May 28, 1981. Milwaukee, Wisconsin. 30-year old Christine Schultz, the ex-wife of police officer Fred Schultz, is shot to death inside her home and Fred’s current spouse, Laurie “Bambi” Bembenek, is soon charged with the crime. Even though Laurie insists that she was framed by the police and the evidence against her was planted and fabricated, she is convicted of first-degree murder and receives a sentence of life imprisonment. In 1990, Laurie manages to escape from prison with the assistance of her new spouse before they are recaptured in Canada, but even though Laurie continues to maintain her innocence, she is allowed to walk free after agreeing to enter a plea of “no contest” to the crime. Was Laurie “Bambi” Bembenek actually responsible for the murder of Christine Schultz or was she the victim of an elaborate frame-up job? This week, “The Trail Went Cold” releases the first part of a special two-part episode about one of the most controversial and sensationalistic murder cases of all time. Special thanks to listener Brent Amelingmeier for narrating the opening of this episode.

Additional Reading:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Laurie_Bembenek

"Run Bambi, Run" by Kris Radish

https://archive.vanityfair.com/article/1991/10/was-bambi-framed

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/new-trouble-for-dr-phil-guest/

https://www.chicagotribune.com/2003/01/18/bembenek-case-takes-new-turns-with-dna-and-dr-phil/

https://www.nytimes.com/2010/11/22/us/22bembenek.html

https://web.archive.org/web/20141019065121/http://www.milwaukeemag.com/article/6212011-laurieslastdays

https://www.jsonline.com/story/life/2023/09/12/lawrencia-laurie-bembenek-run-bambi-run-facts-murder-escape-from-prison-cause-of-death/70794066007/

https://www.jsonline.com/picture-gallery/life/2023/09/07/laurie-bembenek-tried-for-murder-in-1982/70791199007/

"Run Bambi Run" Podcast

"The Trail Went Cold" will be appearing at the True Crime Podcast Festival, taking place at the Doubletree by Hilton Hotel Boston North Shore in Boston, Massachusetts on July 18-20, 2025. To get a 20 % discount on tickets, please our specialized promo code, “ROBIN20”, by visiting https://www.truecrimepodcastfestival.com/. 

“The Trail Went Cold” is on Patreon. Visit www.patreon.com/thetrailwentcold to become a patron and gain access to our exclusive bonus content.

The Trail Went Cold is produced and edited by Magill Foote.

All music is composed by Vince Nitro.