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download the app today. When

1:22

a loving mother is

1:24

brutally murdered accusations fly.

1:26

There were many different

1:28

scenarios going around. Could the murder

1:30

have something to do with her

1:32

love life? As

1:35

the investigation heats up police wonder

1:37

if they're dealing with a greedy

1:40

killer or a sinister setup. He

1:43

recognized they had black shoes on

1:46

like a lot of the policemen wore. I

1:48

think that they were afraid of her afraid

1:50

of the information that she had. At

1:53

the center of this building media

1:56

storm is a blonde bombshell no

1:58

camera could resist. Everyone

2:00

thought she was a knockout. The

2:02

press would tell you, there is this

2:05

beautiful, perhaps conniving, Don Satal. When

2:07

the gavel finally falls, it

2:10

doesn't mark the end of

2:12

this high-profile case. They

2:14

hatched a plan for her escape. The

2:17

clock is ticking. Everybody's getting older and...

2:21

The truth is out. May

2:36

28, 1981. Milwaukee, Wisconsin. It's

2:41

the dead of night at 2.15 am when

2:44

11 year old Shawn Schultz is

2:46

abruptly awoken from his sleep. Shawn

2:50

feels a wired rope placed

2:52

around his neck. And

2:54

he sees an adult figure who

2:58

then places around Shawn's

3:00

mouth and face a

3:02

heavy, strong glove. Shawn

3:05

screams. Shawn's

3:07

near-white scream awakens his seven year

3:09

old brother Shannon, who is also sleeping in the

3:11

room in a separate bed. At

3:13

that point, the person standing over Shawn leaves

3:16

the rope and Shawn gets a

3:18

brief glimpse of the intruder. He

3:20

heard his mother say, No, don't do

3:22

that. And then heard

3:24

what sounded like a firecracker in

3:26

the room. Shawn removes

3:29

the rope from around his neck and

3:31

races into the hallway with his younger

3:33

brother and again catches a

3:35

glimpse of the late-night intruder. He

3:38

sees the person at the foot of the stairs heading

3:40

towards the back door. He immediately runs

3:42

to his mother's room. As

3:45

they reach their mother, 30 year

3:48

old Christine Schultz's door, a frightening

3:50

scene awaits them. She

3:52

had a clothesline tied around, her

3:55

left hand a bandana was

3:57

tied over her face. wasn't

4:00

moving. Sean

4:02

and his brother barricade their mother's

4:04

room and then call her boyfriend,

4:06

Milwaukee police officer Stuart Honeck, who

4:09

just left the home hours earlier.

4:12

Stu called the Milwaukee Police Department

4:14

and he immediately rushed over.

4:19

Within minutes, Stuart and responding officers

4:21

arrive at the scene. They're

4:23

soon joined by another

4:26

colleague, Christine's ex-husband, Detective

4:28

Fred Schultz. When they

4:30

called her in, somebody called

4:32

her ex-husband and he ends

4:34

up going to the scene. When

4:38

Fred learns about the shooting,

4:41

he goes to the house. He wants to make

4:43

sure his sons are all right. Responding

4:46

officers quickly make their way up

4:48

to Christine's room. He

4:51

was spaced down on the bed, dressed

4:53

in t-shirt and underwear,

4:56

but there was no sign of life. She

5:00

had a bullet hole in her back that was

5:03

fired so close that she had burns around the

5:05

wound. Downstairs,

5:10

young Sean Schultz tells police

5:13

what he remembers about the

5:15

assailant's appearance. He

5:17

thought it was a man. He described

5:19

the appearance of the subject. Shoulders

5:21

were supposedly broad and he was

5:24

wearing the mask. But

5:26

it's another detail that Sean remembers

5:28

that has the potential to rock

5:30

this investigation before it

5:32

even begins. He

5:35

recognized his shoes, which were

5:37

low-cut black shoes, similar

5:39

to what police officers were. Responding

5:44

officers immediately look to the

5:47

two men at the scene,

5:49

Christine's ex-husband, Detective Fred Schultz,

5:51

and her current boyfriend, Officer

5:54

Stuart Homick. Police

5:57

are wondering what is going on here. Could...

6:00

Does a murder have something to do with Christine's

6:02

love life? Christine

6:08

Jean Penning was born on November 15, 1950

6:11

in Menominee, Michigan. Christine

6:16

was a very sweet,

6:19

wonderful, kind

6:21

person. She did

6:24

grow up with a big family, so

6:26

it was very important for her

6:28

to be involved with all the

6:30

family activities. At

6:34

18, Christine married 19-year-old Alfred

6:37

Fred Schultz. Shortly

6:39

after, two became four with

6:41

the birth of their sons, Sean and

6:43

Shannon. Fred joined

6:45

the Milwaukee Police Department

6:48

and he actually built the

6:51

home that they lived in. Christine

6:53

was the stay-at-home mom.

6:56

Christine's sons were very important

6:58

to her. They were very

7:00

polite children. While

7:04

Christine kept the home fires burning,

7:06

Fred worked his way up the

7:08

ladder of the Milwaukee Police Department,

7:10

eventually reaching the rank of detective.

7:15

When he wasn't working, Fred was known to

7:17

be the life of the party. His

7:20

nickname was Disco. He

7:22

was a clubber. He liked to dance, that kind of

7:24

thing. But all that

7:27

partying took its toll on the

7:29

couple's 12-year marriage. We

7:31

did find out that

7:33

he was having affairs

7:35

on the side. And

7:38

it just, after a while, you just

7:41

don't want to deal with that anymore. They

7:44

divorced in November 1980. In

7:49

December, Fred met

7:51

Lori Thambenek at a park.

8:00

beautiful, stunningly beautiful. So there

8:02

was an attraction. Fred

8:05

was about 10 years older than

8:07

Lori. She completely fell head over

8:09

heels for him and couldn't resist

8:11

him. It was very whirlwind.

8:14

She was swept off her feet. That

8:17

ended up becoming a

8:19

quick engagement. Within

8:22

two months of the divorce, Fred

8:25

was starting a fresh chapter with

8:27

his new bride while his ex-wife

8:29

Christine also found her own love

8:31

interest. Christine, in

8:34

the meantime, was getting involved

8:36

with an associate, Fred, who had

8:38

been a former good friend, Stuart

8:41

Honick. Stuart Honick was

8:43

a Milwaukee police officer. She

8:46

started dating him, looking

8:48

for a fresh start. As

8:52

Christine and Fred settled into their

8:55

respective relationships, they worked together to

8:57

care for their two sons. They

9:00

wanted to get through an amicable divorce.

9:05

But in the early morning hours of May 28, 1981, the

9:10

discovery of Christine Schulz's dead

9:12

body has rocked her loved

9:14

ones. I

9:17

can't even imagine the

9:19

trauma for those young

9:21

boys. As

9:27

detectives arrive, they quickly

9:29

have officers separate Christine's

9:31

ex-husband, Detective Fred Schulz,

9:33

and her boyfriend, Officer

9:35

Stuart Honick. The big

9:37

question surrounding Albert Schulz and

9:40

Stuart Honick is, could

9:42

they possibly have had

9:44

anything to do with this

9:47

murder? While

9:49

Fred and Stuart wait outside, detectives

9:51

focus on the crime scene. When

9:54

you look at the way Christine was

9:56

left, she had a clothesline

9:59

tied around. Her left hand,

10:01

blue bandana, was right over her face.

10:04

She had panties on, she had her

10:06

T-shirt on. There wasn't any evidence that

10:08

she had been sexually assaulted. Then

10:11

you had the bullet wound. Christine

10:14

Schultz had been shot in the back with

10:16

a .38 caliber revolver. The

10:19

bullet went through her throat and

10:21

killed her. That

10:23

was the cause of death. She

10:26

suffered that wound, it turned out

10:28

to be deadly very quickly. Coming

10:33

up, a trio of potential

10:36

suspects rises to the surface.

10:38

He thought Stewart had crossed the

10:40

line betrayed him. Here's

10:42

Stewart. His alibi, if you

10:45

will, was almost non-existent. It

10:47

was extremely blimsy. They

10:50

had seen a jogger in the

10:52

neighborhood several times, sometimes standing in

10:54

front of Christine's house. Detectives

11:05

investigating the cold-blooded murder of

11:08

30-year-old Christine Schultz have reason

11:10

to believe this was a

11:12

targeted attack. The

11:15

intruder brought along the necessary tools.

11:18

The rope. The

11:20

glove that could be used

11:22

to subdue, scare, intimidate

11:24

the two boys, and

11:27

bind and gag Christine Schultz.

11:30

Police search Christine's room for

11:32

clues to the killer's identity. The

11:35

police went through the room dusting it

11:37

for fingerprints. They found nothing.

11:41

Then they found one potential flow.

11:45

Officers collected some hairs.

11:49

There were hair from the

11:51

bandana and a hair strand off of

11:54

the leg of Christine. It looked like

11:56

a strand from a wig, reddish

11:58

hair. As

12:00

CSI continue collecting evidence,

12:02

investigators turn back to

12:05

the crime's surviving eyewitnesses,

12:07

Christine's 11-year-old son, Shawn

12:09

Schulf, and his 7-year-old

12:11

brother, Shannon. He

12:13

recognized they had black shoes on

12:16

like a lot of the police men wore.

12:20

Don had to describe to authorities

12:22

what he had witnessed that night. He

12:25

told them he saw an assailant he

12:27

thought to be an adult male wearing

12:29

a green jacket. Shawn

12:32

also noticed that the man who was

12:34

leaving had reddish hair and

12:37

a ponytail. The ponytail was about

12:39

six inches long. Christine's

12:42

younger son describes the person wearing

12:44

a green jogging suit and

12:46

carrying a gun. The

12:50

description from Christine's sons leaves

12:52

detectives wondering, could

12:54

the assailant be one of their own? At

12:58

the time, Christine was dating a Milwaukee

13:00

police officer, Stuart Honeck, but she had

13:02

also been married to another detective, Fred

13:04

Schulf, for over 10 years. She

13:06

was someone officers knew and liked.

13:08

Her death was a shock. Investigators

13:12

immediately move to question the

13:14

two men, starting with

13:16

Christine's boyfriend, Officer Stuart

13:18

Honeck. Stuart tells investigators that he and Christine

13:20

had spent the afternoon together, working in her

13:23

garden and having dinner. He says the last

13:25

time he saw Christine was at 10 o'clock,

13:27

but the last time the two spoke on

13:30

the phone was at 11.20. Stuart

13:33

said he had fallen asleep. The next thing

13:35

he remembered was waking up at 2.20 a.m.

13:38

when Shawn called him. He

13:40

knew something was wrong, and he rushed over

13:43

two blocks to Christine's house.

13:47

Stuart insists he and Christine had

13:49

a good relationship, and he envisioned a future

13:51

with her. He claims that they were talking

13:53

about wedding plans. Detectives

13:55

asked Stuart if he knew of

13:57

anyone else. who

14:00

would want to hurt Christine. And he told

14:02

investigators no. Well, here's

14:05

Stuart Connick. He's romantically involved

14:07

with the victim. His alibi,

14:09

if you will, was almost

14:12

non-existent. It was extremely flimsy.

14:16

As investigators move to speak

14:18

with Christine's ex-husband, Detective

14:21

Fred Schultz, his partner pulls

14:23

them aside. Michael

14:25

Durphy had been Fred Schultz's partner that

14:27

night. And he tells detectives

14:29

that earlier that evening, Schultz

14:33

had been making negative comments

14:36

about his divorce. Fred

14:40

was tasked with

14:42

paying her alimony, her support,

14:45

and also her mortgage on the HECS, which

14:48

made him serious because he had built

14:50

the house about

14:52

half of his free salary into supporting

14:55

her and supporting his, he himself, cannot live

14:57

in. And

15:01

he didn't have very much to do with

15:03

children because Christine had full

15:06

custody. As far

15:08

as motives go, Alfred Schultz had one

15:10

of finances. And Stuart

15:12

Connick, Alfred Schultz's good friend around

15:14

the Milwaukee Police Department, is

15:17

dating Christine Schultz. And

15:20

that didn't sit well with Alfred

15:22

Schultz. He became upset, angry,

15:25

he was very jealous. But

15:27

here's the interesting thing. Fred Schultz,

15:30

they find out, also

15:32

had a key to Christine's

15:34

property. While

15:37

the information creates an interesting lead, there

15:39

is one problem. Alfred

15:43

Schultz had an alibi at the time. He

15:45

was on duty along with fellow Milwaukee

15:47

Police Officer, Michael Durphy. Durphy

15:51

also said that the

15:53

two were investigating elsewhere. for

16:00

an interview and they plan to follow

16:02

up with Stewart afterwards. Meanwhile,

16:05

officers fan out in search

16:08

of other potential witnesses. While

16:10

the investigation is going on, other

16:12

police officers can visit the neighborhood

16:14

to ask neighbors if they've seen

16:16

anything. And a number of

16:19

them mentioned that they

16:22

had seen a jogger in

16:24

the neighborhood several times, sometimes standing

16:26

in front of Christine's house. Multiple

16:30

neighbors had seen someone running in a

16:32

green tracksuit. So police

16:34

ask around and apparently there's a man

16:37

in the neighborhood who fits the description.

16:43

When detectives track down and interview

16:45

the man later that morning, he

16:47

doesn't deny owning an outfit like

16:49

the one Christine's children said was

16:52

owned by the killer. Christine's

16:54

neighbor said that the night that the

16:57

murder someone had taken a revolver from

16:59

his house and a green

17:01

jogging suit. Was

17:06

the killer trying to frame Christine's

17:08

neighbor? Detectives immediately start

17:10

looking for evidence to back

17:12

up this concerning claim. We couldn't

17:15

find any record of him having bought

17:17

a gun. We found out

17:20

that he was lying about having

17:22

a revolver. We

17:24

believe that he had a soft spot for

17:27

her and was an admirer of her and

17:29

I suppose he wanted to get next

17:32

to her with his story of

17:34

the gun being stolen. With

17:39

the neighbor's story deemed as a

17:41

desperate plea for attention, detectives find

17:43

themselves at a dead end. It was

17:45

a made-up story. Just made

17:48

the investigation more difficult. Coming

17:52

up, an unexpected

17:54

discovery exposes a calculated

17:56

cover-up. When I start doing

17:58

a background on where he was during the

18:01

course of the night, it started getting

18:03

old. It

18:05

was kind of like he was lying about some things. The

18:08

story was falling apart. Hey,

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Just go to body.com. That's body

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with an I. That's body.com. That's body with an

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I. That's body with an i.com. Detectives

20:35

investigating the murder of mother

20:37

of two Christine Schultz are

20:39

once again exploring the possibility

20:41

that one of the two

20:43

men in her life may

20:46

be responsible for her death.

20:48

Police officer Stuart Honick or

20:50

Detective Fred Schultz. We

20:52

have the man that she's involved with, and

20:55

she has an ex-husband who's pretty

20:57

angry about the fact that she has

20:59

the house he built. With suspicion

21:01

surrounding both men, detectives take a

21:04

closer look at each of them.

21:07

The detectives followed up on Sue.

21:09

There wasn't any evidence that Sue

21:12

Honick had a motive, that he

21:14

was angry or had

21:16

any reason to kill Christine. With

21:19

Stuart Honick seemingly cleared from

21:21

the suspect list, detectives shift

21:24

their focus back to Fred

21:26

Schultz. Fred Schultz's

21:28

story is that he was investigating a burglary

21:30

the night of the murder. When

21:33

they start doing a background on where he

21:35

was during the course of the night, it

21:37

started getting holes in it. The

21:39

story was falling apart. It

21:43

was clear that he was lying about some things. Turned

21:46

out that two other patrol

21:49

officers had actually investigated that

21:51

burglary. Investigators

21:56

confront Fred with their findings. He

22:00

said well actually I was at such and

22:02

such tavern which is out of his district.

22:04

He wasn't supposed to be there. They

22:07

are drinking and they didn't want

22:09

to tell the truth initially because

22:12

they were afraid that commodity me

22:14

a bit was doing so. They

22:16

sit down and asked if straight

22:19

did you kill your ex wife

22:21

he says. He

22:24

maintains his innocence strongly that.

22:31

Typically use that. Anyone

22:35

to scare people into thinking

22:37

though? that. He

22:40

took the test all. He

22:44

did pass. That

22:48

just before Fred is released,

22:50

he makes an unexpected admission

22:52

to detect as. Fresh

22:55

outta gas, Service

22:57

Revolver. Other. Thirty

23:01

account and the only other person

23:03

had access to his wife Lori

23:06

of At. Least

23:09

so. Worried

23:11

advantage may have had a role

23:13

in this case. Like

23:17

Fred South Lorenz? yeah, mori.

23:19

Ben Bernanke was also from

23:21

The Walking. Worry and

23:23

I math first time and

23:25

grade school. We.

23:28

Always were together. Almost always together.

23:30

We were just best friends. Laurie

23:33

grew ends you a beautiful young

23:35

ones. Hall had a beautiful smile.

23:38

Great time. Every once. In

23:43

Nineteen eighty Laurie sell to calling.

23:45

To. Public Service or even been expire.

23:47

There was a police officer so from

23:49

a very young age war he wanted

23:51

to become a police officer. Other

23:54

than a during her father and following

23:56

in his footsteps, I think she also

23:58

wanted to make a difference. In

24:00

society with her life and

24:02

help people. But.

24:06

In August, Nineteen Eighty. Shortly

24:08

after she graduated from the

24:10

Police Academy, Lorries dream came

24:13

to an unexpected and. There

24:16

was an incident. With.

24:18

Marijuana have a concert. At. Them

24:20

walk he renewed or she was

24:22

with either of people. Do

24:29

you to report? Is an off duty

24:31

police officer and from what I know what she

24:34

told me that she was like don't. Fired.

24:36

For fall in a

24:38

false report biggest she

24:40

tried to not incriminate

24:42

certain friends. Wanted

24:45

to be a friend and returned with gonna

24:47

backfire to use. For

24:51

Laurie, it was a devastating turn

24:53

of events. Do is

24:55

stand It was based on filing a

24:57

false report. She felt. It was a

24:59

minor infraction. After

25:02

Laurie was. Fired. She trip

25:04

a security guard position

25:06

at Marquette University and

25:09

she taught physical. Fitness on

25:11

the side. War.

25:14

Is also taken. Three

25:16

hr. While.

25:26

Laurie struggled to stay afloat.

25:29

She suspected her termination could

25:31

be. Punishment for something else. Before

25:33

the concert she was discovering at

25:35

all the women. And minorities

25:38

were being. Discharged cat

25:40

me for me how stupid things

25:42

will small of and that Milwaukee

25:44

Police karma was keeping me title.

25:47

Nine money weren't titles. To.

25:49

Recruit these people and run them through

25:51

that you can me. She was going

25:54

to cooperate in a lawsuit against the

25:56

Milwaukee Post. in

26:00

for the marijuana at the concert.

26:03

I think she stood up for things

26:06

and spoke up in

26:09

ways that maybe offended some

26:11

people. But from what I know of

26:13

Lori, it was for trying to do

26:15

the right thing. All of

26:17

this was happening around the time Lori met

26:20

Fred Schultz and the whirlwind

26:22

romance began. The

26:26

complicated past of Fred Schultz's 22-year-old wife

26:30

is no secret to investigators.

26:33

She became a natural suspect that

26:36

the authorities were interested in talking to her.

26:39

When Lori was asked to account for

26:41

her movements that evening, she and Fred

26:44

were moving to a smaller apartment that

26:46

was more affordable. So

26:48

she and her mother spent till around 1130

26:50

packing, and then she

26:52

went to bed. She just

26:54

denied any knowledge. She

26:57

had no knowledge of what occurred. Lori

27:00

had no animosity towards Christine.

27:02

It was very amicable. Fred

27:04

had some animosity because of the

27:06

financial issues. For

27:11

the next two weeks, the case

27:13

languishes. Just a few

27:15

short weeks after the

27:17

murder of Christine Schultz, Lori

27:20

Van Vennig and Alfred Schultz move

27:22

into a different apartment

27:24

building. But it's a

27:26

development at their old complex

27:29

that soon sparks investigators' interest.

27:33

On June 10, 1981, a woman called a plumber. Because

27:39

her toilet was knocked up. When

27:41

the plumber gets there, he checks the drain lines.

27:45

It makes a strange discovery. The

27:48

plumber found a wig clogging

27:51

the works. The woman

27:53

has no knowledge of where this

27:55

wig came from, but she says

27:57

maybe his former neighbors do. The

28:00

apartment that Lori and Fred were living

28:02

in shared the plumbing with

28:05

an apartment next door. The

28:10

police officers came. Since a neighbor

28:12

said there was some question of

28:14

a wig being used in

28:17

the murder of Christine, borne by the

28:19

killer. A plumber

28:21

fished the wig out. By that time there was

28:23

police at the apartment, so

28:25

the wig was grabbed as

28:28

a potential evidence. As

28:30

it turned out, it was evidence. It

28:35

was a reddish brown wig, and

28:38

that was important for two reasons. Her

28:41

sons had described the

28:43

intruder as having hair on that same

28:45

collar. And

28:48

police found one strand

28:50

of synthetic hair of that collar on

28:53

Christine's leg. Although

28:56

the wig was suspicious, they still couldn't

28:58

prove who flushed it down the toilet.

29:00

It's very circumstantial evidence. As

29:05

they continue to dig into Fred

29:08

and Lori's background, investigators learn the

29:10

couple lived with a roommate named

29:13

Judy Zess at their former apartment. Judy

29:16

Zess was a dear friend of Lori's pathetic.

29:18

They had actually met while

29:20

the two were at the Milwaukee Police Academy. Detectives

29:23

set up a meeting with Judy and her

29:25

mother a few weeks after the murder. Judy

29:29

lived with Lori and Fred for a

29:31

while, and she claimed that Lori owned

29:33

some of the same items that were

29:36

found at the crime scene. She

29:39

had seen a blue bandana, and

29:41

she had seen a clothesline that was

29:43

like a kind of rope that

29:45

was used to find Christine's hair.

29:49

Investigators asked her about one more

29:51

detail. She

29:53

claimed that she had seen a green

29:55

jogging suit that Lori owned. next

30:00

that raises the final red

30:02

flag for detectives. The

30:05

mother of Judy Zest said that

30:07

she had overheard Lori say Christine

30:09

should be blown away. And

30:13

Vannick was disturbed that a certain amount

30:15

of her husband's money was going to

30:17

her for the support of the children.

30:19

And that irritated her to no end.

30:23

While money appears to be a strong

30:25

motive for the murder, detectives

30:27

are still lacking hard evidence

30:30

to prove it. On

30:34

June 18, Fred Schultz brought

30:37

his off-duty weapon to be tested

30:39

at the crime lab. It

30:41

was in his possession, I believe, for three

30:43

weeks before he actually turned it in. This

30:47

was actually the second time someone was

30:49

supposed to have examined the weapon. Hours

30:52

after Christine's death, Fred

30:55

Schultz's supervisor Michael

30:58

Derfey to examine his off-duty

31:00

revolver. He made an assumption

31:03

that the gun hadn't been fired because

31:05

of dust around the barrel. It

31:07

should have been confiscated right then and there.

31:10

There's nothing else to eliminate it. But

31:13

for some reason, that wasn't done.

31:17

Holistic's find that that bullet

31:20

in Christine Schultz matched

31:22

Alfred Schultz's off-duty revolver.

31:29

Lori Van Benik was arrested

31:31

at her job as

31:33

security at Marquette University for

31:37

locker research. Detective

31:39

spotted the hairbrush and snatched it.

31:43

Do you mind if we check this out? She said

31:45

no. Go ahead. Hair

31:49

analysts made what we call a

31:51

gross comparison, looking simply at appearance.

31:54

Said that the appearance of the strand of the

31:56

hair from that

31:59

hairbrush matched. with hair

32:01

that had been found in the

32:03

blue bandana that had been used

32:05

on the night we're seen as murder. Coming

32:11

up a shocking turn of events

32:13

leads to the trial of the

32:15

century. The TV

32:17

stations sensationalized the whole thing.

32:20

The media blew it way out

32:22

of proportion and that's where the

32:24

Playboy Bunny killer headlines came in. It

32:26

just made my sense it was

32:28

perfect. On

32:37

June 24th 1981 28 days since the murder of Christine

32:39

Schultz authorities have

32:43

just arrested detective Fred Schultz's

32:46

young wife Lori Benvenix for

32:48

the crime. People

32:50

speculated that Fred Schultz was somehow

32:53

involved in the crime but

32:55

he was never charged. Details

32:58

of 22 year old Lori

33:00

Benvenix arrest quickly makes front-page

33:03

news. The TV

33:05

stations sensationalized the

33:07

whole thing. The media

33:09

blew it way out of proportion and

33:11

that's where the Playboy Bunny killer headlines

33:14

came in. The

33:16

press portrayed Lori Benvenix

33:18

as this beautiful perhaps

33:20

conniving Don Tatal who

33:23

had it out for Fred's ex-wife. Lori's

33:29

official trial begins in March of

33:31

1982. The prosecutor

33:35

thought Lori wanted Christine as

33:37

a picture in part because

33:39

that way her husband wouldn't

33:41

have to pay all the

33:45

The state contended that Lori

33:48

got spare key to

33:50

Christine's house, put

33:53

on the jogging suit and wig, jogged

33:55

to the house, committed

33:58

the crime. It's

34:05

just back home without anyone seeing her. Prosecutors

34:10

say if she went back home, changed clothes,

34:12

put the gun where she found it, and

34:15

was home when Fred called to tell her

34:17

about the murder. Things

34:19

start falling together. She

34:21

was the one that had access to the murder

34:23

weapon. The wig strands

34:26

of it match strands on the

34:29

victim's body. It

34:33

would seem prosecutors have a mountain

34:35

of evidence, but Lori's defense team

34:37

reminds jurors it's just

34:40

circumstantial. Detective

34:43

Michael Durfee initially said

34:46

that Helper Schultz's off-duty

34:48

revolver was cold and

34:50

dusty, giving the insinuation that it

34:52

probably wasn't fired. His

34:55

defense also reminds jurors that

34:57

Michael initially lied about Fred's

34:59

alibi. The defense

35:02

used this information to

35:05

plant the seed of doubt in

35:07

the minds of the jurors. The

35:10

next line of defense is the testimony

35:12

of Christine Schultz's 11-year-old son, Sean. He

35:17

was rather vivid, you might say, in

35:19

his description. He

35:21

thought it was a man. He said

35:23

the man was wearing a green jacket

35:25

and had shoes similar to that of

35:27

a police officer. He never changed his

35:29

story, not even at trial. The

35:34

defense team also calls into question

35:36

the wig found in Lori's

35:38

old apartment. This was 1981. There

35:42

is no DNA testing and criminal

35:44

procedure at that time. Lori's

35:47

attorney tried to hammer home the fact

35:49

that there was that kind of existence.

35:52

Maybe someone else might have put

35:55

that wig down the

35:57

toilet. On

36:00

March 5th, 1982, the one person

36:02

that could sway the outcome of

36:05

this trial takes the stand. 23-year-old

36:09

Lori Bembenek. When

36:11

she got up and did her testimony, she

36:14

denied everything. For

36:17

those present, Lori's testimony

36:19

leaves some expecting more.

36:22

News accounts of her on the stand

36:24

portrayed her as cold and aloof, and

36:26

that clearly hurt her case. Lori

36:28

was only 23. She

36:30

was terrified. Many people may

36:33

have misinterpreted her demeanor. At

36:37

the conclusion of the two-week

36:39

trial, a jury retires to

36:41

deliberate Lori Bembenek's fate. The

36:44

jury deliberated for four days, and they

36:47

did return the verdict of guilty of

36:49

her screen murder. And

36:52

Lori was given a life sentence. She

36:56

sat without movement, without

36:58

emotion. I

37:00

didn't see any tears. I

37:04

saw nothing. She was still

37:07

looking. She tried her

37:09

very best to tell the

37:11

truth. She thought she didn't

37:13

have anything to lose if she told the truth. And

37:16

it all flipped out. Coming

37:20

up, just as the

37:22

case seems shut, Lori has

37:24

other ideas. They hatched

37:26

a plan for her escape, a

37:29

quote-unquote window of opportunity. This

37:31

slogan rose up, run, Dandy,

37:33

run. It was just unbelievable.

37:37

I can't think this isn't real. This can't be real.

37:47

On March 9, 1982,

37:49

23-year-old Lori Bembenek was

37:51

sentenced to life in

37:53

prison for the murder

37:55

of her husband's ex-wife, Christine Schulz.

38:00

French Elks, New Orster, moved

38:02

to Florida, and he would later tell

38:05

people that he was convinced she was guilty. Christine's

38:08

boys were raised by family.

38:13

For the next eight years, the

38:15

former police officer is housed at

38:17

the Tachita Correctional Facility in Fond

38:19

du Lac, Wisconsin. Lori

38:22

filed several appeals. All of them were

38:24

turned down. Lori

38:26

Bambenek always maintained her innocence and

38:29

has asserted that she was

38:31

set up and she was framed because

38:33

she was no friend of

38:36

the authorities at the Milwaukee Police Department.

38:39

Lori had lost all three of her appeals and

38:42

was getting very frustrated. On

38:46

July 15th, 1990, after

38:49

eight years behind bars, a

38:51

new development occurs in Lori's

38:53

case. Bambenek spent eight years

38:55

in prison and then escaped.

38:59

It was on the news and it was

39:02

just unbelievable. I just

39:05

kept thinking this isn't real, this can't

39:07

be real. Police

39:10

have reason to believe Lori

39:12

isn't alone. This

39:14

is another very odd thing when

39:16

somebody's convicted of murder and they're

39:19

kind of infamous and with someone

39:21

like Lori Bambenek, who

39:23

was beautiful, she had

39:25

plenty of admirers, but she saw the

39:27

brother of one of the women who was

39:29

also serving in the same place. He

39:33

was cute, his name was Dominic

39:35

Bugliano. He flirted with

39:37

him, he flirted back. When he came to

39:40

see his sister, they

39:42

spent time together and got

39:45

engaged. Unable to

39:47

find Dominic, authorities pieced together

39:49

how they believe he helped

39:51

her escape. In the laundry

39:53

room she saw a window that she thought

39:55

she could get through, so

39:58

she formed a plan with Dominic. to

40:00

help her escape. And

40:03

he prepared the getaway car and supplies.

40:06

A quote-unquote window of opportunity.

40:09

She slipped through the window, crawled

40:12

over the fence. She had a

40:14

little jacket or something with it, threw it over the barbed

40:16

wire. She did cut her

40:18

leg on the razor wire, but

40:21

she was able to get through and

40:23

ran to a waiting car, and he

40:25

was there, and they were out of

40:27

town in a matter of minutes. She

40:34

tried an appeal. She tried to do

40:36

it the right way, and

40:39

it was sort of discarded. It

40:41

was like, I have to save my life. Nothing's

40:43

working that's supposed to work. When

40:47

Lori escaped, the

40:50

residents of Wisconsin said if they saw her, they

40:53

would not turn her in because

40:56

they agreed. She did

40:58

not get a fair trial, and they were rooting

41:00

for her. One reason

41:03

public sentiment shifted in Lori's favor... It's

41:05

because her friend Judy is that. We

41:07

candid her statement. Judy's

41:09

testimony was important because she testified that

41:12

she had seen the same bandana and

41:15

jogging suit that Kristine Schulz-Killer used

41:17

in Lori's home prior to the

41:19

murder. For

41:22

the next three months, the former Milwaukee police

41:24

officer and her lover remain on the lam.

41:28

America's Most Wanted was a TV

41:30

show that would

41:32

talk about cases of fugitives. She

41:34

was working in Thunder Bay, Ontario, and someone

41:37

from America was there who had seen the

41:39

show and recognized her. Following

41:47

her arrest, Lori Bambenek applies

41:49

for political asylum in Canada.

41:53

She claimed there was no chance she was ever

41:55

going to get a fair trial. On

41:57

April 22, 1991, Lori

42:01

is extradited back to the U.S.

42:03

under the condition that the Milwaukee

42:05

courts re-examine her case. When

42:08

they did get her back, she was

42:10

in solitary for a year, but then

42:12

through that year, these attorneys worked on

42:14

her case. Lori's

42:17

team exposes seven

42:19

irregularities in the original

42:21

investigation. The ruling judge

42:24

found no evidence of the

42:26

conspiracy by prosecutors. But

42:29

he had significant problems with the

42:31

handling of the off-duty gun and

42:34

the bullets. So

42:36

prosecutors decided to cut a deal. Lori

42:40

was offered a deal that if she

42:42

needed no contest to second-degree murder,

42:44

they would give her credit for

42:46

her time already served. And

42:49

then she would be on supervised parole,

42:51

but she would go free. In

42:57

1997, Lori had been released,

43:00

and I think to have a more

43:03

peaceful life moved to Vancouver. It

43:05

was a new start for her. In

43:08

about 2004, I finally got the courage

43:10

to ask her to marry

43:12

me after everything she'd been through. And

43:15

we got married in 2005. We

43:17

only married for two years in an

43:20

amicable divorce. As

43:25

time passes, Lori's team, headed

43:27

up by defense attorney Mary

43:30

Ware and P.I. Ira Robbins,

43:32

uncover new evidence that casts

43:34

further doubt over Lori's earlier

43:36

conviction. Mary Ware

43:39

calls for a complete thorough investigation

43:41

of evidence from the case, and

43:43

now DNA gets involved. So

43:45

the thought is, hmm, we're going

43:48

to re-examine all of this? It was

43:50

circumstantial to begin with. Maybe,

43:52

maybe this will change the

43:55

whole atmosphere surrounding this murder

43:57

conviction. presence

44:00

of male semen that her

44:03

defense team knew nothing about didn't

44:05

come out until it now. Clearly

44:07

the fix was in and they

44:09

wanted Laurie convicted and that's what

44:11

they got. The DNA evidence uncovered

44:14

the fact that Christy Jones had had sex with

44:16

someone before her death. And

44:20

Laurie's legal team found previously

44:22

unrevealed evidence that showed

44:24

a crime lab that initially

44:26

investigated the sexual assault teams.

44:29

They found blood underneath Christine's fingernails

44:32

which would suggest that there was

44:34

sometimes physical struggle with the attack.

44:37

We didn't have DNA back then

44:40

but they did have blood analysis

44:43

and pretty sophisticated blood analysis but

44:46

they did not do that. The

44:51

purported murder weapon, Fred Schultz's

44:53

off-duty 38 revolver, is

44:55

also put through a battery

44:57

of forensic and ballistic tests. Laurie's

45:01

team had forensic experts test the gun

45:03

and the bullet and they found that

45:05

there was no match from

45:07

the off-duty gun to the

45:09

bullet removed from Christine Schultz's body. We

45:12

end up with this chain of inconsistencies

45:15

that calls into question the most damning

45:17

evidence. While

45:21

Laurie and her supporters are hopeful

45:23

the new findings might clear her

45:25

name, the emotional damage of the

45:28

last 21 years takes its

45:30

toll on Laurie. She

45:32

wanted the Supreme Court to look

45:34

at the new evidence so that

45:36

she could withdraw and no contest

45:38

please be entirely exonerated but

45:40

they declined to look at it. In

45:45

2010, Laurie Bambenek dies from

45:47

kidney and liver failure still

45:50

fighting to clear her name.

45:53

Mary Weir from what I know is

45:55

still working on things. I believe she

45:57

has evidence now again that Can't

46:00

clear her. Hopefully someday

46:03

justice will be done and

46:05

her name will be cleared. But this

46:07

clock is ticking. Everybody's

46:10

getting older. After

46:13

39 years, Lori Bambenek's

46:15

arrest and conviction are

46:18

still highly controversial. We

46:20

came up with enough physical evidence that

46:22

we could arrest her. Everything

46:24

eventually caught up with her. I'm

46:28

absolutely certain deep

46:30

down in my heart, my soul and every bone in

46:32

my body that she is innocent. Sandra

46:38

completed the terms of her probation. She

46:41

is now married and has a family of her own. After

46:43

serving 25 years of her sentence,

46:45

Sandra Jonas became eligible for parole in

46:47

2023. The

46:56

wait is over. So far

46:58

you're not losing. The only thing you're losing is my

47:00

patience. Quickly, I see that. The

47:03

wait of the courtroom is back. I

47:06

didn't do anything. You

47:09

wouldn't know the truth if they came up and slapped you in the

47:11

face. I see it's not intimidated by

47:13

anything. I can fix that. She

47:17

wanted to fight me, leave

47:19

her. Stay low. So,

47:22

uh, not this is me, so this

47:24

is a period. Classic

47:27

Judy. Did you sleep with her? Yes,

47:29

Your Honor. You married his cousin. His

47:32

brother. That's not him. Yes,

47:34

ma'am. I would make a beeline for the door. The

47:38

Emmy Award-winning series returns. How did I

47:40

know that I have crystal ball in

47:42

my head? It's an all-new season. It's

47:45

streaming. You can say anything. Judy

47:48

Justice, only on Freebie.