Was Bambi Framed by the Police? | Laurie Bembenek Case Analysis 

My husband just yelled out to me: "Are you watching that psychologist again!" 😑

As presented, it definitely sounds as if a troubled young woman was framed. Thanks for a compassionate analysis of this case, Dr. Grande!

Pretty obvious she was framed. Terrible how society treated her after her case.

I grew up in Milwaukee. This was a huge story. Still remember RUN BAMBI RUN!

Being a Milwaukee native, I lived thru the times of the trial and her desperate effort to be free. She tried so hard I really believed her innocence. Fred dumped her and moved away....ummmm. She lived a life of struggle and suffering IMO. I believe she was set up. Also wasn't her fault that she was such a beautiful young woman...all played against her. Hopefully she has now found true peace.

I literally lived right across the street from the diner she worked at when she was living on the run. I used to eat breakfast there all of the time. They sell all kinds of Bambi merchandise at the cash register after that.

She was innocent & they ruined her life

This lady deserved better. Thanks for your analysis Dr. Grande!

She had a rough life. I actually want to give her a hug.

Dr. Grande I completely agree with your analysis. I'm from Milwaukee and I remember this well. The police used her, plus passed the buck, and lost evidence wherever they could. I was working in an office back then and when the news would cover her case. Myself and co-workers would turn up the volume. When she escaped prison we would sing: "Run Bambi Run". Her life turned out awful.

I read a book about this case years ago. I believe she was framed. She just wanted to be free, hence the prison escape. She really lived a tortured life.

The analysis sounds spot on. It's hard to believe anything the police claim anymore.

SOME people that go on Dr. Phil lose their dignity? I'm pretty sure everyone who has gone on Dr. Phil has lost their dignity including Dr. Phil.

Thank you for this, Dr. Grande! I have heard about this case several times and always thought she was guilty. Now that I hear the whole story told, in an unbiased way, I have changed my mind. What a sad life she must have lived after being released from prison. I hope that she was able to find some people who were kind to her.

This is an oldie but goodie Dr Grande! Yeah, imo I think she was set up. That precinct seemed pretty corrupt and loose with the law. Fred figured hs boys would have his back and they did. Run Bambi Run

Her analysis of the Milwaukee PD in the 1980's was accurate.

I laughed out loud when you made your fashion police joke. My wife looked at me like I was crazy.

I'm thrilled to see your popularity explosion, Dr. Grande! You are very deserving of the recognition and appreciation! We

Sounds like she was framed from the corrupt male cops. Kidney & liver failure at 52? That's young. Thanks Dr G😊💖💖

Gotta admire those escape skills. The fashion industry served her well. And, the Milwaukee PD did not have a great reputation in the subject time period.

I was in my 30's in Texas when this was being reported all over the US. It was an ongoing topic in the papers for years. Most everyone was VERY sympathetic towards Laurie, thus the encouragement "Run, Bambi, run". It was always such a tragic story but I never heard about what happened to her since she plead "no contest". I am very saddened to learn that her life never got much better. Life just dealt her one bad hand after another.

I've read everything I could find about this case and I became convinced Laurie was framed. What a sad life she had!

You full of sarcastic jokes tonight Dr😂😂😂 love it👌👌 Greetings from South Africa

That “fashion police” comment was absolutely hilarious and completely on point!!! 🤣

Bad luck and trouble was her only friend. A false murder conviction is a bad hand to be dealt. She went up against the establishment police department and they crushed her. If you are going to be the squeaky wheel complainer you have to be clean as a whistle yourself. Even then, expect to be ostracized. Establishment government entities demand you be one of the boys or you get kicked out.

Thunder Bay here it was quite the story in our city. Love your humor

I rarely, rarely think "framed!" I always thought Bambi was. Sad. Thank you.

I cried as a kid when his mother got shot. 😢

That’s so sad!!! She was innocent!

The phrase; "Born Under a Bad Sign" comes to mind.

Poor Bambi. I hope police departments have done something to fight corruption and misogyny.

The phrase, “Run, Bambi, Run” appeared American pop culture e.g. bumpers stickers in the 1980s or 1990s. Anybody know if that was related to this case? Dr. Grande totally surprised me with the foot. It came outa nowhere😂 ❤️ This story, of a life that never worked out, is both sad and terrible

Thank you for this video, Dr. Grande. It appears she was framed; I totally agree with your assessment. I hope she is at peace in the afterlife. It is a travesty that she pled guilty just to end the nightmare and to be released from that hell on earth which is Prison.

What a strange chain of events and tragic loss of life. You have a dry sense of humor Dr, Grande:-)

Just a coincidence she sued the police then got framed for murder. Making of a murderer happened in Wisconsin too. Another frame .

When I saw the title, I thought of another Bambi, in San Francisco. She was an exotic dancer at the Mitchell Brothers O'Farrell Theater. A fellow exotic dancer, Diana, was arrested in Hawaii (where both of them also worked) for putting out a murder-for-hire contract on Bambi. As far as I could tell, Diana was like many in her profession in having to work hard to keep her figure and keep in shape. For Bambi it came easily and naturally, and yet she won in various ways, among them being crowned queen of the annual Exotic Erotic Ball, and being extremely popular with customers. Diana had a nasty temper. I knew both of them. There's probably more to the story. It could make for an interesting video.

Hi Dr. Grande!🌱 I held off to watch your video, arrived a couple hours ago but I wanted to be home with my feet up to enjoy your voice that sounds like a kitty cat purring❣️

Oh wow over 1million subs. You do deserve this. You're such a hard worker and non controversial. We love you and appreciate you ❤️

Nice job; Todd as usual. I always thought she was innocent but worked for a corrupt police dept. and entered a relationship with a very dangerous man. Keep up the good work!

Poor Bambi. I remember "Run Bambi Run!" and was living in Toronto at the time.

Waiting for Grande. And not disappointed. Let’s do this.

Heartbreaking. May she rest in peace. Amen.

Hello again, Dr. Grande! 🙋🌵🪴🌵🪴🍀 How's your Saturday going? Good, I always like to think 🤔! Thank You! Hi, everyone! 🌞🌜🌝🌚🌜🍀🌺🦋🐞 Hope you're enjoying your weekend!

I can't believe, Dr. Grande, my ears: I thought I heard you say she was NOT guilty, beyond a reasonable doubt, AND in reality... I - WOW.🤔😲

I hadn't heard about this case before. Thank-you for sharing.

I feel bad for her. I don’t know why, but she seems to have been very unlucky and it’s beyond the guilt or innocence in this case.

Your delivery is so smart and so precise.

That poor woman 😿

What an interesting case, and after listening to your whole video- I truly believe she was set up also! Great content as always, Dr. Grande! ♡♡ Your witty sense of humor is Always appreciated! Loved the "It's difficult to believe that Laurie would wear a green tracksuit in public...." 😅

"...murder-free work environment..." You crack me up, Dr. Grande! Excellent analysis! ❤️

And thank you dr grande, just ordered ur book. Also the Milwaukee Police department still harasses her family to this day

She had a very difficult life. Poor woman.

Hey Dr. Grande❣️ Thank you for the new video. I hope you have a great weekend.

Your dry sense of humor gets me Dr Grande 🖤 hope you had a good weekend

I agree with your analysis and conclusion. Thank you Dr Grande.

I always wait for your dry humour/jokes Dr Grande. They always make me smile. Thank you.

It’s one sad tale, this video serves as a sympathetic dedication to to a lady I’d never heard of.

Wise are the men who stay away from women named Bambi, Fawn, Candy and Stormy.....

Please cover Julius & Ethel Rosenberg? Thanks Dr. Grande.

Finally, an update to Hardcopy's infamous, long-running "Run, Bambi, Run!" series!!! This proves that Dr. Grande choices are both topical and non-sensational!

Thank you for doing this! I have always thought she was framed. The poor woman, she never really got to have a life. And as a person with bipolar disorder, I concur - her behavior fits.

The same here! I’m in the bedroom putting on my gym-clothes and my husband says: I hear that guy again…! Come on, we’re running late!🤣

Never heard this one before 👍

Your deadpan humor cracks me up! Thank you!

It was always persuasive to me that the witness, who knew Laurie, was adamant it was not her. I know he was a kid, but still. Ask yourself why the intruder woke the kid and didn’t harm him.

The old "Officer in the fashion police" joke 🤣

Hepatitis c and liver failure + alcohol =death guarantee. I've witnessed it myself with 2 people

THIS IS THE FIRST REASONABLE CONCLUSION I'VE SEEN YOU MAKE!!!!!!! Being from Milwaukee and knowing that we have one of the absolutely most corrupt police departments in the country, especially at that time, chief Breier was the chief, the MPD was the most corrupt, sexist and racist in the country by far and EVERYONE here knows what that "GOOD OL BOYS CLUB" did to that poor woman!!! That was horrific what they did to her and people knew she was innocent, but Breier's MPD were worse than Nazi Stormtroopers!!!!!!! If you had come down on the side of her being guilty, I would have destroyed you, being that I have been on this case for years and turned over every stone and have known she was innocent the whole time!!!!!!! This poor woman's life was stolen by a bunch of chauvinist corrupt pigs and I hope she's finally at peace!!!!!!!

I knew that name rang a distant bell! It must’ve got national coverage at the time. Colorful cast of characters, but no heroic endings, were there? Sad dealings all around & what was really accomplished after they got to know each other?! Awfully tragic when you consider what else they ALL could’ve been doing in 1980.

I’m in agreement about the picnic tables. They won’t recover.

Thanks for your great work , always look forward to it .

I think there's a case for reviewing a lot of cases before the year 1990, or maybe even 2000. Maybe we need a truth and reconciliation commission where former police officers can speak up about framing perpetrators without fear of reconciliation. There are probably thousands of people in prison, and dozens on death row, who shouldn't be.

The fashion police!!!!! LOVE the sarcasm! Thanks I needed that laugh!

I believe she was framed.

Not long after her conviction, journalist Timothy W. Maier (now living in MD) began writing about Bembenek’s case for the Milwaukee weekly alternative newspaper, the Shepherd Express. Maier’s persistent digging and reporting soon caught the attention of he corporate/mainstream press, and the case exploded after that, culminating in Bembenek’s escape from Taycheedah women’s prison in WI. What Maier uncovered was hair-raising to say the least. A coroner testified that a bullet presented in court, ostensibly recovered from Christine Schultz’s body, was not the bullet the coroner extracted; the coroner scratched initials into the back of that bullet and testified that the bullet in court was not the same bullet. A police notebook from the murder investigation, containing a serial number of a weapon found at the scene, “got lost” at some point prior to trial. I believe that a weapon also was misplaced or lost a some point. Regardless, it wasn’t possible to match an earlier recorded serial number with any weapon produced in court due to PD incompetence-or cover-up. One of the victim’s sons, who got a glimpse of the perp the night of the murder, and who knew Bembenek through his father’s relationship with her, testified that the person he saw was a man, not Bembenek. And so on. The judge in the case later commented that, in his career, he has never seen a conviction based on so much circumstantial evidence. Maier moved East for family reasons as the case gained national attention, but he continued to dig, and write for the Shepherd Express. As I remained in Milwaukee, and Maier and I being J-school classmates and close friends, he asked me to attain records from the Milwaukee PD to assist in his investigative reporting on the Bembenek case. This task took unusual turns at the PD; initially, the cop at the records desk asked, “Who is this for?” to which I replied, “No matter; it’s a Freedom of Information request.” On a second visit requesting records, I was required to fill out a form with my name and address. On a third visit, the cop at the desk said, “This will cost you, you know,” as if to scare me away from the records request. “How much?” I asked. “Fifteen cents a page,” he said. I assured the cop that this was not a problem and asked him to provide the requested records, which he did- although this time, heavily redacted. That last visit was for records regarding Fred Hornberger, whom Maier had discovered may have been the trigger man in Christine Schultz’s murder, possibly hired by former Milwaukee PD cop Fred Schultz (the victim’s ex-husband). I sent those records to Maier, and he started writing his next article about the Hornberger theory. Within that week, local news reported that Hornberger had armed-robbed a donut shop, and while fleeing police, he holed up in an elderly South Side Milwaukee couple’s home. While on the phone in hostage negotiations with police, Hornberger denounced any involvement in the Schultz murder, then shot himself dead in the couple’s home. Nothing had yet been published about the Hornberger gun-for-hire theory, leading Maier and me to believe that a cop in the PD had tipped off Hornberger that someone (me) was digging around in his police records. By this time, the PD likely connected my name with records requests and subsequent related Maier reporting in the Shepherd Express. Meanwhile, Fred Schultz physically distanced himself from the heat brewing in Brew City, setting up a construction company in FL. I am personally convinced that Bembenek was innocent and that Fred Schultz hired Hornberger to kill Christine Schultz, a motive being the elimination of child-support payments to CS. Just my opinion, given broader discovery in the case. Dr. Grande would do well to interview Timothy W. Maier on this Bembenek case, which would reveal much that the MSM hasn’t reported.

Break out news in a prison newspaper. Pure genius… Nothing less nothing more. Mere mortal, genius.

You are hilarious! I appreciate your analysis, though it's your deadpan humor that holds my attention. 🤭 We actually share the exact same unexpected delivery, however you are the Master! 👏😉

Obviously, I don't know the truth of the matter. But I am impressed that you can present the story in such a way as to make me feel sad for Lori. May she rest in peace.

I always felt she was framed.

🤯 My knowledge of this case ended with her found guilty! I didn't know any of the rest!

Perfect timing , thanks dr Grande💙

You’re on fire tonight Dr.Grande!!!!!! Amazing job.

Although this is a serious matter.....I love ❤ your humour!

RIP Laurie Bambenek

A sad story. Do you think that her life might have turned out differently, if she had been diagnosed, and taken medication for the disorder, that people have suspected, she suffered from?;

Very complex and convoluted case... some of the officers involved were also involved with Steven Avery and Brendan Dassey case.

I liked your comment about the picnic tables.

Thank you for your insight and expertise for the eval on my sister. You were very correct in your personal analysis. An exceptional man, Dr. Grande!

What are the consequences for the police department for framing and wrongfully imprisoning someone resulting in a murderer remaining in the community with no recourse?

This was a very interesting case. Seems like a bipolar diagnosis would explain going from fashion to police work. I don’t know if the thumbnail showing Laurie with a mullet was a prison haircut but it truly was a crime. She had a sad life and did not get any breaks it seems.

Very interesting! Thank you

Hello you there, you have great insight and your not boring we need more people the way you are,like a detective,

Had Laurie gotten help with her the metal health as a teenager she would still be alive today and would have had a chance to have a decent productive life. Women with metal health issues become targets for predators. Often they are naïve and incapable of understanding the motivations of others. Each time they are victimized they see the world as a ugly joyless process and learn of manipulation to obtain things of value. Laurie perhaps

I live in Thunder Bay where she was caught! It was such a big deal here

Wow! What a life! After all it is all “vanity and more vanity“ as the wise man had said. Hope we each day and everyday strives to live a life that leaves some meaning after we cross the bridge 💕

This is a sad story. It sounds like she was an intelligent and creative lady with so much promise.

It was the 80's, everyone owned a green tracksuit so it was not a distinguishing factor 😂 Even as adults the children maintained that Laurie was innocent.

I've always thought her husband was behind this murder and used her as a patsy her husband was a police officer so he would always be protected my his police buddies, its quite sad really.

My last years in Milwaukee I ran into Lawrencia at an ATM machine next to a Subway sandwich shop back when Subway cut that little piece of bread out of the top of the bun to make way for the meat, then placed it back on top...anyway, she walked away while leaving her card in the machine. I chased her down, gave her card back, and saw just how tall and attractive she was.. she was also broke as she walked away empty handed. Subway sandwich was BBQ chicken with French dressing and lots of onions! 🔥

I've never heard of this case before now. It was enjoyable the way you analyzed it. And, I agree with you. She's innocent