PORTLAND, Ore., Nov. 22 (UPI) -- Laurie Bembenek, who gained notoriety as a Playboy bunny-turned Milwaukee cop convicted of murder, has died in Oregon, a friend said Sunday. She was 52.
Milwaukee's WISN-TV reported it was informed of Bembenek's death by private investigator Ira Robins, who had been given the information by Marty Carson, Bembenek's ex-husband and caregiver.
The Washington Post reported Bembenek had died Saturday of liver failure at a hospice care center in Portland.
In 1981, Bembenek was 22 and newly married to Milwaukee detective Elfred "Fred" Schultz when authorities say she fatally shot his ex-wife Christine. She was convicted of first-degree murder and Schultz left her but she maintained her innocence.
In 1990, she escaped prison with the help of her fiance, Dominic Gugliatto. Her flight from the law attracted widespread media attention. Public sentiment grew in her favor and T-shirts with the slogan "Run, Bambi, Run" were popular attire.
Bembenek and Gugliatto were arrested in Thunder Bay, Ontario, three months later. She was returned to Wisconsin where a judge ruled in 1992 there had been "serious blunders" in the investigation into Christine Schultz's death.
UPI
