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
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
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
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
- Charles Montaldo, “The Crimes of Karla Homolka and Paul Bernardo,” ThoughtCo., (May 2017). ↵
- Charles Montaldo, “The Crimes of Karla Homolka and Paul Bernardo,” ThoughtCo., (May 2017). ↵
- Historica Canada: The Canadian Encyclopedia, June 2016, s.v., “Paul Bernardo and Karla Homolka Case,” by Edward Butts. ↵
- Nick Pron, Lethal Marriage: The Unspeakable Crimes of Paul Bernardo and Karla Homolka (Canada: McClelland-Bantam Inc., 1995), 9-16. ↵
- Irene Ogrodnik, “Convicted killer Paul Bernardo set to marry: report.” Global News, July 4, 2014. Accessed December 6, 2017. ↵
- Fazioli, Domenic. “EXCLUSIVE: Karla Homolka occasionally volunteers at Montreal elementary school.” CityNews, May 26, 2017. ↵
139 comments
Arianna Kennet
The whole “man dominating woman during sex” thing is nothing new, to be honest, but this couple took it to a whole new level. Raping and killing for pleasure? I mean it still happens till today, but I haven’t heard of a story where killing and raping comes in because of mad love for each other. That’s crazy!
Cristina Cabello
I can’t believe how insane people can actually be. The fact that they can commit these crimes and continue to do so is outrageous. While reading this article, it felt as if I was watching a horror movie. This piece was written with well developed research. I have heard of this story before but never really knew the beginning of it.
Benjamin Arreguin
This couple was vindictive, manipulative, and outright sick. The fact that they’re able to kill their own family is horrific, this is the first time I had heard of this couple but I’m glad they were put away, unfortunately for such short amount of time. Parole for Paul was ridiculous but his ability to find someone to believe his innocence is astonishing and just proves his ability to manipulate people for their own benefit. The article did a great job of covering the details of what happened between the twisted couple and their families.
Clayton Trevino
While Paul’s actions and intent were very obviously malicious, it’s hard to say what exactly motivated Karla to aid him in these crimes. Was her involvement the result of Paul’s manipulation alone or did she also act maliciously? It seems to me that she had a fair amount of choice in her actions, especially those involving her own sister. The article doesn’t mention any evidence to suggest that Karla made any attempt to leave Paul prior to them being caught. This leaves me to believe she might have played victim in order to reduce her sentence.
Olga Perez
I had never heard about Karla and Paul’s story before this article, but the author did a great job in putting so much detail into the story. I thought it was interesting how Paul is actually eligible for parole this year after what kind of crimes he committed. Also that fact the Karla could still volunteer at a school after what she had been convicted of and that only served 12 years is kind of shocking, too.
Julian Aguero
I find it extremely inhumane that someone would, or even could, torture and murder someone in their own family. Karla likes to play innocent but she let Paul rape and murder her sister. Unfortunately, I find Canada’s laws to be very liberal when it comes to convicting serial killers. I guess it’s good to believe in rehabilitation but I do not believe that either of these two people should be allowed to live a regular life style after the heinous actions they committed together. I can’t imagine why he would be eligible for parole after only 25 years and I can’t imagine why anyone would want to marry either of these two people. Karla doesn’t deserve to work around children and should have lost that right when she became a serial killer. I believe that both should spend the rest of there lives in prison.
Sofia
I get really scared after reading articles about criminal activities as barbaric as this one. Unbelievable what human beings are willing to deal with for love and also fear in this case. It is also very surprising that not so long ago someone could enter so easily somebody else’s house, luckily the advance in technology allows us to be safer in our homes.
Belia Camarena
I am surprised that I had never heard of the Ken and Barbie serial killers before reading this article. I think the author did a great job at presenting the information. What shocks me the most is that Karla only had to serve twelve years in prison. That does not seem like enough time compared to the crimes she helped commit. I also wonder if Paul will receive parole now that it is 2018.
Peter Coons
True Crime stories are a special kind of guilty pleasure many of us partake in reading. This one, however, is one I have never heard before. Considering the heinous nature of the crimes, and the seemingly uncanny resemblance to a Bonny and Clyde homage to Barbie and Ken, I am surprised to have never have seen this covered on a program like Dateline. Even more shocking is how Paul was given possibility of parole, and Karla only served twelve years! This is the kind of stuff writers for shows can’t even dream of, and this article is a great telling of this horror story.
Michael Thomas
This article was informative about the Ken and Barbie crimes. After reading this article, I found it odd that someone would want to marry Paul Bernardo after all the evidence and Karla’s testimony proved that he was guilty of the murders. In Karla’s case, she was able to turn her life around. Even though she turned her life around, she was still met with hate for her involvement with the murders.