From the Wisconsin State Journal: Laurie Bembenek, the former Milwaukee police officer and Playboy hostess convicted of a decades-old murder, is near death in hospice care near her home in Vancouver, Wash., according to a friend.
Ira Robins of Milwaukee said Bembenek, 52, has been suffering from liver and kidney failure, partially due to Hepatitis C. "She's almost gone," Robins said Wednesday. "She's been beaten up for so many years. They took her to hospice Sunday or Monday."
Bembenek, known as "Bambi" Bembenek, was convicted in 1982 of killing Christine Schultz, the ex-wife of her husband, Fred Schultz. Bembenek escaped from prison, fled to Canada, was recaptured and later entered a no contest plea to a reduced charge of second-degree murder. Prosecutors agreed to release Bembenek on time she already served.
http://host.madison.com/wsj/news/local/crime_and_courts/article_6807402c-f2aa-11df-951e-001cc4c002e0.html
This is a case that captivated Milwaukee and much of the country for several of years. There was even a movie about her.
She was accused of killing the wife of a police officer that Bembenek had dated while the officer was still married. Bembenek was a police officer trainee at the time and when the accusations came out, she was fired.
She was convicted of murder, sent to prison and promptly escaped. She was recaptured in Canada.
She has always maintained her innocence and she was able to convince a judge to order a new trial. Instead of going to trial, she made a plea bargain and was able to get out of prison for time served. She has tried several time to get a pardon or have her conviction overturned and none of it has been successful.
I always thought she was not guilty, but I was a youngster then and so my hormones may have taken over my mind.
I hope she is out of pain.
The Las Vegas Badger is about politics, humor, sports, reality shows in Las Vegas, especially Pawn Stars and anything else interesting. While I live in Las Vegas, my heart is still in Wisconsin. Thanks for visiting the blog and feel free to browse the web site.
Can't anyone write anymore? What the hell are you trying to say about this situation? It is confused and garbled. Is there a force out there deliberately doing this? This is the second story where there are typos or brain-damaged writers who cannot characterize what happened.
ReplyDelete--Bembenek allegedly killed her ex-husband's then wife?
--Or was it her then husband's ex-wife who was murdered?
R, sorry about the confusion. Bembenek was a police officer trainee and she was going out with a Milwaukee cop. The wife of the male police officer ended up dead. Bembenek got convicted of the crime, sent to prison and then escaped. She was found being a waitress in Canada, She came back, a court decided she didn't get a fair trial and she plea bargained to 2nd degree murder and was sentenced to time served.
ReplyDeleteVery sorry to hear about her tragic life and death. Our thoughts and prayers go out to her family and friends.
ReplyDelete