There are several different types of homicide; one of the most common types is sexual homicide. Over 66% of serial killers exhibit sexual motives. According to the FBI Crime Classification Manual (1992), there are four subcategories of sexual homicide. Sadistic sex muder is the final and most disturbing of these. This type of homicide involves the torture and mutilation of victims and often the video recording of these heinous acts. Videotaping is not uncommon in this type of murder, as the killer often takes a souvenir to enable the reliving of the arousal felt during the commission of the murder at a later time. This is how sexual predators sustain arousal in between killings. Paul Bernardo and Karla Homolka were sadistic sex killers. They preyed on young girls and tortured and raped them while video-taping the sexual assaults that they were committing. Often called the “Ken and Barbie” of serial murder, they are one of the most depraved killer couples in the annals of criminal history. This is their story.
Like countless other psychopathic personalities, Paul Bernardo was the product of a dysfunctional family. His mother, Marilyn married Kenneth Bernardo. Kenneth was severely abusive and Marilyn subsequently had an affair with a former beau of hers. Paul was the illegitimate child of Marilyn and her lover, a secret that he would not find out until he was 16 years old. Marilyn became severely depressed and morbidly obese as a result of the abuse that she was forced to endure from her husband. Eventually, she gave up on her house and family and moved into the basement of her home. Kenneth was once arrested for molesting a young girl and went on to become a Peeping Tom. He later began sexually assaulting his own daughter. When Paul was 16, his mother told him the truth about his real father. At this point, his outlook on women changed dramatically. He viewed his mother as a promiscuous woman and lost all respect for his parents. He physically and sexually assaulted many of the women that he dated and sought to find someone to fulfill his dark fantasies. In Karla Homolka, he found the woman of his demented dreams.
Karla Homolka was the daughter of Karel and Dorothy Homolka. She was the eldest of three daughters. She worked part-time at a pet store and attended a convention in Toronto in 1987. There she met her future husband, Paul Bernardo. She was accepted to multiple colleges, but chose to work as a veterinary assistant after she graduated from high school. Karla became compulsively obsessed with Paul’s happiness. She was very insecure and feared that she would lose him to another woman. To ensure that her fear was not realized, she did everything she could to keep him happy. No matter how depraved his demands were, she happily complied.
Paul was disappointed that Karla was not a virgin when they met, so he often requested that Karla procure virgins for him to have sex with. Karla went so far as to help Bernardo subdue her own sister, Tammy. As a veterinary assistant, Karla had both a rudimentary knowledge of chemicals, as well as easy access to them. She stole halothane, an inhaled anesthetic, from the clinic where she worked. On December 23, 1990, they laced Tammy’s drink with Halcion. Unbeknownst to Tammy, the worst was yet to come. Once she was unconscious, Paul raped her as Karla held a halothane-saturated rag over her baby sister’s face. Tammy choked to death on her own vomit and her death was later ruled an accident. Tammy was only 15 years old at the time of her death.
While they were engaged, Karla and Paul rented a house in Port Dalhousie. Paul often dwelled on the fact that Tammy was no longer available for his sexual pleasure. Karla decided to find a replacement and offer her to Paul as a wedding gift. Karla found a local teenager who closely resembled her late sister. This girl’s name has not been released. Karla invited the girl to her home. She laced her drink with Halcion and offered the unconscious girl to her perverted soon-to-be husband. They stripped her clothes off and Karla molested the young girl as Paul videotaped the horrible act that he and his fiancée were committing. Karla took over the videotaping as Paul anally raped the young girl. They did not kill her and she fortunately slept through the whole atrocious act.
On June 15, 1991, Bernardo kidnapped Leslie Mahaffy and drove her to his home. He and Karla held her captive for 24 hours during which they raped and assaulted her constantly. Like their last assault, this one was videotaped. Bernardo dismembered the young woman and embedded her body parts into concrete. Ironically, on the day of Karla and Paul’s wedding (June 29, 1991), a couple found Leslie’s remains as they were canoeing.
On April 16, 1992, the couple abducted Kristen French. They brought the 15-year-old girl to their home where they tortured and raped her over a period of several days. Shortly before attending Easter dinner with Karla’s family, they killed her and disposed of her body. Kristen’s left shoe and hair were found at the crime scene and her body was found in a ditch on April 30, 1992. With Karla’s knowledge and approval, Paul was also committing a series of brutal rapes in Scarborough, Canada. He sexually assaulted eighteen women and murdered three more. At the time, the perpetrator was unknown, but he was dubbed by the media as the Scarborough Rapist.
In 1993, Karla and Paul’s marriage turned sour and he began beating her. One particular beating caused Karla to be hospitalized. The attending ER doctor remarked that Karla was, “the worst case of wife assault I have seen.” Karla had two black eyes, a hemorrhage in her left eye, a bruise on her forehead and multiple contusions on her legs, arms and neck. She also suffered from a puncture wound on her knee that was caused by a screwdriver. At this point, Karla turned on her husband. He was already under suspicion of being the Scarborough Rapist and was arrested on January 6, 1993.
On February 1, 1993, forensic tests confirmed that DNA extracted from evidence from the Scarborough Rapist victims matched Paul Bernardo’s DNA. In light of this new evidence, Bernardo was placed under constant surveillance.
Karla was offered a bargain plea by the government. She was offered a 12-year sentence and committal to a psychiatric hospital in exchange for full cooperation and a confession. She accepted and pleaded guilty to her involvement in the murders. She also testified against her husband. Considering the plethora of incriminating evidence against Bernardo and his wife’s testimony, he received a sentence of life imprisonment.
Reference:
- Newton, Michael. The Encyclopedia of Serial Killers. New York: Checkmark Books, 2006.
