tonight on "nightline," the thin blue line. a young woman brutally murdered in los angeles and for more than two decades the crime goes unsolved but dna has given police a bizarre break in the cold case. could the killer be one of their own? world without men? a scientific break through may soon render the male species s obsolete, so who needs us anyway? and baby bonanza. they're cute and cuddly and they're everywhere. but will babies bring in the big bucks? it's tonight's "sign of the times". captions paid for by abc, inc.

good evening. we begin tonight with a murder case that has baffled investigators and left a victim's family in search for answers. a young nurse was found beaten and shot several times at close range. there were signs of a scuffle and los angeles police detectives originally suspected burglary as the motive. but the leads soon dried up and the case went cold. until now. and a dna break through that points police to a murder suspect, someone with a motive, someone much closer to home than they dared imagine. >> until a few weeks ago, stephanie lazarus wore a very different uniform. >> not guilty, your honor. >> the woman now charged with capital murder spent the last 25 years as a highly regarded detective with the lapd. >> hard working, very energetic.

>> any disciplinary problems, any red flags? >> not that i heard of. people can hold dark secrets. >> the alleged dark secret goes back 23 years to a murder of a young woman, a 29-year-old nurse who was married only three months to john rutten. >> it was a real loss to everyone and to the nursing world. because i think she would have gone far. >> althea kennedy hired sherri as director of the critical care. but on february 24, 1986, sherri called in sick and was never heard from again. >> she was bludgeoned and shot and shot several times at close rain new jersey the chest. >> she was also bitten? >> there was a struggle that involved a lot of physical

contact including a bite. >> at the time of the murder, the police suspected two men linked to a reaccident -- residential burglary to in the neighborhood. the case book was eventually closed. was detective lazarus a suspect way back when? >> i don't think they ever viewed her as a suspect. >> cold case detectives took a fresh look at the case a few years as part of a routine review that predated dna testing. they wanted to see if there was any evidence that could be re-examined. what was that evidence that was preserved 20 some odd years? >> you know, it was some fluids that were connected to the bite mark. >> they tested saliva from sherri's bite wound and found it didn't belong to a male burglar, but to a woman. >> they started to look if there was something in the victim's life, and this is going back 23 years so you have to -- you have to reinterview anybody, so they

developed a list of female suspects and eliminated one by one until they came to stephanie lazarus. >> a cop and colleague they knew very well. did you ever imagine have you'd have to investigate one of your own for a heinous murder? >> of course not. we were very shocked obviously. but our belief here is that we follow these cases where they take us. and if it goes to japan, we go to japan. if it goes across the hall, we go across the hall. >> but lazarus seemed like the most unusual suspect. her life appeared idyllic. she married another detective and together they have a 2-year-old daughter. a young cop at the time of sherri's murder, she worked her way up from the night shift to the prestigious position at lapd headquarters investigating art theft. >> these are folks, one side of the hallway investigating about -- a member of the other. it is very difficult. >> a top secret surveillance team trailed their suspect and colleague as she went about her

daily routine. when lazarus discarded a plastic utensil or cup, they snatched it to test her dna. police say it matched. fearing their investigation would be exposed, they worked fast. >> that's where she worked? less than 30 feet from where you're plotting her arrest. >> yep. that's correct. >> detectives lured lazarus to a jail cell, telling her there was a suspect in an art theft case they wanted her to question. she went down to the basement, removed her weapon and not knowing that it was a trap. >> the detectives said that's not what we want to talk to you about in this case. at some point, she asked for an attorney and then it stopped. >> sherri was a uniquely qualified woman. >> as lazarus was in court, the parents watched in stunned

silence as the woman was finally being charged with the daughter's murder. did the father feel vindicated? >> to some degree. >> what are the questions that they have? >> there's a son-in-law's exgirlfriend, had photographs been taken of in woman's -- of this woman's body which might indicate had she been involved in a struggle. >> sherri was worried that someone had been following her and this her husband's ex-girlfriend had accustomed her on a couple of occasions. >> they told the police that the ex-girlfriend had gone to sherri's workplace and confronted her and told sherri that if she couldn't have john, then no one could. >> but no matter how many times they called the investigators and even wrote a letter to to police chief, they couldn't get the lapd to look beyond the

burglary theory. >> whenever anybody would bring up the ex-girlfriend and what's the the status about her, he was told that he'd been watching too much tv. >> sherri's boss at the time also had her questions. she reviewed the coroner's report which said that sherri fought back. >> sherri was six feet tall, very athletic and would have taken on a woman. it was really odd that she would fight with robbers with a gun. >> there was other evidence. one of the few items missing from the condo that sherri shared with her was was the marriage license. did they miss clues that seemed pretty obvious? >> you know, hindsight is so 20/20 on these things. they were going down the wrong path. so no matter how hard it worked it was the wrong theory. >> why would you trust them now when they got it so wrong the first time?

>> defense attorney mark overland said it's old evidence and full of flaws. >> people have a misconsention about dna. there's issues of storage. there's issues of contamination. >> many of those close to lazarus remain faithful to their friend and neighbor. >> i think the two words that come to mind are caring and warm. >> she has so much going for her. i am convinced she's innocent. i can not imagine anything else. >> i think people are shocked. she's a very outgoing, well-liked person. you know, that had a long, long history with a lot of people here. you know, so i think a lot of people felt very bad and are coming to grips with it. >> for sherri's parents and friends, this could be the beginning of a healing process after decades of unanswered questions. >> the overwhelming thing that they have is relief. they feel it's solved but they're still processing it. >> for me, it was like well, my

goodness, i hope justice finally gets done. >> but as one family hopes for resolution after 23 years, for stephanie lazarus and her family, the ordeal has just begun. >> stephanie lazarus pleased not guilty to a capital murder charge on monday and will remain in custody without bail pending a hearing in july. if convicted, lazarus could face the death penalty. when we come back, a world populated by only women. what was once a man's dream may soon become our re- -- real life nightmare. hi, may i help you? yeah, i'm looking for car insurance that isn't going to break the bank. you're in the right place. only progressive gives you the option to name your price. here. a price gun? mm-hmm. so, i tell you what i want to pay.

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the battle of the sexes may just have taken a dramatic turn.

a break through claims to have created human sperm from embryonic stem cells an achievement that may help with the problem of male infertility. all in a more extreme scenario that may render men and our reproductive role entirely redunn cant -- redundant and it got nick watt thinking, would it be better or for the worse? >> bored barmaids with little beer to serve. unwashed cars. empty bleachers. map reading, a lost art. and, well, you get the picture. but this isn't just an unlikely sci-fi scenario. ever seen cat women of the moon?

>> where are your men folk? >> you're the first man i have ever seen. >> the call that no bogey, hillary, but no bill, no starsky. or hutch. this could be reality. according to an eminent professor. >> to say that men are becoming extinct and i have had unpleasant messages from male groups saying how can you possibly -- how can you betray yourender? >> but would absence make it a better place? there would be far fewer wars without men on the planet. the u.s. prison population would drop a colossal 97%. road deaths in the u.s. would fall 70%. until now, reproduction without

the need for sperm-producing man has been limited to the plant and image kingdoms. observed in some honey bees, the kimono dragon and the hammerhead shark. and confined to b-movie classics like "queen of outer space". >> there's nothing but women. >> perhaps this is a civilization that exists without sex. >> you call that a civilization? >> the female ability to survive without men is only 10 or 20 thousand years away. you will get two women having a child who's the biological child of both of them. >> if they're right, women will be able to create all the sperm they need from stem cells and men will be obsolete. they have already done it with mice. two mother, the genetic material from one, used to fertilize the

egg of the other. surely there is -- aside from procreation, a need for men. >> you sound a bit desperate there. >> well, we're better at music. if you like the beatles. or the spice girls. but do we really need pop for the survival of the species to raise our young? science is now painting this picture. a nuclear family without a man in sight. we have come here to south london to see if the scientists are right what will be the future of human kind. come on, guys. we have got the sound man and behind the camera is andy. yes, we are four men. i'm a bit scared. hi. >> hi there. >> i'm nick. >> hi. >> nice to meet you. hi. and this -- hello, how are you? >> natalie gave birth, and she's

raised by two moms. >> with two moms, that's the thought of back in the '40's. >> as long as you're getting attention, you know, the discipline, everything that they need to find their way and to feel good and confident, she's obviously confident. she's happy and very stable and secure. >> were some of the mothers jealous that you have -- >> i had a couple of moms saying, you won't -- i actually had go, not really. >> really? >> she just didn't. it was the same as any of the dads. >> so two moms aren't better. but just as good. is there anything i can do while i'm here? change light bulbs? >> in the space i renovated a house so i'm really not concerned about that either. >> okay. >> feeling emasculine it aed i

went for a walk with the professor. >> our only hope? that women decide to keep us alive for their own amusement. for the pop music perhaps. or maybe storytelling. we're good at that. i'm nick watt for "nightline" in london. >> so perhaps we're not that important after all. our thanks to nick watt. when we come back, babies, babies everywhere. why cute and cuddly is creating so much advertising buzz. it's "a sign of times". [ female announcer ] every year millions of americans face disaster. the tide "loads of hope" program, a free laundry service that provides clean clothes to families affected by disasters. [ woman ] it feels so good to be able to know

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advertisements are not all created equal. some are funny, others sexy. some are confusing. others appeal to the hot strings. but it seems no one can resist a baby.

at least if a recent string of ads in recent far-fetched sane owes are any indication. these bundles of joys may become advertising gold and for sharyn alfonsi that's "a sign of the times". ♪ >> try, just try not to watch. roller skating babies rocking out to rappers delight. ♪ it's an ad for evian water and thanks to youtube it's a worldwide sensation. wracking up more than 10 million hits on the internet this week. >> this is an advertiser's dream because it went viral, kids sent it to their moms. it's wordless and effortless. it gives you a smile for the day. and as a viral it's completely

contagio contagious. ♪ >> barbara lip pert is a critic for ad weekday -- week daily. >> we have seen the talking baby and the computer magic before. ♪ ♪ bye-bye baby remember you're my baby ♪ ♪ >> it's just that we all feel so beaten up now, that we need a smile. ♪ when you look at it you can't help but smile. ♪ >> babies are one of the oldest tricks in advertising. original they helped push diapers. later, tires. and today, financial services. ♪

♪ these broken wings >> what? i can't flex the pipes? >> e trade says their wisecracking babies are boosting business by nearly 20%. but babies don't always equal advertising gold. >> spoiling you is never easier. >> sometimes it can be plain creepy. >> the problem with that particular quizno's ad, you don't want to see a male baby coming on to a grown woman. any sexuality from baby is off grounds so i thought it was a terrible commercial. >> which is why euro wanted to strike the right baby balance. >> our create erdirector wanted to make sure they looked like babies and six months is about the age when you still had that baby look. >> this is how the latest ad was

made. first, they filmed baby faces in front of a green screen and then they added computer generated bodies. how many bay did -- babies did you need? >> in the end, over a hundred. once we got in the process, each day we'd need a few more. we need 50 more. the strollers were backed up. there's actually a traffic jam of strollers. >> fresh faced babies. old school music. and roller skates. the formula for an internet sensation. still, it begs the question -- do roller skating babies sell bottled water? >> well, it might sell more roller skates and it will sell singles for this hit. whether it will sell more evian water is open to question. ♪ >> each click proof that

america's thirst for cute is unquenchable. >> they sure are cute. our thanks to sharyn alfonsi. when we come back, a remodelled general motors, but will the new automaker cruise to success? it's tonight's "closing argument."

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