Her defense attorney countered that the DNA was packaged improperly and deteriorated while stored in a coroner's freezer for two decades. The conviction came after a three-week trial that included testimony from a forensic expert who said the DNA found in the bite mark was a match to Lazarus. The police officer's union issued a statement saying it hoped the case would not tarnish the reputation of thousands of dedicated police officers. "Had it not been for DNA the case might never have been solved," he said. Los Angeles County District Attorney Steve Cooley was in court for the verdict and said later the case demonstrated the importance of DNA as an investigative tool. "The LAPD family felt a sense of betrayal to have an officer commit such a terrible crime." "This case was a tragedy on every level," he added. I am also sorry it took us so long to solve this case and bring a measure of justice to this tragedy," he said in a written statement. "I am truly sorry for the loss of your wife, of your daughter. Police Chief Charlie Beck, who had worked closely with Lazarus in the LAPD, apologized to the Rasmussen family for the long delay in closing the case. Lazarus, 51, was linked to the case by a cold case team examining DNA swabs taken from a bite mark on the arm of victim Sherri Rasmussen. Her long-ago lover, John Ruetten, watched grimly in the courtroom with the family of his slain wife. Stephanie Lazarus was impassive as she heard the first-degree murder verdict. LOS ANGELES (AP) - A quarter century after a woman's murder, jurors took little more than a day to decide Thursday the killer was a former Los Angeles police detective who was finally unmasked by her DNA and history of obsessive love for her victim's husband.
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