On February 24, 1986, the body of Sherri Rasmussen was found in the apartment she shared with her husband, John Ruetten, in the Van Nuys neighborhood of Los Angeles, California, United States. She had been beaten and shot three times. The Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) initially considered the case a botched burglary and were unable to identify a suspect. Rasmussen's father believed that LAPD officer Stephanie Lazarus, formerly in a relationship with Ruetten, was a prime suspect due to her continued attraction to Ruetten and confrontations with Rasmussen. The investigation stalled after several months, and the case was cold for over two decades.