Laurie 'Bambi' Bembenek, a Playboy bunny turned cop accused of murder, explored in podcast: 'I was amazed'
Fox News
Laurie “Bambi” Bembenek, Wisconsin’s most famous runaway fugitive, insisted until her death in 2010 that she did not kill her husband's ex-wife. Her story is the subject of a true-crime podcast.
"I was amazed that I had never heard of Laurie Bembenek, who was one of the biggest icons of the ‘80s," host and Campside Media co-founder Vanessa Grigoriadis told Fox News Digital. "The fact is, so many people are forgotten over time … As people get older, those stories have to be retold. Otherwise, everyone will just forget them. I thought this was a good opportunity to delve into this fascinating woman and fascinating case."Grigoriadis noted that part of her research in bringing this podcast to life was taking a deep dive into mountains of legal documents, as well as speaking with prosecutors, detectives and those who attended the police academy with Bembenek."It’s always fascinating when somebody who is portrayed by the media ends up being so different," she explained. "In this case, you have a woman who is portrayed as both the villain and also as a victim. She was portrayed as a murderer and also as somebody who had been victimized by a corrupt system. I really felt she was this smart, uncanny, funny woman who was radicalized in prison and became a feminist, a Marxist who stood up for other prisoners’ rights. She ran a class-action suit on behalf of all prisoners for overcrowding … She had a whole other life in jail. And, in this case, she escapes."Bembenek briefly worked as a Playboy Club waitress in Lake Geneva before becoming a Milwaukee police officer in 1980. The following year, she married Detective Fred Schultz. He was a 13-year veteran of the Milwaukee Police Department who was 10 years older than her.