Biography

A native Madisonian and the youngest daughter of a police officer, Marianne Flynn Statz took a circuitous route to her professional calling. After a brief stint as a hairstylist, she attended the University of Wisconsin, Madison, graduating with a BA in Philosophy. In 1991, she joined the Madison Police Department with the intent of attending law school after she got a few years of experience under her belt, but policing was her passion, and as she puts it, “I didn’t have to wear pantyhose to work.”   

Marianne worked as a patrol officer, an undercover officer and was also a member of the Emergency Response team, the Officer Involved Shooting team, and the Cold Case team. She also founded the Child Abduction Response team and was a state certified Defense and Arrest Tactics Instructor.  

In 2000, she was promoted to detective, which Marianne identified as the most fulfilling role of her career. She was promoted to Lieutenant in 2013 and retired in 2018 as the Academy Director.    

Marianne presents locally and nationally with her colleague, AAG Robert Kaiser. She instructs for the National Criminal Justice Training Center on the Investigation and Prosecution of No Body Homicides and consults. She is a member of the Wisconsin Cold case review team and the Wisconsin MMIW (Murdered Missing Indigenous Women) Task Force.      

In her retirement, she enjoys biking, skiing, practicing yoga, traveling and cultivating her creativity. In addition to writing, she oil paints. An avid reader, some of her favorites are Cutting for Stone by Abraham Verghese, A Gentleman in Moscow by Amor Towles and A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaleed Hosseini

Armenian Russian painter Ivan Aivazovsky’s work was the inspiration for this commissioned painting. I’ve been mesmerized 

by his work ever since 2016 when I first saw it while visiting the State Russian Museum in St. Petersburg, Russia.

The haunting beauty of Wisconsin’s North woods are a constant inspiration.

A work in progress, this is another Aivazovsky inspired piece. Drawn to bodies of water, 

I’m fascinated by its translucence and its power.

Below you’ll see the completed painting.