Bambi dies at 52

Lawerencia Bembenek, better known by her nickname Bambi, has died.

The one-time Milwaukee police officer, who was sent to jail in March 1982 for murdering her then-husband’s ex-wife, made headlines again when she escaped from prison and was eventually discovered working at a Thunder Bay restaurant.

Bembenek, who died in a Portland, Ore. hospice, was 52.

Thunder Bay Police Service Det.-Sgt. Don Lewis was one of the arresting offices on Oct. 17, 1990, when Bembenek’s run from the law came to an end at a Banning Street residence, five days after being profiled on America’s Most Wanted.

Lewis said it was a little sad to learn of her death, despite the notoriety she brought to the city.

"It’s unfortunate when anyone passes away," said Lewis on Tuesday, admitting that once she left Thunder Bay the police department put the matter behind them.

"We haven’t really heard too much from her, since we dealt with her back in the day."

Bembenek, a one-time waitress at the Playboy club, was fired from the Milwaukee Police Department during her 1980 probationary period, which led to a sexual discrimination lawsuit. It also led some to believe she had been set up for the murder of Christine Schultz, the fatal bullet coming from the service revolver of Ed Schultz, who she married less than three months after he divorced his former wife.

A natural beauty bursting with charm, Bembenek was sentenced to life in prison for the crime, but her sentencing was not the end of her time in the spotlight.

Eight years later, with the help of Dominic Gugliatto, the boyfriend she met while in prison, Bembenek staged a daring escape from the Taycheedah Correctional Institute and ultimately made her way north, where she crossed the Pigeon River border crossing under an assumed identity and settled into a new life in Thunder Bay.

She found work as an aerobics instructor and waitressed at the now-closed Columbia Grill on May Street, ironically a hangout for police administration whose offices were still located on nearby Donald Street.

Bembenek lived free and clear in Thunder Bay for three months, before John Walsh profiled her on America’s Most Wanted.

Lewis said it didn’t take long for a tip to come in suggesting "Bambi" might be hiding out in the city.

"From what I can recall the information had come in that Ms. Bembenek had possibly been sighted at a May Street coffee shop, possibly being employed there. When investigators went to the coffee shop to see if she was in fact employed there or had been seen there, word quickly got to her that some officials of some capacity were interested in finding out if she had been there," Lewis said.

Bembenek was not at the restaurant, but police did manage to get an address, and tracked her down, with minutes to spare, Lewis added.

"By the time the investigators had knocked on the door of the apartment, I believe Bembenek’s boyfriend answered the door and they both had their jackets on and were packing their bags and were heading out of town," Lewis said, adding the subdued suspect gave up without a fight

Eventually extradited back to the United States, in 1992 she was released on parole, following a court decision to set aside her original conviction showing mistakes in the police investigation.

Once she was out of prison celebrity beckoned, leading to movies, appearances on tabloid TV and talk shows and the penning of a book, Woman on Trial.

She found it difficult to make a living, however, and quickly tired of her infamous persona.

"Being recognized doesn’t make me any money," she is reported by the Milwaukee Journal –Sentinel as having said at the time.

Eight years ago she was scheduled to appear on the Dr. Phil show, when producers housed her in an apartment, having agreed to pay for DNA testing. Suffering from a panic attack, she leapt out a window and badly injured her foot, which doctors eventually had to amputate.

The Journal-Sentinel reports that Bembenek’s health woes included Hepatitis C and liver and kidney failure.

The paper also says she continued to maintain her innocence to the end, noting Bembenek recently applied for a pardon from the governor’s office.

Her attorney told the Sentinel-Journal it was Bembenek’s dying wish to be pardoned.

"Based on the evidence we gathered, it’s clearly a case of wrongful conviction," Mary L. Woehrer said, adding the process does not end with her death.

Lewis said the arrest didn’t seem all that significant at the time, at least not for a few days afterward. He thinks the public support – which included the famous Run, Bambi, Run bumper stickers is what made it so interesting to media covering the story.

"It made it more sensational than your average escaped convict that takes place. The fact that she was in Thunder Bay and was an escaped U.S. prisoner also helped," he said.