Daryl Rasmussen, aka Ms. Puppy: Cross-dresser wanted for 2 murders busted in Cali

Big pics below.

Daryl Rasmussen has got to be one of the most unusual murder suspects ever -- a reportedly homeless cross-dresser who went by the name of Ms. Puppy.

But now, this Puppy has been caged, and Denver Police will be eager to see if they can connect him to the brutal murders of two failed restaurateurs.

The victims were Ronald Ford, 63, and Ramiro Sanchez, 56, who were partners in life and in La Fabula. The eatery opened in 2000, earning a middling review from Westword in June of that year, and shutting down in 2002.

Ford's body was found in his Stuart Street home on February 11, and initially, Sanchez was considered a suspect. But crime scene photos reportedly led a commander to suspect that there may have been more than one victim in the attack and ordered that the house be reexamined. Cops subsequently found Sanchez's body in a basement, beneath bags and other random items.

The pair had last been seen alive around January 25. Both died of blunt-force trauma to the head.

Even before Sanchez was eliminated as a suspect by his own death, the cops were on the lookout for another person -- a cross-dresser known as Ms. Puppy who was said to have been homeless prior to moving in with the couple two or three months prior to the murders. The following month, he was identified as Daryl Rasmussen, and a series of photographs were released -- two in a male guise, one as a female:

Photo one of Daryl Rasmussen.

Photo two of Daryl Rasmussen.

"Ms. Puppy."

No immediate sightings followed -- but the circulation of the images appears to have paid off on Monday night, when a visitor to a Palm Springs, California bar called Score noticed a patron who resembled photos of Rasmussen he'd seen while in Denver. Cops called to the scene asked for Rasmussen's ID, and he provided someone else's -- a ruse that didn't delay his arrest for long.

At this point, no formal charges have been leveled against Rasmussen in the Ford and Sanchez killings. He's being held on outstanding warrants in Texas and Georgia. But you can bet Denver police will be eager to chat with him about his time in Denver -- and what he may have left behind.

Here's a look at Rasmussen's Palm Springs booking photo:

Daryl Rasmussen.

More from our Colorado Crimes archive: "Top 25 most violent fugitives in Denver: A mug shot and offense gallery (PHOTOS)."