Canadian serial killer Paul Bernardo, part of the infamous “Ken and Barbie” serial killer duo, is up for parole Wednesday after serving 25 years in prison for the murder and rape of several girls.
CBC News reports that 54-year-old Bernardo will seek parole while in front of the parole board at the Bath Institute in Ontario. He was sentenced to life in prison with the possibility of parole in 1995, after a string of kidnapping, rapes, and murders.
“He’s as horrified as you and I are at what he did,” Bernardo’s lawyer, Fergus O’Connor said. “I expect that he will take full responsibility, express remorse, and he appears to be sincere in that.”
Despite the attorney’s encouraging words about his client, numerous members of the community who still remember the atrocious crimes want Bernardo to remain behind bars, according to Narcity.
From a span of 1986 to 1992, Bernardo went on a spree of kidnapping young girls and raping them. He eventually began killing the ones that didn’t get away. Several girls were lured in by Bernardo’s then-wife, Karla Homolka, who set up her own little sister, 15-year-old Tammy Homolka, in an attempt to please her husband’s sadistic sexual fantasies.
Paul Bernardo's chance of day parole is considered very slim. https://t.co/lysD4kOpjy
— CBC News (@CBCNews) October 17, 2018
While at Homolka’s parents’ Ontario home in December 1990, Homolka laced her little sister’s drink with Halothane sleeping pills that she stole from the Martindale Veterinarian Clinic, where she worked part-time. The couple then supplied the teen with alcohol and when she passed out, Bernardo sexually assaulted her. Homolka would later say she wanted to “give Tammy’s virginity to Bernardo for Christmas.”
The pair brought an inebriated and unconscious Tammy into the basement of her parents’ home, where Homolka filmed as Bernardo raped the girl. When Tammy began vomiting profusely, they allegedly tried to help her. When their efforts failed, Bernardo and Homolka began hiding evidence before calling 911. By the time first responders arrived, it was too late. Tammy passed away shortly after at St. Catharines General Hospital.
The teen’s initial cause of death was listed as accidental choking, but Homolka, after numerous years of beatings and abuse by Bernardo, eventually turned on him and told authorities what happened to her sister.
As part of a plea deal, Homolka testified against her husband and divulged details of additional victims and crimes. According to her testimony, Bernardo kidnapped, raped, and killed another teen girl, Leslie Mahaffy, 14, in the summer of 1991. While Homolka claimed Bernardo strangled the girl and hid her in a basement, Bernardo said it was Homolka who killed Leslie by giving her a lethal dose of Halothane. Both admitted to participating in the kidnap and rape of the girl.
The mothers of Ontario teens Kristen French and Leslie Mahaffy will address parole board members today as killer Paul Bernardo seeks day parole. It's been 25 years since he was sent to prison; his chances of winning some freedoms are seen as very slim: https://t.co/QEOIBHZTGz
— CBC News Alerts (@CBCAlerts) October 17, 2018
Homolka also testified that Bernardo kidnapped, raped, and killed 15-year-old Kristen French in April 1992. Homolka lured the girl to Bernardo’s car, where Bernado shoved her inside and drove her back to their Port Dalhousie, Ontario home. For days, both Homolka ad Bernardo videotaped themselves sexually assaulting, beating, and humiliating French. Police found the teen’s naked, lifeless body on April 30, 1992, thrown into a ditch in Burlington, after the couple beat her with a metal brush then strangled her with a noose.
Prior to the murders, Bernardo raped several women, which dubbed him the name, “The Scarborough Rapist.” In 1995, he was convicted of murdering two of the teens and for dozens of sexual assaults.
According to Correctional Service Canada, most people sentenced to life in prison in Canada will never get parole. Further, Bernardo reportedly has not participated in work camp while behind bars, one of the steps generally taken before a prisoner is granted parole.
“Not all lifers will be granted parole,” Correctional Service Canada wrote. “Some may never be released…because they continue to represent too great a risk to re-offend.”
Karla Homolka, One Half Of The "Ken & Barbie Killers", Now Doing Volunteer Work At A Grade School https://t.co/Jvwbxkhiq2 pic.twitter.com/KQAFs09UMk
— DiscoveryID (@DiscoveryID) May 31, 2017
As part of a plea deal, Homolka served 12 years behind bars. As CrimeOnline previously reported, she was released from prison in 2005. She has since remarried.
Check back with CrimeOnline as additional details become available.
[Feature Photo: Paul Bernardo, Karla Homolka/Handout]
