stephanie ilene lazarus had grown up in southern, california, a tom boy of sorts and loved sports.here she played basketball. it was during her college days that she met and dated john ruetten, long before he and sherri got married. after graduating in 1982, lazarus surprised her family by joining the lapd. this when only a handful of women entered the force. >> i don't think i knew that she was applying. >> stephanie's brother steven. >> i was very proud of steph. i thought it was a cool thing. >> stephanie lazarus quickly rose through the ranks of lapd, from patrol officer to detective and she was popular, friendly, and well-regarded. her assignments also included project d. a. r. e., a drug prevention program aimed at kids. twice named detective of the year. later, she worked at internal affairs investigating other officers accused of wrongdoing or corruption, and then promoted to the lapd's art theft unit. her personal life was good, too. in 1996, lazarus got married to another lapd detective. together, they adopted a baby daughter. life both at home and on the job never seemed