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December 9, 2017

Ken and Barbie Partners in Crime: Paul Bernardo and Karla Homolka

Could you love somebody so much that you would kill for them? Paul Bernardo and Karla Homolka did. Since the first time they met, they knew they were meant for each other. Once kindled, their lustful relationship grew into one that led them deeper into sexual experimentation. They both had manipulative personalities, but Paul’s would eventually overpower Karla’s. Their fantasies grew stronger, and then family and friends began dying at the hands of these two, Paul and Karla. They thought they were smart enough to get away with it, but soon enough, all their dreams of an escape came crashing down.

Karla was born in Ontario, Canada on May 4, 1970. She was the eldest of three, and grew to be smart, popular, pretty, and well-loved by her friends and family. Karla pursued a job at a veterinary clinic. She adored animals. While at a pet convention in Toronto, she met her prince charming, Paul Bernardo, at just age seventeen. And Paul was twenty-three. The relationship between the two rapidly advanced. They both clicked instantly, sharing pathological desires in their sex life, binding them closer. This led to quirky foreplay, where Paul played the master and Karla the slave.1

Karla and her husband, Paul Bernardo | Courtesy of thestar.com

Paul loved the feeling of dominating women. And Karla was wrapped around so tightly on his finger that she would do anything to please him. Bernardo often complained that when he met her, she was not a virgin. Karla, willing to satisfy Paul’s needs, offered her younger sister Tammy as a sex sacrifice to him because Tammy was still a virgin. Both planned to force Tammy into being a younger and purer version of Karla. To do this, Karla stole an animal anesthetic from her workplace for later use. On December 23, 1990, at a Christmas party at their home, the couple drugged Tammy’s drink with halcyon, and soon took her down into the basement. Karla pulled out the animal anesthetic and drenched a cloth with it to cover Tammy’s mouth, and knock her unconscious. Bernardo raped her, but Tammy unexpectedly began gagging on her own vomit and suddenly died. When her death was officially declared, it was labeled as an accidental death, as the drugs in her body went undetected.2

Paul continued his killings in the Scarborough suburbs of Toronto. He raped women and then murdered them. Some women fortunately escaped with only an attempted rape. No one could pin down who was committing these crimes. So this mysterious figure became known as the Scarborough Rapist. He usually attacked females outdoors, but occasionally he would break into their homes and severely beat them along with strong verbal harassment. Soon, the Metropolitan Toronto Police created an investigation to capture and arrest the Scarborough Rapist. It was only a month later that the Forensic Science Center matched Bernardo’s DNA with the Scarborough Rapist.3

Karla Homolka | Courtesy of murderpedia.org

A search of Bernardo’s home revealed numerous tape recordings of the rapes upon the women. Lots of the tapes showed the women being strangled and killed by Paul by their end. Karla decided to testify against Bernardo, and in return was to be granted a reduced sentence. Karla was interrogated for four days. She blamed Paul for her sister Tammy’s death, and described many of Paul’s kidnappings and rapes that resulted in women’s deaths. Two victims during the reign of the Scarborough Rapist were two schoolgirls Mahaffy and Kristen. Karla accused Paul of committing these crimes, and her accounts were later found to be true by forensic evidence. She said she lived in terror of Paul and was forced by him to partake in his crimes. On February 17, Bernardo was arrested and brought to the Toronto detention center where he awaited trial. At his trial, he was charged with first degree murder, found guilty, and subsequently sentenced to life in prison with possibility of parole in twenty-five years. Karla was sentenced to only twelve years in prison.4

Karla’s bruised face caused by Paul’s abuse | Courtesy of thoughtco.com

Now what did the future hold for these two who eventually turned on each other? As for Paul, he will be eligible for parole in 2018 at the age of fifty. But surprising news has surfaced, Paul is planning to get married while serving his term! Apparently a woman from London, Ontario, who requested to remain anonymous, has been charmed by this “innocent” man. She has said to her friends that Bernardo was just a bystander to the rapes and murders of the two schoolgirls. She was so determined to wed this convicted killer that she tattooed one of her ankles “Paul’s girl.” On the other hand, the woman’s father rejects her plans and says he hopes she will abandon this ill-thought idea. Many other news reporters and even the lawyers who represented Kristen and Mahaffy have all commented on how appalling they found it to be for anyone wanting to wed a man after his horrific crimes.5

As for Karla Homolka, she was released in 2005 after a short twelve year sentence. She thereafter resided in Quebec and married Thierry Bordelais, gave birth to a son, and later had two other children. She was found volunteering at an elementary school in Montreal. Breakfast Television Montreal has confirmed that she often went to the elementary school where her children also attend. Many parents of other children were displeased to see this, and red flags were raised. Parents commented that they did not want her to be on the school’s property and that they believed it wasn’t right for a former serial killer to be around children, especially volunteering. Disturbed parents complained to the school, but they weren’t answered until the Quebec Conference of Seventh-day Adventists sent out a letter. They stated that their priority was to provide quality education to the students and that while they arrange the complaints from the parents, they encourage parents to communicate with the Quebec Conference Office of Education. They also say that they were aware of who Karla is and that it is the law for Canada to conduct background checks on any personnel associated with the school. Karla, tired of the social media, moved away in the year 2007. Nobody heard of her again until a journalist, Paula Todd, came across her in Guadeloupe in 2012.6

  1. Charles Montaldo, “The Crimes of Karla Homolka and Paul Bernardo,” ThoughtCo., (May 2017).
  2. Charles Montaldo, “The Crimes of Karla Homolka and Paul Bernardo,” ThoughtCo., (May 2017).
  3. Historica Canada: The Canadian Encyclopedia, June 2016, s.v., “Paul Bernardo and Karla Homolka Case,” by Edward Butts.
  4. Nick Pron, Lethal Marriage: The Unspeakable Crimes of Paul Bernardo and Karla Homolka (Canada: McClelland-Bantam Inc., 1995), 9-16.
  5. Irene Ogrodnik, “Convicted killer Paul Bernardo set to marry: report.” Global News, July 4, 2014. Accessed December 6, 2017.
  6. Fazioli, Domenic. “EXCLUSIVE: Karla Homolka occasionally volunteers at Montreal elementary school.” CityNews, May 26, 2017.

Tags from the story

Paul Bernardo and Karla Homolka

Scarborough Rapist

Recent Comments

Cheyanne Redman

I had never previously heard about this article or these acts, but after reading I am completely mortified. What really got to me was the fact that Karla sacrificed her own sister and let her go through that horrific event to end up dying. As for Paul, I cannot believe someone could be that evil and sick in the head to do that to women. The ending completely shocked me because they both got a happy ending, Karla started a brand new life like nothing happened, and Paul is engaged in prison, these two deserves nothing but the worst.

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14/01/2018

11:03 am

Samuel Stallcup

The relationship that these two people had was quite interesting. It makes me wonder what was going through Karla’s mind when she had originally met Bernardo. What made Karla so obsessed with this individual that she was willing to be a bystander of murder and rape? This article does a great job at showing some context behind that obsession. Great article.

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14/01/2018

11:03 am

Noah Laing

I found this story to be very interesting but disgusting and made me think of how peoples morals could be so diminished. Also, I wonder what made Paul so convincing to make Karla go along with his actions and why exactly someone would want to be married to Paul after he had been accused of his actions.

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14/01/2018

11:03 am

Carlos Sandoval

This was a well written article, really eye popping what people will go through for someone else. I do not know how one could sacrifice their own blood as a victim of rape which lead to the death of her sister as well. Now what is crazier that someone thinks he is “innocent” and wants to marry him. I never knew about this couple, but glad they were stopped and serving time for what they did.

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14/01/2018

11:03 am

Miranda Alamilla

Although I had never heard “Ken and Barbie Partners in Crime” Karla Homolka and Paul Bernardo, I’ve always been very interested in murder stories. Anything from serial killers to killer kids has always caught my attention. In reading this article, I found that Paul raped and killed several women and teenage girls, including Karla’s younger sister, Tammy. It’s crazy to see how much one can be blinded by infatuation or what they think is true love.

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14/01/2018

11:03 am

Kimberly Simmons

This couple is absolutely crazy. I have never in my life read such an unfortunate series of events that turned out to be true. However, this case is so intriguing! It’s amazing to see what people will do for love – the good and the bad. Needless to say, Karla was a very weak-minded individual to have fallen under Paul’s control so easily. There is no excuse for such behavior, even if you claim it wasn’t your fault/idea – she appalls me as much as he does.

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16/01/2018

11:03 am

Natalia Flores

Their relationship is very disturbing and also alarming. How could Karla offer up her own sister to him? It’s so twisted and scary, especially how one person would go so far for someone they love only to turn on them at the last minute. It’s surprising that they didn’t find the traces of Halcyon in Tammy’s body, even though it did happen back in 1990. This article did really well in capturing the perverted, but also demented personalities that were Karla and Paul.

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17/01/2018

11:03 am

Anna Guaderrama

Okay well, I was already convinced I was going to die alone before reading this, but now I’m sure. The idea of doing anything for someone you supposedly love disgusts me, and I’m very disturbed from reading what they did. The article, on another hand, was very well written and really gave out the point/information. I enjoyed reading it, but they on another hand, I still cannot stop thinking about HOW INSANE THIS WOMAN WAS TO ACTUALLY SIT THERE IN THIS UNHEALTHY RELATIONSHIP AND ACTUALLY SUPPORT HIM BY TRYING TO DO WHATEVER TO MAKE HIM HAPPY.

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17/01/2018

11:03 am

Auroara-Juhl Nikkels

This story is crazy to me. I find it unbelievable to think that Karla drugged her sister and allowed Paul to rape her, all because Karla was not a virgin. And then to think that she stayed with him even after that and through the other rapes and murders. This must have been a serious case of Stockholm Syndrome or she was truly truly afraid to live without him for fear of what he might do to her.

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18/01/2018

11:03 am

Hannah Wilson

The most interesting part to me is that someone still wanted to marry him and thought he was innocent even after evidence and Karla’s testimony. You can tell that he is a manipulative and evil man. I don’t blame those parents for not wanting Karla to volunteer at their elementary school. She just sat there and let him commit crime after crime until finally testifying. She could have saved so many more lives if she had testified after her sisters death. Great article.

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19/01/2018

11:03 am

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