Lawrencia Ann "Bambi" Bembenek, known as Laurie Bembenek, was an American security officer at Marquette University when she was arrested on charges of first-degree murder of Christine Schultz in Milwaukee, Wisconsin on May 28,1981.
55 Facts About Laurie Bembenek
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Laurie Bembenek and Fred Schultz married in January 1981 in Illinois, but the marriage was ruled invalid because Wisconsin does not allow remarriage less than six months after divorce.
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Laurie Bembenek gained even more media notice in 1990 after she escaped from Taycheedah Correctional Institution in Wisconsin.
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In December 1992 Laurie Bembenek was sentenced to time served and ten years' probation.
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Laurie Bembenek had graduated from the police academy and served briefly with the Milwaukee Police Department, before being fired in August 1980 during her probationary period.
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Two years after gaining freedom in November 1992, Laurie Bembenek moved to Vancouver, Washington, where her parents lived.
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Laurie Bembenek worked at volunteer and paying jobs and married again.
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On November 20,2010, Laurie Bembenek died at a hospice facility in Portland, Oregon, at age 52.
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Lawrencia Ann Laurie Bembenek was the youngest of three girls; she was born on August 15,1958 to Joseph and Virginia Laurie Bembenek in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
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Laurie Bembenek later transferred to Bay View High School, where she graduated in 1976.
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In March 1980, Laurie Bembenek began training at the Milwaukee police academy.
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Laurie Bembenek denied the charge, which was investigated but never substantiated.
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Laurie Bembenek graduated from the academy in the summer of 1980 and was assigned to the MPD's South Side Second District.
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Laurie Bembenek said that female and minority officers were routinely subjected to harassment and abuse during training.
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Laurie Bembenek said that when female and minority trainees joined the department, they were routinely punished or even fired for minor infractions during their probationary period, while white male officers went unpunished for more serious offenses.
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Laurie Bembenek was dismissed from the Milwaukee Police Department on August 25,1980 because of her involvement in filing a false report related to Zess's May arrest.
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Laurie Bembenek took the pictures to the federal Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, where she argued that she had been dismissed for a minor infraction, but the male police officers were committing more serious violations, and did so with impunity.
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Later, Laurie Bembenek briefly worked as a waitress at the Playboy Club in Lake Geneva.
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Around this time, Laurie Bembenek met Fred Schultz, who was already a thirteen-year veteran of the MPD.
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Laurie Bembenek began working as a personal trainer at a health club.
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Laurie Bembenek had been alone at home, in the apartment she shared with Fred Schultz.
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Laurie Bembenek had access to both the gun and a key to Christine's house, which Fred Schulz had secretly copied from his oldest son's house key.
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Laurie Bembenek supposedly had access to a key to Christine's home.
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Prosecution witnesses testified that Laurie Bembenek had spoken often of killing Christine.
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The prosecution produced a witness who said Laurie Bembenek offered to pay him to carry out the murder.
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Laurie Bembenek was imprisoned at the Taycheedah Correctional Institution in Fond du Lac, Wisconsin.
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Laurie Bembenek in turn came to believe that Schultz was guilty of having hired a man named Freddy Horenberger to murder Christine, and allowed Laurie Bembenek to take the fall.
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Laurie Bembenek was a former boyfriend of Judy Zess, who testified for the prosecution against Bembenek.
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Laurie Bembenek contended that the attorney whom her husband had hired to represent her had a conflict of interest.
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Laurie Bembenek's attorneys said that the first attorney purposely failed to inform the jury that there was evidence connecting her husband Schultz to his ex-wife's murder.
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Laurie Bembenek noted the fact that one of the prosecution's witnesses, Judy Zess, had recanted her testimony, stating it was made under duress.
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Laurie Bembenek's supporters agreed with her claim that Horenberger, at the behest of Fred Schulz, had murdered Christine.
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Laurie Bembenek said that two of the hairs were consistent with samples taken from Bembenek's hairbrush.
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About a year after she went to prison, on June 28,1983, Laurie Bembenek filed for divorce from Fred Schultz.
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Laurie Bembenek met and became engaged to factory worker Dominic Gugliatto, brother of her cellmate.
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On July 15,1990, Laurie Bembenek escaped through a laundry room window and was picked up by her fiance, Gugliatto.
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The couple were spotted in Wauwatosa, Wisconsin two days after Laurie Bembenek's escape, driving in Gugliatto's truck.
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Laurie Bembenek's escape reignited publicity surrounding her case, and she became something of a folk hero.
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On October 17,1990, the couple were arrested after a tourist saw a segment about Laurie Bembenek's escape on America's Most Wanted TV series.
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Laurie Bembenek sought refugee status in Canada, claiming that she was being persecuted by a conspiracy between the police department and the judicial system in Wisconsin.
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Laurie Bembenek voluntarily returned to the United States on April 22,1991.
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Laurie Bembenek was sentenced to 20 years, which was commuted to time served.
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Laurie Bembenek was released from custody three hours after the hearing, having served a little more than ten years.
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Laurie Bembenek wrote a book about her experience, titled Woman on Trial.
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Laurie Bembenek was diagnosed with hepatitis C, which she had acquired from her mother at birth, and had other liver and kidney problems.
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Laurie Bembenek legally changed her name to Laurie Bembenek in July 1994.
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Laurie Bembenek was diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder, complicated by a growing addiction to alcohol.
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In 2002, Laurie Bembenek either fell or jumped from a second-story window, breaking her leg so badly that it had to be amputated below the knee.
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Laurie Bembenek said that she had been held in an apartment by handlers in preparation for appearing on the Dr Phil television show.
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Laurie Bembenek said the confinement felt too much like her time in solitary in prison; she tried to escape and suffered the injury.
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Laurie Bembenek sued Dr Phil, Paramount and 52 staffers from the show.
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Laurie Bembenek continued to proclaim her innocence, but the Wisconsin Supreme Court refused to overturn her "no contest plea", saying that such a plea cannot be withdrawn.
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Laurie Bembenek's petition argued that the court needed to clarify whether defendants who plead guilty or no contest have the same right to review evidence as those who plead not guilty.
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On November 20,2010, Laurie Bembenek died at a hospice facility in Portland, Oregon, from liver and kidney failure.
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Laurie Bembenek's case inspired two television movies, a podcast and various books and articles.