Lawrencia Ann "Bambi" Bembenek (August 15, 1958 – November 20, 2010), known as Laurie Bembenek, was an American former police officer who was convicted for the 1981 murder of her husband's ex-wife. Her story garnered national attention in 1990 after Bembenek escaped from Taycheedah Correctional Institution in Wisconsin and was recaptured in Thunder Bay, Ontario, Canada, an episode that inspired books, movies and the slogan "Run, Bambi, Run". Upon winning a new trial, Bembenek pleaded no contest to second-degree murder and was sentenced to time served and ten years' probation in December 1992. For years, she sought to have the sentence overturned.[1]
Prior to her arrest, Bembenek was fired by the Milwaukee Police Department (MPD) and subsequently sued the department, claiming that its officers engaged in sexual discrimination and other illegal activities. She worked briefly as a waitress at the Lake GenevaPlayboy Club. At the time of her arrest, Bembenek was working for Marquette University's Public Safety Department in downtown Milwaukee. On November 20, 2010, Bembenek died at a hospice facility in Portland, Oregon, at age 52.[2]
Early life
Lawrencia Ann Bembenek was the youngest of three girls born to Joseph and Virginia Bembenek in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, on August 15, 1958.[3][4] Joseph had previously worked for the Milwaukee Police Department (MPD) but quit after witnessing what he described as corruption within the department; he later worked as a carpenter.[4]
Raised Catholic, Bembenek attended St. Augustine's Elementary School and St. Mary's Academy in Milwaukee.[5] She later transferred to Bay View High School, where she graduated in 1976.[6] Bembenek then attended Bryant & Stratton College in Virginia Beach, Virginia, where she earned an associate degree in fashion merchandising management.[7][3]
Career and marriage
After college, Bembenek worked in retail and had a brief stint as a model. In 1978, she appeared as "Miss March" in a calendar distributed by the Joseph Schlitz Brewing Company.[8]
In March 1980, Bembenek began training at the Milwaukee police academy. While still a trainee, Bembenek was accused by an anonymous tipster of smoking marijuana at a party. Bembenek denied the charge, which was investigated but never substantiated. Bembenek later said she believed the accusation was made by the wife of a Milwaukee police officer who confronted her at a party, objecting to her clothing and accusing Bembenek of leading on her husband. Bembenek graduated from the academy in the summer of 1980 and was assigned to the MPD's South Side Second District.
In her autobiography Woman on the Run, Bembenek claimed that the MPD was then composed of "brutal, lazy, apathetic and corrupt" police officers. She also claimed that female and minority officers were routinely subjected to harassment and abuse during training.[9] Bembenek stated 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.[9][10]
While still at the academy, Bembenek met and became close with another female trainee, Judy Zess. At a rock concert in May 1980, Zess was arrested for smoking marijuana. Bembenek's subsequent dismissal from the MPD on August 25 stemmed from her involvement in filing a false report on Zess' arrest.[3] After her firing, Bembenek discovered scandalous photos of several MPD officers, including her future husband, Elfred O. "Fred" Schultz, dancing nude on picnic tables in Gordon Park near one of their favorite hangouts, The Tracks tavern. She took the pictures to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) arguing that while she was dismissed for a minor infraction, police officers committing more serious violations, as depicted in the photos, did so with impunity. The EEOC encouraged Bembenek to file a discrimination report with the MPD's internal affairs division.[9] Later, Bembenek briefly worked as a waitress at the Playboy Club in Lake Geneva.[3]
Around this time, Bembenek met Schultz, then a thirteen-year veteran of the MPD. Schultz had two sons and had divorced his wife, Christine, in November 1980. Bembenek and Schultz were married in January 1981 in Waukegan, Illinois.[11] Bembenek began working as a personal trainer at a health club and lived in an apartment with Schultz, her friend Judy Zess, and Zess' then boyfriend Thomas D. Gaertner.[9][12] Bembenek later got a job as a campus security officer at Marquette University in Milwaukee.[13]
After a judge ruled the couple's marriage invalid, stating that Schultz had violated Wisconsin law by not waiting six months after his divorce to remarry, Bembenek and Schulz were married again in November 1981.[14]
Murder of Christine Schultz
On May 28, 1981, at approximately 2:15 a.m., Schultz's ex-wife Christine was murdered in her Milwaukee home.[15] She was shot point blank into her back through her heart by a single shot from a .38 caliberpistol. Christine was gagged and blindfolded, and her hands were tied in front of her with rope. Her two sons, then 7 and 11 years old, found her face down on her bed and bleeding.[16] The older boy, Sean, saw the assailant and described him as a masked male figure in a green army jacket and black shoes. He also said the man had a long (approx. 6" or 15 cm) reddish-colored ponytail.[17] Bembenek had dyed blonde hair, weighed 140 pounds and was 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m).[18]
Christine and Fred Schultz had been divorced six months when she was killed. Schultz initially stated he was on duty investigating a burglary with his partner, Michael Durfee, at the time of the murder, but years later admitted they were actually drinking at a local bar. When ballistics testing allegedly revealed it was his off-duty revolver that was the murder weapon, suspicion shifted to Bembenek, as she had been alone in the apartment she shared with Schultz. She also had access to both the gun and a key to Christine's house, which Schulz had secretly copied from his oldest son's house key.[16] Bembenek was arrested for Christine Schultz's murder on June 24, 1981.[9]
Schultz had previously been exonerated in the fatal shooting of a Glendale, Wisconsin police officer, George Robert Sassan, on July 23, 1975. Sassan had arrested a subject in a bar while off-duty. Milwaukee police officers, including Schultz, responded to the call in suburban Glendale (outside of their jurisdiction), reportedly mistook Sassan for a suspect and shot him to death when he turned toward them, holding a gun. Schultz and his partner were cleared by the Milwaukee County District Attorney's Office in the shooting.[8]
Trial and conviction
Bembenek's trial generated tremendous publicity, and newspapers began referring to her as "Bambi" Bembenek (a nickname she disliked). The prosecution portrayed Bembenek as a loose woman addicted to expensive living who wanted Christine Schultz dead so that her new husband would no longer have to pay alimony. Pointing out that Bembenek had financial problems, the prosecution claimed that she was the only person with the motive and means to carry out the crime. The gun used to kill Christine was Bembenek's husband's off-duty revolver; the prosecution claimed Bembenek was the only person besides Schultz who had access to the gun, which had blood on it. Bembenek supposedly also had access to a key to Christine's home. There were no signs of a break-in and no valuables taken. The strongest evidence, however, was two human hairs found at the crime scene, which matched ones taken from the hairbrush of the defendant. Schultz's eldest son, however, stated that Bembenek was not the person who had held up their house and shot his mother.[19]
Witnesses testified that Bembenek had spoken often of killing Christine. The prosecution produced a witness who said Bembenek offered to pay him to carry out the murder. According to witnesses for the prosecution, Bembenek owned a green jogging suit similar to the one described by Schultz's son. It was pointed out that she owned a clothes line and a blue bandanna similar to what was used to bind and gag the victim. A wig found in the plumbing system of Bembenek's apartment matched fibers found at the murder scene. A boutique employee testified that Bembenek had purchased such a wig shortly before the murder.[20]
On June 28, 1983, Bembenek filed for divorce from Schultz.[22] In an interview she gave to The Milwaukee Sentinel, Bembenek said that Schultz had written her a letter informing her that he was living with a 19-year-old woman in Florida and had decided to end their marriage.[23] Their divorce was granted on June 19, 1984.[22] While Schultz had initially stood by Bembenek, claiming she was innocent, he later changed his mind and publicly stated that he believed she was "guilty as sin."[24] Bembenek in turn came to believe that Schultz was guilty of hiring a man named Freddy Horenberger to murder Christine, allowing Bembenek to take the fall.[18]
Horenberger, along with an accomplice, had been questioned just days before the murder by a deputy with the Milwaukee County Sheriff's Office about an unrelated crime. Horenberger had briefly worked with Schultz on a remodeling project and was a former boyfriend of Judy Zess.[16] A disguised Horenberger had robbed and beaten Zess several weeks prior to Christine's murder and would later serve a ten-year sentence for that crime.[25] Bembenek contended that the attorney whom Schultz had hired to represent her had a conflict of interest and purposely failed to inform the jury that there was evidence connecting Schultz³ to the murder.[26]
After her imprisonment, Bembenek filed three unsuccessful appeals of her conviction, citing police errors in handling of key evidence and the fact that one of the prosecution's witnesses, Judy Zess, had recanted her testimony, stating it was made under duress. Bembenek and her supporters also alleged that the MPD may have singled her out for prosecution because of her role as a key witness in a federal investigation into police corruption. Bembenek's supporters agreed with her claim that Horenberger, at the behest of Schulz, had murdered Christine.
Numerous affidavits filed following Bembenek's conviction, alleged that while imprisoned, Horenberger boasted to other inmates of killing Christine. However, he publicly denied any involvement in the murder until his alleged suicide in November 1991 following his involvement in a robbery and hostage situation.[1]
Questions were raised as to the accuracy of evidence used in the trial. Dr. Elaine Samuels, the medical examiner who conducted the autopsy, had originally concluded that hairs recovered from Christine's body were consistent with those of Christine herself. After Dr. Samuels' conclusion, the hair evidence was examined by Diane Hanson, a hair analyst from a crime lab in Madison, Wisconsin, who stated that two of the hairs were consistent with samples taken from Bembenek's hairbrush. However, Dr. Samuels refuted that claim and in a 1983 letter in the "Toronto Star" in 1991, stated that,
I recovered no blonde or red hairs of any length or texture...[A]ll of the hairs I recovered from the body were brown and were grossly identical to the hair of the victim...[I] do not like to suggest that evidence was altered in any way, but I can find no logical explanation for what amounted to the appearance of blonde hair in an envelope that contained no such hair at the time it was sealed by me.
The apartment where Bembenek and Schultz lived shared drainage with another apartment, and a brownish-red wig was found in the drainpipe, which matched some of the hairs found on the victim's body. The woman who occupied the other apartment testified that Zess had knocked on her door and asked to use her bathroom; after Zess used the woman's bathroom, the plumbing was clogged. Zess had also admitted to owning a brownish-red wig.[27]
While in prison, Bembenek earned a bachelor's degree from the University of Wisconsin–Parkside and helped found a prisoners' newspaper.[9] She also met and became engaged to factory worker Dominic Gugliatto, her cellmate's brother.[28]
Escape and capture
On July 15, 1990, Bembenek escaped through a laundry room window and was picked up by Gugliatto.[29] The couple were spotted two days after Bembenek's escape in Gugliatto’s truck in Wauwatosa, Wisconsin. The abandoned truck was later found in a parking lot of a Target.[30] Bembenek and Gugliatto fled to Thunder Bay, Ontario while sensational stories about their relationship swirled through American tabloids.[31] Her escape also reignited publicity surrounding her case, and she became something of a folk hero. A song was written about her, and T-shirts were sold with the slogan "Run, Bambi, Run".[32]
While on the run, Bembenek used the name "Jennifer Gazzana" and got a job working as a waitress.[33] She also worked as a fitness instructor.
On October 17, 1990, the couple were arrested after a tourist saw a segment about Bembenek's escape on America's Most Wanted. Gugliatto was deported back to the United States a month later and was eventually sentenced to one year in prison for his role in the escape.[22][31] Bembenek, however, sought refugee status in Canada, claiming that she was being persecuted by a conspiracy between the police department and the judicial system in Wisconsin. The Canadian government showed some sympathy for her case, and before returning her to Wisconsin, obtained a commitment that Milwaukee officials would conduct a judicial review of her case. Although the review did not find evidence of crimes by police or prosecutors, it did list seven major police blunders that had occurred during the Christine Schultz murder investigation, and she won the right to a new trial.[34]
Bembenek voluntarily returned to the United States on April 22, 1991.[22] Rather than risk a second conviction, however, Bembenek pleaded no contest to second-degree murder during a hearing held on December 9, 1992. She was sentenced to 20 years which was commuted to time served. She was released from custody three hours after the hearing having served a little over ten years.[35]
Life after prison
Bembenek wrote a book about her experience, titled Woman on Trial.[36] After her release, she had various legal and personal problems: she was arrested again on possession of marijuana and filed for bankruptcy, and she had developed hepatitis C as well as other liver and kidney problems. She also admitted to being an alcoholic. She legally changed her name back to Laurie Bembenek in July 1994.[37]
In 1996, she moved to Washington state[2] to be near her retired parents in Vancouver.[9][38] There she met U.S. Forest Service employee Marty Carson, whom she eventually married[9] in 2005.
Bembenek was diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder, complicated by a growing addiction to alcohol.[9] Carson encouraged her to devote time to her passion of painting as a form of therapy. Bembenek had been painting since childhood, and her early work had been the subject of an exhibition at University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee in 1992.[9] Carson constructed a studio for her, and she eagerly returned to her art. After several years she had amassed about 30 paintings, which she put on display at a local art gallery. The gallery burned down in a fire and all the paintings were destroyed.[9]
In 2002, Bembenek either fell or jumped from a second-story window, breaking her leg so badly that it had to be amputated below the knee.[39] Bembenek claimed that she had been held in an apartment by handlers for the Dr. Phil television show – a spokesman for the show claimed her confinement was to protect her from media harassment. Feeling that her confinement was too much like her time in prison fueled her escape attempt and subsequent injury.[40]
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. In April 2008, Bembenek filed a petition with the United States Supreme Court, seeking a reversal of the second murder conviction. Bembenek's attorney pointed to evidence withheld in the original trial, including ballistics tests matching the murder bullets to Fred Schultz's gun, male DNA found on the victim, evidence showing that the victim had been sexually assaulted, and the eyewitness testimony of the two young sons who claimed that the intruder was a heavyset, masked man. 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. Her appeal was denied in June 2008.[41]
Her case inspired two television movies and various books and articles portraying her as the victim of a miscarriage of justice. In 2004, MSNBC produced and aired a biography of Laurie Bembenek on their "Headliners and Legends" television show, but Bembenek did not participate. She was interviewed by WTMJ-TV anchor Mike Jacobs for a two-part interview that aired on that station's 10 p.m. newscast on October 28 and 29, 2010.[42] In April 2022, Apple Podcasts and Campside Media released the podcast series "Run, Bambi, Run," hosted by Vanessa Grigoriadis.[43]
Death
On November 20, 2010, she died at a hospice facility in Portland, Oregon from liver and kidney failure.[2][44]
Television media about Bembenek
Calendar Girl, Cop, Killer? The Bambi Bembenek Story (1992), starring Lindsay Frost[45]
City Confidential Milwaukee: The Legend of Bambi Bembenek (Season 6, Episode 1 original air date on A&E Network 03/27/2002)[46]
The Perfect Murder: Deadly Divorce (2015) original air date 07/01/15 on Investigation Discovery[48][49]
On the Case with Paula Zahn: Bambi Is Captured on Investigation Discovery][50]
Vanity Fair Confidential: Was Bambi Framed? original air date 02/19/2018 on Investigation Discovery.[51]
The Playboy Murders: Run Bambi Run (2023) on Investigation Discovery
See also
Stephanie Lazarus, another policewoman convicted of murdering the wife of a man she was in a relationship with.
References
^ abDoege, David. "Target of DNA tests denied role in Bembenek case". The Milwaukee Journal. January 13, 1991.
^ abcRabideau Silvers, Amy (November 21, 2010). "Laurie Bembenek Dead at 52". Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Retrieved November 22, 2010. Bembenek died about 7 p.m. Milwaukee time in Portland, Ore., where she was in hospice care, her sister, Colette Bembenek of South Milwaukee, said Sunday. Bembenek, 52, who later changed her first name to Laurie, had been admitted to a hospital in recent days and then was transferred to a hospice, her sister said. Her health problems included hepatitis C and liver and kidney failure, Colette Bembenek said.
^"Run, Bambi Run". Archived from the original on November 25, 2010. Retrieved November 22, 2010.((cite web)): CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link) Katherine Ramsland, Trutv.com
Douglas, John; Olshaker, Mark (2001). The Cases That Haunt Us: From Jack the Ripper to Jon Benet Ramsey, The FBI's Legendary Mindhunter Sheds New Light on the Mysteries That Won't Go Away. Simon and Schuster. ISBN0-7432-1239-8.
