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Lawrencia Bembenek entered the Milwaukee police academy in March 1980 when she was 21 years old and graduated sixth in her class. She was fired by the department later that August.
In January 1981, Bembenek married 33-year-old Milwaukee police detective Elfred Schultz Jr. In the early hours of May 28,1981, 30-year-old Christine Schultz (ex-wife of Elfred) was bound, gagged, and shot once in the back by a single .38-caliber pistol at point-blank range in her home.
State Crime Laboratory ballistics testing revealed that the weapon used was Schultz Jr.’s off-duty revolver. Because he was on duty at the time of her death, suspicion shifted to Bembenek, who had been alone in the apartment she shared with Schultz and had access to both the gun and a key to Christine's home.
Bembenek was arrested and the district attorney’s office charged her with first-degree murder. She was found guilty and sentenced to life in prison. She would escape prison and flee to Canada, ultimately returning to the United States where she pleaded to second-degree murder.
In 1992 her sentence was commuted to time served. Bembenek had become something of a celebrity, appearing as a guest presenter at the 1993 WAMI Awards Show.
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How do you remember Laurie Bembenek? A team of journalists is working on a long-form project looking into the life and story of Laurie Bembenek. The project explores Laurie’s life leading up to the murder case that made her infamous, and the impact the case had on Milwaukee.
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