Caught on camera: Female detective’s disbelief as colleagues question HER over 1986 murder
New video footage has been released of a shocked Los Angeles police detective after colleagues ambush her and question her about the murder of her ex-boyfriend's wife 24 years earlier.
Detectives lured Stephanie Lazarus to the surprise interrogation on the pretext that she would be helping fellow officers question an art theft suspect.
But as they began interviewing her about the 1986 killing of Sherri Rae Rasmussen, she realises what they are doing and asks if she was on 'Candid Camera'.
'Uncomfortable': Stephanie Lazarus asks two other detectives whether she needed a lawyer as they question her over the 1986 killing of her ex-boyfriend's wife
Lazarus admitted during the footage that she had confronted Ms Rasmussen several times, but said she had no role in her killing.
But as she got up to leave the interview room, she was stopped, handcuffed and arrested in connection with the murder.
Los Angeles County Superior Court this week rejected a request by her legal team to keep the video out of the case.
Lazarus has pleaded not guilty to the killing and is awaiting trial.
In the hour-long footage, Lazarus told the other two officers they were 'starting to make me uncomfortable' and asked whether she needed a lawyer.
'This is insane': The LAPD detective is shocked when she realises her colleagues consider her a suspect in the murder
She described their questioning as 'insane' and added: 'You're accusing me of this? Is that what you're - is that what you're saying?
'Am I on "Candid Camera" or something? This is insane. This absolutely crazy. This is insane.'
Ms Rasmussen, a 29-year-old hospital nursing director, was found bludgeoned and shot multiple times in the Van Nuys townhouse she shared with John Reutten, whom she had recently married.
Lazarus had been in a relationship while attending UCLA, but had broken up when Mr Reutten struck up a relationship with Ms Rasmussen.
Last year, DNA analysis of saliva collected from a bite mark on the victim's arm indicated the killer was a woman, disproving the previous theory that she had been killed in a botched burglary.
Charges: Minutes after the recording Lazarus leaves the room and is arrested outside by other officers
Detectives reopened the case and when they learned of Lazarus' relationship with Mr Reutten began tailing her and eventually collected a plastic utensil with her saliva on it which matched evidence found at the crime scene.
They then devised a plan to arrest Lazarus where one detective asked her to accompany him downstairs to the department's jail facility to help question a man about stolen art.
They then revealed there was no stolen art case, and began to question her about her relationship with Mr Reutten and Ms Rasmussen.
When she began to protest, they explained they had brought her down to the jail to spare her the embarrassment of being questioned in the office.
It was then that she got up to leave and was arrested by other officers outside the room.
Watch part of the interview below
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