The Barbie and Ken Killers ~ Karla Homolka and Paul Bernardo

Good Morning all. I figured this is one of the best cases for me to start with, because this is actually a personal one. This case is going to be split into 3 different entries...

1. the meeting, crimes, and arrests

2. the individual court cases & outcomes

3. present day

I am sorry that this one will be a long one, but this was a very pertinent case here in Canada, especially where I come from, Toronto, Ontario, CANADA... But the actions of these two caused so much heartache and loss in many communities; also causing some of the most controversy in Canadian Crime History. Here we go...

Starting back in May 1987, began a series of rapes in Scarborough area, which is a suburb just east of Toronto. There were approximately 24 rapes that happened in a span of 4 years; giving the perpetrator (Perp) the nickname "Scarborough Rapist". He targeted young women and teens, assaulting most of them outside, but we know there is at least one case where he broke into a house and committed the assault there. In November 1988 they formed a taskforce to find this perp, but didn't have any real leads until May 1990 (3 years from the first rape)... 

NOW THIS IS WHERE THE POLICE MADE A HUGE MISTAKE...

The police were given a composite sketch of the rapist, and one of the people they interviewed for the crimes, was Paul Bernardo; not just once, but TWICE. They collected his dna, feeling satisfied that it wasn't him. He was already dating Karla Homolka, a teenager. She was 17 when they met, while he was 23. The story goes that Paul and Karla were both into sadomasochism, and Paul had asked Karla if she cares that he raped other women; she said he could... and that's when he became the Scarborough Rapist... or so the story goes.

Paul Bernardo became obsessed with Karla's younger sister Tammy. He berated Karla for not being a virgin when they got together, and he somehow felt that she owed him that. So on Christmas Eve, Karla and Paul plyed Tammy with alcohol laced with haycyon, and later used a cloth with Halothane to keep Tammy unconscious. 

We should note that Karla is the one who obtained the drugs from the veterinarian she was working for at the time...

They raped Tammy, but while they were in the process of it, Tammy began chokingon her own vomit which ultmiately led to her death. Since she had been drinking, and the duo had their stories straight, there was no investigation to any drugs being in Tammy's system, and it was classified as "accidental". Tammy's death enraged Paul, which pushed her to bring Jane into the dynamic; another young woman they raped.

After those two heinous crimes, they proceeded to creep neighbourhoods in search of their next victims; resulting in them kidnapping, first, Leslie Mahaffy who they raped and killed... then they cut up her body, placing the pieces in various chunks of cement and throwing them into the lake.

There was a bit of a family battle at this time, since Paul and Karla were pushing to get married, despite the fact that they were still mourning her sister, Tammy's passing. Karla and Paul had in the meantime, moved into their own place in February 1991, marrying that June, in an over-the-top lavish wedding; which Paul meticulously planned, right down th Karla's dress and the vows... He demanded that it was "man and wife"; not "husband and wife"... What a narcissist!!!

They had no idea what was happening in the outside world, other than they knew that the Mahaffy's had reported their daughter missing on June 15th, and ironically, or maybe it was karmic and the universe, bot on the very day Paul and Karla exchanged vows, on June 29th; fishermen found blocks of cement in Lake Gibson (Just outside St Catharines). These blocks contained the arms and legs, feet and head of a young girl; the following day, a torso had been found by another person.

Paul and Karla were busy on their honeymoon in Haiwaii!!!

It was clear that different municipal's of police were not communicating at the time, because the PD that was looking for Leslie, had no idea that there was evidence that could connect this case to the Scarborough Rapist cases... let alone, no one was even remotely thinking about Tammy Homolka at the time. It really is sad, because had they done their due diligence, a few lives could have been spared and there would have been a lot less victims created by these psychos!!!

We are now into the year 1992. It is April, and Paul and Karla are back to their old tricks... something the American FBI profilers warned would happen, saying the killer was a sexual predator and murderer who WOULD commit these acts again.

Paul and Karla were stalking the streets when they came upon Kristen French walking on a street in St Catharine's. They abducted her and commited the most atrocious acts on her...

She was reported missing by her parents on April 16th, but unlike Leslie, Kristen's body was found in a ditch in a completely different city; the City of Burlington, Ontario. Her head had been shaved and face was deeply battered; but they knew instantly it was Kristen, as she had a childhood accident that caused her to lose the tip of her pinky finger.

As the news continued to cover these cases, the PD were informed that Paul was know to be aggressive and violent; causing him to be interviewed yet again but the police, but didn't go anywhere. A witness revealed there were two people in the car when they had seen the struggle happen to Kristen being forced into the car; unfortunately, the witness described the wrong type of car it was.

The walls were closing in on the Barbie and Ken Killers, because police finally found a link between the girls' deaths; they had both been beaten with the same object... the marks on their backs proved that, and there was a show that aired at the time, re-enacting the abduction of Kristen French; leading to thousands of tips.

That January, Karla was admitted to the hospital after enduring a severe beating from her husband, Paul. Paul was arrested, but then released. Karla never returned to their Port Dalhousie home.

In February 1993, the police finally linked Paul Bernardo to the school girls' killings and the Scarborough rapes and placed him under surveillance.

I will continue with Part two of this series as we are now entering the legal actions and all the things that went sideways, causing a public outrage and someone to not get what they truly deserved... at least in mine and most of our eyes.

Stay tuned for Part 2 and 3...

~Phoenix