Fatal Attraction: "It’s Been a Million Years Ago" — Ep. 3 | MK Confidential

September 11, 2026

AI Summary

5 min read

It is May 28, 2009, in Simi Valley, California. A woman leaves a Costco with her toddler daughter, carrying pizza and a soft drink. They sit at an outdoor table. About 20 feet away, a Latino man sits alone beside a trash bin. The woman finishes her drink, stands up, walks past a closer trash can, and drops her cup directly into the bin beside the man. Ten seconds later, he has the cup out of the trash. Fifteen seconds later, it is in a manila envelope, and he is moving through the parking lot.

The man is an undercover LAPD operator. The woman is Stephanie Lazarus, an LAPD detective with 26 years on the force. Her own department is trying to find out whether she murdered Sherry Rasmussen 23 years earlier.

The Quiet Investigation

Three months earlier, in February 2009, Detective Jim Nuddall reopened the 1986 murder of Sherry Rasmussen. New DNA from a bite mark on Sherry's arm belonged to a woman. Nuddall asked Sherry's husband, John Rutten, if any women in Sherry's life had a problem with her. John gave a name: Stephanie Lazarus. She joined the LAPD before John ever met Sherry, and she still worked there.

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What you'll learn

1 (01:01) **The Costco Sting** - An undercover LAPD operator recovers a discarded Pepsi cup and straw from a trash bin, obtaining a DNA sample from Stephanie Lazarus.
2 (04:02) **Opening the Cold Case** - Detective Jim Nuddall reopens the 23-year-old murder of Sherry Rasmussen after DNA from a bite mark reveals the killer is a woman.
3 (05:05) **The Secret Investigation Begins** - The four detectives take extreme measures to keep their investigation hidden from their own department.
4 (07:13) **Eliminating the Other Suspects** - The detectives work through a list of five women, eliminating Sherry’s mother, sister, and best friend before focusing on a nurse and Stephanie.
5 (08:28) **Contacting the Victim’s Father** - Nuddall calls Sherry’s father, Nels Rasmussen, who has been waiting 23 years for answers.
6 (09:51) **The Missing Gun** - A search of the firearms database reveals Stephanie purchased a .38 caliber revolver, the same type used in the murder, and reported it stolen 13 days after Sherry was killed.
7 (11:09) **The Hunt for a DNA Sample** - The detectives struggle to find Stephanie’s home address and devise a plan to get her DNA without alerting her.

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Show Notes

“MK Confidential” opens on a mother and daughter enjoying pizza and sodas outside of a California Costco. A distant man looks on. The mother polishes off her soda and chucks the cup into the trash as they leave. Within seconds, the man closes the gap to the trash can and slips the cup into a manila envelope. He is an “operator” in a secretive division of the LAPD. They are investigating one of their own. The cup has her DNA.

Megyn follows four homicide detectives from Van Nuys as they reverse-engineer a cold case, knowing the murderer is a woman. They winnow the list of possible suspects in Sherri Rasmussen’s life to five, and from there, to two — women for whom Sherri would have opened her front door, with a motive for murder. DNA from a bite on Sherri’s arm rules out one. The other is a match.

The killer is LAPD detective Stephanie Lazarus. Depending on whom you ask, Stephanie is an acquaintance, a friend, or an on-and-off lover of Sherri’s husband. The detectives ask her directly: do you know John Ruetten? This is Episode 3 of the Sherri Rasmussen story.

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