sherri rasmussen had been murdered in los angeles in the 1980s. ut several run-ins sherri had with her husband's ex now detective was focusing on the same woman, a member of the lapd here's josh mankiewicz with more of "the smoking gun". >> reporter: for two decades the lapd had but one rasmussen's mu, randomly killed by two men in botched burglary now science had rewritten the script and almost too hot to handle prime suspect, lapd detective named stephanie lazarus. but as detective nutall went back through it, no evidence never spoken to? >> no. >> reporter: only one thing, detective had written stephanie lazarus, po. as if her name had come up, not as suspect no notes >> no paper trail. >> reporter: seemed to be above suspicion. stephanie irene lazarus grew up in california, tomboy of sorts, loved sports attended ucla, played basketball in college met and dated john ruetten long before he and sherri got married after graduating in 1982, surprised her family joining lapd, when only a handful of women entered the force. >> i don't think i knew she