stephanie ilene lazarus grew up in southern california, a tom boy of sorts. loved sports.a where she played basketball. it was during her college days that she met and dated john rutten, before and sherry got married. after graduating, lazarus surprised her family by joining the l.a.p.d., this when only a handful of women entered the force. >> i don't think had that i knew she was applying. >> reporter: stephanie's brother, steven. >> i was proud of steph. i thought it was a cool thing. >> reporter: stephanie lazarus quickly rose through the ranks of the l.a.p.d., she was popular. friendly and well regarded. her assignments also included project dare. she was twice named detective of the year. later, lazarus worked at internal affairs investigating other officers accused of wrongdoing or corruption. and was then promoted to the l.a.p.d.'s art theft unit. her personal life was good too. in 1996, lazarus got married to another l.a.p.d. detective. together, they adopted a baby daughter. life both at home and on the job never seemed better. >> she was a happy person. she loved