Lawrencia Ann "Bambi" Bembenek (August 15, 1958 – November 20, 2010), known as Laurie Bembenek, was an American former police officer, convicted for the 1981 murder of her husband's ex-wife. Her story garnered national attention in 1990 after Bembenek escaped from Taycheedah Correctional Institution in Wisconsin and was recaptured in Thunder Bay, Ontario, Canada, an episode that inspired books, movies and the slogan "Run, Bambi, Run". Upon winning a new trial, Bembenek pleaded no contest to second-degree murder and was sentenced to time served and ten years' probation in December 1992. For years after, she sought to have the sentence overturned. Prior to her arrest, Bembenek was fired by the Milwaukee Police Department (MPD) and had gone on to sue the department, claiming that it engaged in sexual discrimination and other illegal activities. She worked briefly as a waitress at the Lake Geneva, Wisconsin, Playboy Club. At the time of her arrest, she was working for Marquette University's Public Safety Department in downtown Milwaukee. On November 20, 2010, Bembenek died at a hospice facility in Portland, Oregon, at the age of 52. Early life Lawrencia Ann Bembenek was the youngest of three girls born to Joseph and Virginia Bembenek in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, on August 15, 1958. Joseph had previously worked for the Milwaukee Police Department (MPD) but quit after witnessing what he described as corruption within the department. He later worked as a carpenter. Bembenek, raised Catholic, attended St. Augustine Elementary School and St. Mary's Academy in Milwaukee. She later transferred to Bay View High School, where she graduated in 1976. Upon graduation, Bembenek attended Bryant & Stratton College in Virginia Beach, Virginia, where she earned an associate degree in fashion merchandising management. Career and marriage After college, Bembenek worked in retail and had a brief stint as a model. In 1978, she appeared as "Miss March" in a calendar distributed by the Joseph Schlitz Brewing Company. In March 1980, Bembenek began training at the Milwaukee Police Academy. While still a trainee, an anonymous tipster reported that she was seen smoking marijuana at a party. Bembenek denied the charge, which was investigated but never substantiated. Bembenek later said she believed the accusation was made by the wife of a Milwaukee police officer who confronted her at a party about her clothing and accused Bembenek of leading on her husband. Bembenek graduated from the Academy in the summer of 1980 and