The interview was scheduled for early in the workday on Friday, June 5. We felt it best, if were going to do this and hand the package to RHD, were going to hand it to them with everything done correctly.. Burglars must have entered through the unlocked front door. PART SIX Curse of Palmyra: Stephanie Stearns on trial for murder Once there, the couple discovered that the condition of their boat and the lack of adequate supplies prevented their return. Stephanie Stearns Her mother, Rose King, and sister, Peggy Faulkner, of San Diego, were quoted in media coverage of the murders as having grown up here. By Bryan Lambert, Boston 25 News Staff and Butch Stearns, Boston 25 News April 14, 2023 at 12:20 am EDT. All concernedprosecutors, defense lawyers, forensic scientists, judgeshad to raise their game. Her mother, Rose King, and sister, Peggy Faulkner, of San Diego, were quoted in media Eleanor Graham was either shot or clubbed, then her body was placed in a metal chest and set afire, according to prosecution experts. The clearance rates reported at the end of each calendar year stand in perpetuity; they cannot be corrected through later arrests. Using the LAPDs annual statistics, Lambkin tallied the numbers. So I get up there first and I say, Has anybody ever heard of DNA? Some little retired guy raises his hand and says, Yeah, I know, I know. Knowing she was married to someone else, they told her, theyd selected a place where they could speak privately, away from gossiping colleagues. There are 30+ professionals named "Stephanie Stearns", who use LinkedIn to exchange information, ideas, and opportunities. Garrett-Stearns was previously Head of Public Relations and Chief Corporate Spokesperson for the Siemens division, Osram Sylvania., I am honored to serve the people of Boston as part of the historic Kim Janey administration, said Garrett-Stearns. It was extremely difficult initially to process that possibility, he says. He moved to the small town of Willets in Mendocino County CA. How to support my channel:Artwork on Opensea link: https://opensea.io/collection/astoldbytheolyn-collectionArtwork on Etsy Six years later, a corroded chest was found partially buried in a lagoon at Palmyra. stephanie stearns today Stephanie Lazarus: Yeah, I know she got killed. Occasionally the digitization process introduces transcription errors or other problems; we are continuing to work to improve these archived versions. Everything I knew about Stephanie, she was sharp, Nuttall says. Nuttall was tapped for the job. Bub went to his lieutenant in the Van Nuys Division and briefed him on the investigation. In 1986, the year Rasmussen was killed, Los Angeles recorded 831 murders, a figure nearly triple what it is today. The LAPD detective who arrested him had been 8 years old when the murder occurred. In 1981, as a young cop, Lambkin had requested assignment to the Automated Information Division, which, among other responsibilities, maintained a citywide crime database that could be searched by modus operandi or other basic criteriafor instance, all liquor-store robberies in which the suspect wore a mask. Its been nearly two years of hell, not knowing who did this to Sherri or why, he told the assembled reporters. The office the unit was givena 250-square-foot former janitorial storage spacewas so cramped that every time someone wanted to leave, others had to pull in their chairs to make room. When King asked jurors to consider whether further deliberation would be unproductive, the verdict to acquit was returned less than an hour later. LAPD homicide detectives track their clearance rate the way pro athletes track their season stats. At midnight on December 31, when the LAPD closed the books on its 1986 homicide statistics, Sherri Rasmussens murder was indelibly recorded as one of 293 unsolved cases. Climate change sparks disaster fears, Police manhunt continues for suspect in Texas mass shooting, A powerhouse U.S. doctor slain in Sudan, killed for nothing, In final Mass in Budapest, pope urges Hungary to open doors, What GOPs plan for Medicaid work requirements would mean. The plan was for the RHD detectives to request Lazaruss help interviewing a jailed suspect who claimed to have information on an art-theft case. It is doubtful whether the Iola was sufficiently seaworthy either for a return voyage to Hawaii But that began to change in 1989, when two lawyers, Peter Neufeld and Barry Scheck, convinced a New York judge that poor laboratory procedures warranted exclusion of DNA evidence that had been introduced against their client. The cold-case unit initially consisted of seven detectives: three teams of two, with Lambkin at the helm. Woman Denies Assisting in Palmyra Island Slaying According to Bugliosis book, Dorothy Young of La Mesa is an older sister of Bugliosi. Back at the squad room, the detectives prepared for two possible outcomes: if Lazaruss DNA matched the sample from the swab, RHD would assume responsibility for the case; if it didnt match, the Rasmussen case would be designated investigation continued and shelved yet again, probably forever. Stephanie received a two-year sentence of which she served seven months in prison and six months in a halfway house. A blood trail down the stairs and a bloody handprint near the front door suggested Rasmussen had tried to escape or reach the panic button on the alarm panel located there, but her assailant followed. All over the world, newspapers hailed the breakthrough and marveled at the ways DNA forensics might revolutionize detective work. He got sober and enrolled in college. Rasmussen was six feet tall and fit, and the ensuing struggle was ferocious. The Lazarus File The first article Butterworth analyzed was a blood swatch taken at the victims autopsy, which gave her Rasmussens DNA profile. The detectives had known for a while that they would need to obtain a sample of Lazaruss DNA to compare with the bite-mark swab. The lock on the drivers-side door had been punched, she said, and a blue gym bag stolen. In this case, it would not be easy. Stephanie The detectives went back over the whole investigationbut this time with the assumption that they were looking for a female suspect. But police hoped that the list of those who declined to participate would provide new leads. Then something changed, Most of Yosemite Valley is closed due to potentially perilous snowpack and flooding, Column: If not cops or guns, what will it take to make us feel safe? task force to tackle the citywide backlog. Two months after the Grahams vanished, Stearns and Walker sailed the Grahams yacht into Hawaii, 1,100 miles away; they were later sentenced to prison for stealing the yacht. Stearns received a two-year A careful reading of FINAL ARGUMENT answers these, and many more questions that should have been asked, but were not. After Bugliosi argued that Buck Walker had Inside were Eleanor Graham's remains, identified with dental records. The garage door was open and the silver two-door BMW hed bought Rasmussen as an engagement gift was gone. Into the early 1990s, Loretta called the Van Nuys homicide unit regularly to inquire about Sherris case. In the end, they decided to stage the interview at Parker Centers Jail Division, located on the floor directly below the Robbery-Homicide Division and the Art Theft Detail. Time and again she is exposed as a liar and a perjurer, yet the jury forgives lie after lie all the while ignoring the honest and forthright testimony of the Pollocks (The LEONARDS in ATSWT.) But it was certainly unusual. Feb. 20 a Federal grand jury handed down an indictment accusing Miss Stearns and Mr. Walker of killing Mrs. Graham in ''an attempt to perpetrate a burglary or robbery.'' However, Stearns murder plot was masterful. He walks me in, Nuttall recalls, and I drew a blank on what I was going to say. The awkward silence was broken when Loretta crossed the room to where Nuttall stood, and hugged him. The decision, People v. Castro, sent shock waves through the criminal-justice system. In early February 2009, with the squads most recent homicide cleared, Nuttall and Barba began poking around for an interesting cold case. She would bebut only technically. Eventually he took the weapons out of the house, she said. When the two LAPD detectives pulled up to the house, Nels came out to the driveway to greet them. The LAPD had collected semen at both crime scenes, and Kahn received permission to submit the evidence to a private lab for DNA analysis, which confirmed that Wildss DNA profile matched that of the rapist. He escaped from prison after 42 months. She typed up her conclusions and sent the report to the cold-case unit on February 8, 2005. Suspicion quickly fell upon a 17-year-old boy who seemed to have an unnatural interest in the second crime scene. After leaving the Navy in 1966, he fell into drugs and crime, and was eventually sentenced to three years at San Quentin for assault and robbery. Stearns and Jaramillo interviewed Lazarus for more than an hour, coming at her in an oblique manner that left it unclear whether they were speaking with her as a possible witness or a criminal suspect. The jury deliberated 2 1/2 days. So we looked for sexually motivated murders, where there was a better chance for DNA. No one was forced to participate in the blooding, as the DNA dragnet came to be called, and few expected that the killer would volunteer himself. Given the sensitivity of the unfolding investigation, Nuttall had to be cautious about tipping his hand. Murder Indictment in February. Webstephanie stearns today. How Palm Springs ran out Black and Latino families to build a fantasy for rich, white people, 17 SoCal hiking trails that are blooming with wildflowers (but probably not for long! Nels didnt know the ex-girlfriends name, but he knew she was a Los Angeles police officer. But as far as motive was concerned, the information that we had was that [Lazarus and Ruettens] relationship had been over since the previous summer. In mid-April, just over two months into the new investigation, that DNA report came back negative. I first learned of the Palmyra murders when I saw the TV miniseries based on Vincent Bugliosi's book. WebStephanie Stearns Resides in Auburn, WA Includes Address (1) Phone (1) See Results Stephanie Louise Stearns, 49 Resides in Arlington, WA Lived In Reedsburg WI, Las Vegas NV, Auburn WA, Mount Vernon WA Related To Shannon Stearns, Steven Stearns, Stacy Stearns Also known as S Stearns, Stephanie L Stearn, Stephan Stearns We were teetering, Bub recalls. By that time, police laboratories in England and America were accustomed to analyzing biological evidence, typically blood or semen, using a laboratory method called serology to determine blood type. Transcript of police interview with Stephanie Lazarus, June 5, 2009, Video: Watch key moments from Lazarus's interrogation. Indeed, by the end of the trial, the DNA results had ironically become a pillar of the defenses alternate narrative of the murder. Its the number by which their performance is judged, both within the unit and up the chain of command. Mr. Walker and Miss Stearns were convicted in separate trials of stealing and transporting the Sea Wind to Honolulu. It was useful for investigative purposes, but too imprecise to serve as a smoking gun. A woman who worked at a bakery in Leicester had been gossiping with co-workers at a pub when one mentioned that he had agreed to take the blood test on someone elses behalf. The DNA profiles of tens of thousands of California inmates were uploaded to the FBIs vast database. Another defendant is named in the indictment, Buck Duane Walker, 44, but he will not stand trial with Miss Stearns. We looked at maybe a burglary murder that was unsolved. As Joseph Wambaugh, the LAPD detective turned crime writer, recounted masterfully in his 1989 book, The Blooding, an unprecedented force of 200 police officers was assembled to hunt for the murderer. The two detectives who were ultimately chosen, Greg Stearns and Dan Jaramillo, were selected in part because they did not know Lazarus well, and had no bias for or against her. During the summer of 1974, Stephanie Stearns and Buck Walker sailed to the island in an old sailboat. A housekeeper in the unit next door later said shed heard a scuffle and a scream, but no gunshots. Stephanie Garrett-Stearns named Chief Communications Officer Detectives boxed up whichever cases werent being actively worked and sent them back to the divisions where they had originated, if there was room for them, or to the LAPD archives if there wasnt. She's working for the telecommunications giant Harris Corporation. Some jurors took notes during her testimony. All of which were ignored by the prosecutor, judge, jury and reading public. Of course it was O.J.s DNA: it had been planted at the scene! He was wearing a wire. ), At Willie Nelson 90, country, rock and rap stars pay tribute, but Willie and Trigger steal the show, Concertgoer lets out a loud full body orgasm while L.A. Phil plays Tchaikovskys 5th, Plaschke: Lakers live up to their legacy with a close-out win for the ages, L.A. Affairs: I had my reasons for not dating white men. His children and members of his church packed the gallery in support of him. Next he opened a sexual-assault kit and collected a series of swabs and slides. He made detective quickly and requested assignment to a sex-crimes unit. When Mayer learned that one of them had brandished a gun, these unidentified burglars became the focus of his homicide investigation. By this time, Nuttall had spoken on the phone with Nels Rasmussen, Sherris father, whose persistence and intelligence impressed him. In the living room Rasmussen had been bitten on her left forearm, perhaps while grappling for the gun, and then struck over the head with the heavy vase, a blow that likely incapacitated her. WebApparently Stearns' and Walker's voyage from Hawaii had been an arduous one. The assailant had then taken a quilt from across the roompresumably to muffle the guns reportand fired more shots through it, killing Rasmussen. It was during that time that he planned to flee Hawaii on his own boat, and Stearns decided to go with him. What is the birth name of Jeff Stearns? Two couples arrive on the same remote and uninhabited island in the Pacific looking for paradise. Hes going to know I know. When he was charged with drug sales in 1973, he swore he would never return to the California prison. While free on bail, Mr. Walker assumed a new identity, according to the court documents. The food supply never went below a seven-day supply, she said. starbulletin.com For these families, this stuff never goes away, he says. (Most egregious were her August 5th log remarks about "drooling and dreaming" anticipating possession of the SEA WIND on execution of the Grahams.) United States of America, Plaintiff-appellee, v. Stephanie K. You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times. Stephanie Stearns Stearns said she would return to work as an office manager in a Los Angeles telecommunications company. They settled on Sherri Rasmussens. According to evidence presented at the earlier court hearings, Buck Walker's criminal career began when he was a teen-ager in Oregon and he was in and out of prisons through the 1960's. You can read the story HERE. Bub, a veteran of RHD, was determined to deliver an ultra-professional case to them. Where is Stephanie stearns now? WebStephanie Beshears is 44 years old and was born on 05/20/1978. Mr. Walker and Miss Stearns turned up here in October 1974, sailing the Grahams's yacht, the Sea Wind, which they had partly disguised and repainted. Garrett-Stearns new role includes responsibilities held by Nick Martin, who announced plans to pursue new opportunities in April and will be leaving his role on May 21., Stephanie Garrett-Stearns is a communications veteran with insight into Bostons diverse communities, said Mayor Kim Janey. Mr. Shoemaker had learned from earlier radio talks of the trouble between the two couples, he testified. In 1963, Robinson had been an 18-year-old Navy recruit stationed in San Diego. Stephanie Garrett-Stearns named Chief Communications Officer Lambkin excelled at the work, but by 1990, he felt burned out and decided to shift to homicides. Nels brought up an article about DNA forensics he had read in a science magazine and offered to pay for DNA analysis of the evidence at a private lab. The woman called the police, and the naf whod taken the surrogate blood test promptly fingered the man who had talked him into it, a fellow baker with the improbable name of Colin Pitchfork. The metal box was wired shut and thrown into the lagoon, where it was expected to keep its grisly secret forever. Although he didnt solve every fresh case he worked, he closed enough old ones to maintain a remarkable 100 percent personal clearance rate every year from 1991 through 1996. During the summer and fall of 2003, Lambkins unit was working its way, case by case, through the 1,400 unsolved homicides it had flagged as having good forensic potential. The defense today attacked the federal murder case against The Grahams left Hilo June 24. In October 1998, the FBI launched a DNA database called the Combined DNA Index System, or CODIS, which gave detectives the ability to compare DNA samples collected at crime scenes with the DNA profiles of legions of potential suspects. Because many more people within the LAPD and the D.A.s office were now aware of where the investigation was headed, concern was growing that word could leak at any moment. I wish Nick the very best in his next chapter., Before joining the Janey administration, Garrett-Stearns (pictured) served as Vice President of Communications and Fund Development for The Community Builders, Inc, where she led communications and fundraising strategy and program execution. I guess Im not one to make many waves.. ATSWT reviewed the supposed facts surrounding the murder of the Grahams on Palmyra, and followed STEPHANIE STEARNS (aka JENNIFER JENKINS) upon her arrest and trial for her role in the planning and participation in those murders. By coincidence, Bub followed it in March 2008, when he accepted a transfer to run the Van Nuys homicide unit, which had just lost its supervising detective and two others to retirement. When the boy was arrested and interrogated, he offered a rambling half-confession to the more recent murder, alternately describing his acts in great detail and then, moments later, denying hed done anything wrong. If a homicide occurs in late December but an arrest is made in January, credit for the clearance is taken in the year of the arrest, not the year of the murder. Lazarus listed for the clerk the contents of the stolen bag: clothes, half a dozen cassette tapes, and the handgun, which she described as a Smith & Wesson five-shot .38 revolver. For the most part he does this by omitting critical testimony that proves the lie such as Stearns' patently absurd account of her sailing method re "leisure sailing," or her improbable account of the Iola's supposed approach to Palmyra. Stephanie Stearns Page by page, for months, the detectives combed the old homicide summary books. As we prepare for this transition, I am tremendously grateful to Nick Martin. Firearms were not allowed in the jail, so it would not seem unnatural for all three detectivesStearns, Jaramillo, and Lazarusto surrender their guns before entering. Note: I received this book as a Goodreads Giveaway. Both Stearns and Walker had stated the Iola sank on the reef just inside the Palmyra harbor while they tried to tow it back to Hawaii. Still, Stephanie couldnt run without pain. In 1988, Nels wrote a letter to thenChief of Police Daryl Gates requesting his intervention in the case, specifically looking into the possibility that an ex-girlfriend of Ruettens who was a police officer might have been involved. You can see if hes for real.. In an indoor crime scene, obviously, the longer you are there, the more you dowhether youre sexually assaulting, burglarizing, moving around ransackingyou increase the chance for good fingerprints.. One corollary of this quirk is that a division can raise its current-year clearance rate by solving old cases as well as fresh ones. In February 2003, a year and a half after its formation, the cold-case unit made its first arrest, solving the 1983 murder of a young nurse and mother named Elaine Graham. Within hours of receiving the DNA results, Bub and Nuttall brought the four binders that comprised the Rasmussen case file to Stearns and Jaramillo at Parker Center. WebView the profiles of professionals named "Stephanie Stearns" on LinkedIn. Of those cases, 13,300 were cleared by arrest and another 2,668 were recorded as cleared other. That left 7,745 cold cases. The jawbone was identified as Mrs. Graham's. He placed the tube inside a 5-by-7-inch L.A. coroners physical-evidence envelope, on which he wrote Sherri Rasmussens name, a description of the contents, and where hed obtained them. Mayor Kim Janey announced today that she is appointing Senior Advisor Stephanie Garrett-Stearns as Chief Communications Officer. She holds a Master of Business Administration degree from Washington University in St. Louis and a bachelors degree in human resources management from Michigan State University.. When she turned to the crime-scene evidence, the items she initially testeda piece of fingernail, a bloodstained towelyielded only the victims profile. The entire point of "Final Argument" is to argue against "And The Sea Will Tell"; plus, Bucy doesn't start the reader off by explaining the story's narrative - so if you don't already know about the tragedy of Palmyra backward and forward, you'll be lost for a while. Stephanie is related to Conner Mark Stearns and John T Stearns as well as 3 additional people. That jumps off the page at you, because when you have that, and youre aware that the case is based on two male burglarswell, that alters the entire course of the investigation. Three months later, she was dead. Alas, poor Muff, her bones at the time of publishing, languish in the care of the FBI, forty years after her torture and murder by Stearns and Walker, still not at rest, forlorn and forgotten. During their trials they both said that they and the Grahams had become close friends. On the night of Aug. 28, 1974, a Wednesday, the last radio conversation was held between Mr. Graham at Palmyra and Mr. Shoemaker on Hawaii. The results stunned everyone. The jurors, and the judge, agreed: Robinson was convicted and sentenced to life in prison. In November 1987, they returned to Los Angeles and held a press conference, at which they renewed their offer of a $10,000 reward for information leading to an arrest. While Stearns and Jaramillo began planning their strategy for interviewing Lazarus, Nuttall and Lisa Sanchez, another RHD detective, flew to Arizona to meet with the Rasmussen family. The profiles matched, and Laudenberg is now serving a life sentence. And toward the end it becomes a horror fiction book, too. Why is Frank McCourt really pushing this? Contact 617-635-4500 send an email 1 City Hall Square, Suite 500 Boston, MA 02201-2013 Office hours Monday through Friday, 9 a.m. - 5 p.m. icon-twitter icon-facebook icon-instagram icon-flickr Latest news Jan 9 Since her swearing-in on March 24, Janey has named, , Chief of Environment, Energy, and Open Space., Stephanie Garrett-Stearns named Chief Communications Officer. When confronted, Pitchfork confessed to the killings, and DNA analysis later confirmed that he had raped both girls. He reinserted the swab into the tube, squeezed the stopper shut, and labeled it with his initials and the coroners case number. Soon after, a couple arrived to Hawaii on board the Sea Wind. You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times. I just gave up reading because I felt like it was just too repetitive. In the wake of the successful prosecution, Kahn became responsible for handling any DNA-admissibility hearing that took place in Los Angeles County. She holds a Master of Business Administration degree from Washington University in St. Louis and a bachelors degree in human resources management from Michigan State University., Janeys appointment of Garrett-Stearns is her latest move to build one of the most diverse cabinets in the Citys history. She was acquitted Friday by a federal court jury. Both Buck and Stephanie were convicted of stealing the boat and transporting it to Honolulu, Hawaii. At the dawn of the DNA age, Lambkins background investigating sex crimes proved an excellent foundation for homicide work. Hearing the shots, the downstairs burglar probably fled, ditching the video components. Robinson emerged from prison a changed man. Prosecutors say Walker, in an effort to get a working boat and food supplies to continue their flight from Hawaiian authorities, brutally murdered Eleanor Graham and bragged of forcing her husband to walk the plank while the man cried for his life. Get up to speed with our Essential California newsletter, sent six days a week. They failed to report the couples disappearance to authorities and at one point Walker told friends he won the boat in a chess match with an eccentric millionaire. Lazarus and John Ruetten had become close friends at UCLA, where theyd lived in the same dorm. If you dont solve one, well, no one solved it. Defense lawyers said Walker was solely responsible for the murder and hid it from Stearns, who testified she thought the Grahams had drowned on a fishing trip, and joined Walker on a search that found the Grahams overturned dinghy but no sign of the couple. Garrett-Stearns is a volunteer and board member for several nonprofit organizations, including the Massachusetts Institute for a New Commonwealth (MassINC), the Boston Chapter of The Links, Incorporated and Psi Omega Chapter of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc. An active member of Union United Methodist Church in the South End, she lives in West Roxbury with her husband and daughter. Afterward, the coffee cup the old man had used was whisked to the lab and his DNA was harvested from the brim. After graduating in the early 1980s, they dated on and off. He said he could find no sign of the couple and that he had brought their boat back to Honolulu to keep it from being destroyed by the weather. Nuttall phoned Bub and told him they had identified the police-officer ex-girlfriend whom Nels Rasmussen had brought up all those years before. In 1993, she made detective, and in 1996 she married a fellow LAPD officer, with whom she later adopted a little girl. He got a passport as Roy Allen, providing a photograph of himself wearing a clerical collar. Primitive as the IBM punch-card and mainframe-computer databases might seem today, they were cutting-edge at the time, and they nurtured Lambkins interest in how technology could be used to solve cases. She said she used coconuts in a multitude of ways and even had enough food to feed the three dogs she and Walker brought on the boat with them. And the Sea Will Tell - Wikipedia In 1986, a young nurse named Sherri Rasmussen was murdered in Los Angeles. Where is Stephanie stearns now? - Answers When he noticed the bite mark on Rasmussens arm, Mahany selected a six-inch swab housed in a tube with a red rubber stopper. It was only after Jaramillo asked Lazarus if shed be willing to give them a DNA swab and noted, Its possible we may have some DNA at the location, that she said she wanted to contact a lawyer. Bugliosi's "And The Sea Will Tell" is an absolute prerequisite to this book. Stephanie Stearns - Biography - IMDb Buck received 10 years for the theft Stephanie Sternes, Licensed Clinical Professional Phillip Stearns was born on June 2, 1984, in Bloomington, Illinois, USA. That left them with only two suspects: Lazarus and one other woman, a fellow nurse who, according to the original case notes, had occasionally argued with Sherri at the hospital. They kept a pretty good chronological record of everything that was done over 23 years. When Nuttall reached the 2005 DNA-analysis report, he saw immediately that the gender marker was incompatible with the original theory of the case. On behalf of the prosecution, Kahn coordinated the DNA testing of more than 50 blood samples that seemed to tie Simpson inextricably to the killings.