A veteran detective of the Los Angeles Police Department may face death penalty after she was arrested last week and charged with capital murder for killing her ex-boyfriend's wife in 1986, prosecutors said on Tuesday.

Stephanie Lazarus, 49, made her first court appearance on Tuesday, but her arraignment was postponed to July 6.

Prosecutors said they are expected to decide later whether to seek the death penalty against Lazarus, a detective with the LAPD's Art Theft Unit.

Lazarus was arrested on Friday at the LAPD headquarters in downtown Los Angeles and remains jailed without bail. Her arrest shocked the Los Angles police force, which has continued to see a decline in crime in recent years for its hailed "smart policing."

Lazarus, who had been with the LAPD about two years at the time of the killing, was identified as a suspect after a DNA sample left at the scene recently came back as a match, according to police.

The 29-year-old Sherri Rasmussen's body was found in a Los Angeles suburb residence by her husband, who had a long-term relationship with Lazarus prior to the marriage, according to LAPD Deputy Chief Charlie Beck.

The victim's parents, who were in court on Tuesday for Lazarus' arraignment, will make a statement later "concerning serious questions they have had about the LAPD's investigation of the murder in 1986," according to their lawyers.

They are expected to discuss the information provided to the LAPD immediately after the murder and to request that a separate probe be opened into the circumstances surrounding the investigation, their lawyers said.

Source: Xinhua