The Murder of Sherri Rasmussen: A Killer in Uniform

On February 24, 1986, 29-year-old Sherri Rasmussen, a highly successful director of nursing, was found brutally beaten and shot to death inside her Van Nuys, California condominium. The crime scene was chaotic. A broken porcelain vase lay in pieces, a heavy credenza was overturned, and a bloody handprint was smeared next to the panic button of the home alarm system. Investigators on the scene quickly concluded that Sherri had interrupted a burglary in progress and became the victim of a home invasion gone terribly wrong. Despite Sherri's family repeatedly urging the police to look into a jealous former lover who had been stalking and confronting Sherri in the months leading up to her death, the lead detective dismissed their concerns. The case went cold for over two decades, leaving a grieving family to wonder if they would ever see justice. It would take twenty-three years and a new generation of cold case detectives to finally look at the evidence with fresh eyes. When they did, they discovered that the key to solving Sherri's murder had been sitting in a freezer the entire time. The truth they uncovered would shock the Los Angeles Police Department and reveal a killer hiding in plain sight, wearing a badge. This week we cover the heartbreaking murder of Sherri Rasmussen, the decades-long fight of a family seeking justice, and the chilling story of how a police officer almost got away with the perfect crime. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices