NATION : Denied Retrial, Slayer Escapes
Lawrencia Bembenek, a former model and Milwaukee police officer serving a life term for the 1981 murder of her husband’s ex-wife, escaped from prison through a laundry room window, officials said.
Footprints indicated Bembenek fled into a wooded area east of the Taycheedah Correctional Institution, Warden Nona Switala said. She was discovered missing during a bed check Sunday night.
Prison officials found a section of the 7-foot fence surrounding the prison where barbed wire had been pulled down.
The State Court of Appeals rejected Bembenek’s request for a new trial June 20. It was the third time the appeals court had denied similar requests for a new trial.
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