In the middle of a lawsuit against the Milwaukee police department the prime witness for the case, dubbed “Bambi,” is convicted of murder. Christine Schultz (November 15, 1990 -May 28, 1981). Mother of two. Christine was one of four children born to Earl and Alice Pennings in Menominee, Michigan. Milwaukee, Wisconsin, An 11-year-old Shawn Schultz calls the police and says a man with red ponytail wig, broke into his house and shot his mother. 30-year-old Christine Schultz is found with a gag in her mouth and hands tied. The son reports the man wore in a green track suit, and a red woman’s wig. Christine is the ex-wife of police officer Fred Schultz. Fred is one of the first officers on the scene. He and his partner had been drinking, on duty, when they responded to the call. (It’s not surprising he immediately responded to the call, when you consider his son was living at this address.) But bizarrely, Fred tried jumping out of his partner’s car after leaving the scene in what appeared to be a suicide attempt. The murder weapon was a gun Fred Schultz had kept at his new home. Fred didn’t shoot Christine as he had an established alibi. Schlitz, out of Milwaukee, was the largest beer producer in the U.S. in 1902. It was touted as “the beer that made Milwaukee famous.” Fred Schultz’s new wife, Lawrencia “Laurie” Bembenek had publicly expressed anger that Christine Schultz was getting half of Fred’s checks in alimony. Laurie was arrested for the murder. She was eventually called “Bambi,” after it was discovered she had once posed as a pin up girl, and was Miss March, on a Schlitz beer calendar. Laurie worked briefly as a waitress at the Lake Geneva, Wisconsin Playboy Club in Milwaukee. At the time of her arrest, she was working for Marquette University's Public Safety Department in downtown Milwaukee. Prior to her arrest, Laurie Bembenek was fired by the Milwaukee Police Department and had gone on to sue the department, claiming that it engaged in sexual discrimination and other illegal activities. Laurie had attended a concert where her friend, Judy Zess, smoked marijuana. Even though Laurie denied she had smoked marijuana and there was no proof of it, she was fired based on the report of an anonymous tipster. After Laurie was fired, she was made aware of pictures of male police officers dancing naked in both Gordon park, and in the police officer’s hangout, Tracks Tavern, and none of them were fired. Laurie complained, but the Milwaukee police took no action. However, the Justice Department picked up Laurie’s case and accused the Milwaukee police department of hiring females (which they were receiving federal grant money for doing) but then firing them when their probationary period ended.) However, when Laurie was arrested for murder, the investigation ended as they had lost their prime witness. Laurie Bemenek escaped from Taycheedah Correctional Institution in Wisconsin by squeezing out a window at night. People who believed in her innocence created t-shirts that read, “Run Bambi Run.” After she was recaptured in Thunder Bay, Ontario, Canada, she never spoke to the man who had helped her escape again. A criticism of Laurie throughout the investigation was that she was not a particularly warm person. At times, she was described as cold and calculating. But this, in itself, doesn’t make someone a killer. Reasons for a new trial: Laurie Bembenek was the one who had released the naked pictures of the police officers in the park in Milwaukee. Laurie felt the Milwaukee police had framed her to make her lawsuit go away. A witness against her, Judy Zess, reported she had been pressured by the police to frame Laurie. Four forensic experts stated the alleged murder weapon, didn’t fire the lethal shot. Further there was no record that a blonde hair of hers (used as evidence at the trial), was actually collected at the murder scene. Here is the statement from the medical examiner: “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.” Subsequently, upon her return to incarceration, she was awarded a new trial. Laurie Bembenck’s arrest in Canada Fred Schultz Laure was offered a deal where if she pled guilty to second-degree murder, they would give her credit for time served and she’d be immediately released from incarceration. She accepted the offer. Four years after, she sought to have the sentence overturned. There are investigators in Milwaukee who remain convinced of Laurie’s guilt. Her now ex-husband, Fred Schultz, initially claimed Laurie was innocent, but would later state she was guilty. Reasons to question Laurie Bembenek’s conviction:
The significance of the DNA testing:
Lawrencia Ann “Laurie” "Bambi" Bembenek (August 15, 1958 – November 20, 2010) Following her release from prison, Laurie struggled with alcoholism. On November 20, 2010, Bembenek died at a hospice facility in Portland, Oregon, of liver failure at the age of 52. The person who killed Christine Schultz, is likely dead now. There were too many unanswered questions, which leads to reasonable doubt. And of course the media sensationalized the “pin up” aspect of it, which simply distracted from the case. I would have liked to see more work on motive. I can’t thank people enough for the manner in which sales of Burning Bridges have sky-rocketed! This has been the biggest month of sales of my books, starting when Burning Bridges was released on June 21. I’ve had amazing recent events at Mankato Brewery and Lift Bridge Brewing in Stillwater. The Mankato Press wrote a great article about my work. Here are my events the upcoming two weeks. I am finalizing the Texas tour. Thursday, July 22, I will be speaking at the Sartell – St. Stephen Community Education center presenting on latest books Burning Bridges and Lying Close at 9:00 a.m. This is the Coffee & Conversation event on Thursdays at 850 19th Street South in Sartell. Saturday, June 24, I will be at Wabasha Brewing from 3:00 to 6:00 p.m., signing and selling books, and will speak from 4:00 to 5:00. The Wabasha Brewing Company address is: 429 Wabasha Street South, St Paul, Minnesota. Sunday, July 25, I will be signing and selling books at Art in the Park in Detroit Lakes from 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. The event is located at the corner of Washington Avenue and North Shore Drive with a beautiful view and walking path along the lake. Detroit Lakes City Park, Detroit Lakes, Minnesota. Friday, July 30, I will be at Three Lyons Pub in Fargo from 3:00 to 7:00 p.m. I’ll speak from 4:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. about forensic psychology and writing True Crime mysteries. I will signing and selling books both before and after speaking. The Three Lyons Pub is located at 675 13th Avenue East, West Fargo, North Dakota. Saturday, July 31, I will be signing books at Barnes & Noble in St. Cloud from 12:00 noon until 4:30 p.m. I will speak on the writing of True crime and forensic work at 2:00 p.m. I will demonstrate how a lie detector test works (volunteer a friend) during his presentation and talk about my newest fast selling book, Burning Bridges. Barnes and Noble is located at 3940 Division Street, St. Cloud, MN 56301 Thanks for listening, Frank
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AuthorFrank F. Weber is a forensic psychologist specializing in homicide and sexual and physical assault cases. He uses his unique understanding of how predator’s think, knowledge of victim trauma, actual court cases, and passion for writing true crime thrillers. His Award Winning books include "Murder Book" (2017) "The I-94 Murders" (2018) "Last Call" (2019) and "Lying Close" (September 2020). Archives
April 2024
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