Christine Schultz

**Christine Schultz** (November 15, 1950 – May 28, 1981) was a mother-of-two murdered at home on May 28, 1981 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin by her ex-husband's wife Laurie Bembenek. The case is mostly known because of Bembenek's escape from custody for three months in 1990.

## Events

### Life

Christine Schultz was born Christine Jean Pennings on November 15, 1950 to Earl and Alice Pennings in Menominee, Michigan, United States. She was one of four children. She married Elfred Schultz, a Milwaukee Police Detective, and had two sons named Sean and Shannon with him. They divorced sometime later and Elfred went on to marry Lawrencia "Laurie"[source needed] Bembenek.

In 1981, Christine was living at 1701 West Ramsey Street in Milwaukee, Wisconsin with her two sons. She was dating a man named Stuart Honeck.

### Death

In the early morning hours of May 28, 1981, an intruder entered Christine's home. The intruder went into the boys' bedroom and placed a gloved hand around the face of Sean and attempted to tie something around his neck. Sean screamed and the intruder left and went into Christine's bedroom. Sean later testified that he heard a loud bang which sounded like a firecracker. He then saw the intruder flee down the stairs.

Sean went into his mother's bedroom and called Christine's boyfriend Stuart. Stuart then called emergency services and told them to send police and paramedics to the home.

When police arrived at the scene, they discovered Christine's body on the bed in her bedroom. Her left wrist was bound with clothesline and there was a bandanna-type handkerchief tied around her face as a gag. After examining her body, the police found a single strand of reddish-brown hair on her right calf. The police also recovered other hairs from the bandanna gag.

The medical examiner found that Christine had died from a single gunshot wound which passed through her heart. The medical examiner concluded that the weapon which fired the fatal shot was either touching or extremely close to Christine's body when it was fired.

### Subsequent investigation

At the time of Christine's murder, her ex-husband Elfred was on duty. When he was told about Christine's murder, he drove to the scene with his partner. Following this, he went to his home with Detective Michael Durfree. Detective Lieutenant Richard Abrams told Durfree to take Elfred home and check his off-duty revolver. Durfree examined the revolver and concluded that it had not been recently fired. Durfree returned the revolver to Elfred.

On June 10, a plumber was sent to the apartment of Schultz and Bembenek's former neighbours. Their neighbours' toilet was overflowing and when the plumber checked the drainage pipe that was shared by the neighbours and formerly Schultz and Bembenek, they found a wig. The fibres from this wig were analysed by experts at the state crime laboratory, who found that these fibres were consistent with fibres found on Christine's right calf.

Eight days later on June 18, Elfred's off-duty revolver was examined by ballistics experts at the state crime laboratory, who determined that the bullet which killed Christine was fired by this revolver.

Lawrencia "Laurie" Bembenek was arrested on June 24 at Marquette University, where she was employed by the Public Safety Department. Following her arrest, her locker at the university was inventoried by her supervisor. Milwaukee PD Detectives Thomas Repischak and Michael Jankowski were present during the inventorying of the locker. A hairbrush belonging to Bembenek, found during the inventory, was turned over to these detectives. The hair found in the brush was tested by experts at the state crime laboratory, who found that these hairs were consistent with the hairs found on the bandanna used to gag Christine.

A jury found Bembenek guilty of first-degree murder on March 9, 1982, nine months after Christine's murder. Judgment of conviction was entered the same day and Bembenek was sentenced to life imprisonment.

### Aftermath

Christine is buried at Saint Joseph Cemetery in Appleton, Wisconsin.

Nearly seven years after Christine's death, Christine's father Earl passed away at 64 years old on April 24, 1988. 31 years later, Christine's mother Alice passed away at 92 years old on December 19, 2019. Christine is currently survived by her two sons and three siblings.

## News

*For news articles on Christine Schultz, see here.*

## External links

* Christine J. *Pennings* Schultz (1950-1981) • Find a Grave
* Laurie Bembenek • Murderpedia
* Laurie Bembenek • Wikipedia
* Pennings family tree • Ancestry (paywall)

### Court cases

* 1983: State v. Bembenek • Wisconsin Court of Appeals
* 1987: State v. Bembenek • Wisconsin Court of Appeals

## In popular media

### Television

* On the Case with Paula Zahn S3E8: Run Bambi Run (2 Jan 2011)

### Podcasts

* My Favorite Murder: 177 - Live at the Riverside Theatre in Milwaukee (13 Jun 2019)

## Sources

1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Christine J. *Pennings* Schultz (1950-1981) • Find a Grave
2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 Pennings family tree • Ancestry (paywall)
3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 1983: State v. Bembenek • Wisconsin Court of Appeals
4. ↑ Earl Peter Pennings (1923-1988) • Find A Grave