On May 28, 1981, at approximately 2:15 a.m., Christine J. (Pennings) Schultz was murdered in her Milwaukee home. She was shot
point blank into her back through her heart by a single shot from a
.38 caliber pistol. Christine was gagged and blindfolded, and her hands were tied in front of her with a clothes line. Her two sons, Sean and Shannon, then 11 and 7 years old, were asleep in the house when the assailant entered their room. They found their mother face down on her bed and bleeding. The older boy, Sean, saw the assailant, which he described as a masked male figure in a green army jacket and black shoes. He also said the man had a long (approx. 6" or 15 cm) reddish-colored ponytail. Christine and Fred Schultz had been divorced six months when she was killed. Fred Schultz initially said he was on duty investigating a burglary with his partner, Michael Durfee, at the time of the murder. Years later he admitted the two men were drinking at a local bar. When ballistics testing allegedly revealed that his off-duty revolver was the murder weapon, suspicion shifted to Bembenek. She had been alone at home, in the apartment she shared with Fred Schultz. She had access to both the gun and a key to Christine's house, which Fred Schulz had secretly copied from his oldest son's house key.
Trial and conviction Bembenek's trial generated tremendous publicity. Newspapers began referring to her as "Bambi" Bembenek (a nickname she disliked). The prosecution portrayed Bembenek as a loose woman addicted to expensive living who wanted Christine Schultz dead so that her new husband would no longer have to pay alimony and child support. Noting that Bembenek had financial problems, the prosecution claimed that she was the only person with the motive and means to carry out the crime. The gun used to kill Christine was Bembenek's husband's off-duty revolver; the prosecution claimed Bembenek was the only person besides Schultz who had access to the gun, which had blood on it. Bembenek supposedly also had access to a key to Christine's home. There were no signs of a break-in and no valuables taken. These were all elements of circumstantial evidence. The strongest evidence, however, was two human hairs found at the crime scene, which matched ones taken from the hairbrush of the defendant. But Schultz's eldest son, an eyewitness, said he could not identify Bembenek as the person he had seen in the house and who shot his mother. Bembenek had dyed blonde hair, weighed 140 pounds and was . Prosecution witnesses testified that Bembenek had spoken often of killing Christine. The prosecution produced a witness who said Bembenek offered to pay him to carry out the murder. According to witnesses for the prosecution, Bembenek owned a green jogging suit similar to the one described by Schultz's son. Other evidence was her owning a clothes line and a blue bandanna similar to what were used to bind and gag the victim. A wig found in the plumbing system of Bembenek's apartment matched fibers found at the murder scene. A boutique employee testified that Bembenek had purchased such a wig shortly before the murder. On March 9, 1982, the jury found Bembenek guilty of
first-degree murder; she was sentenced to life in prison. She was imprisoned at the
Taycheedah Correctional Institution in
Fond du Lac, Wisconsin. ==Post-trial publicity, events and appeals==