through saliva found in a bite mark on the victims.
She faces a possible life sentence.
Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Robert Perry set bail at $10 million dollars in December saying he believed that the defendant would flee if granted a lower amount.
At the time bail was set, Lazarus' attorney said the amount was unfair.
"It's ridiculous. Phil Spector gets $1 million bail? Robert Blake get's $1 million bail? They've got the money to go anywhere," he said. "Who has $10 million cash? It is basically preventative detention."
Judge Perry said that if Lazarus were to be freed on bail, she would have access to weapons and could be a risk to herself and others. He called the case "unusual" and said there was compelling evidence that Lazarus would flee and go on the lam if released on bail.
During her preliminary hearing, friends and colleagues said Lazarus was desperately in love with John Ruetten, whom she dated for several years before he married Rasmussen.
The acquaintances say Lazarus was deeply upset when Ruetten broke up with her and got engaged. He married Rasmussen, a hospital nursing director, three months before her death.
Lazarus wrote in a journal that she was shattered by his engagement.
"This is very bad. My concentration is negative-10," Lazarus wrote in 1985 when she learned that Ruetten was going to wed, according to testimony.
Lazarus later wrote that she asked for time off work because she "was too stressed out about John," according to a journal entry read in court.
Former LAPD Sgt. Mike Hargreaves, Lazarus' former roommate, testified saying Lazarus woke him up "crying" in the fall of 1985 because Reutten had just broken up with her.
Hargreaves testified that Lazarus had earlier told him Reutten was "her idea of a perfect guy."
Prosecutors say the case against Lazarus focuses on a key piece of evidence: saliva collected from a bite mark left on the victim.
The 25-year police veteran, who handled art forgery cases, pleaded not guilty to capital murder in May, 2009. She was arrested June 5, 2009 by detectives who worked across the hall from her. She has remained in custody ever since.
During the first day of testimony for Lazarus' preliminary hearing, a former criminalist from the L.A. County Office of the Coroner testified he responded to the bloody crime scene and collected a saliva sample from a bite mark on Rasmussen.
