R.J. Parker: The Serial Killer Compendium

Before they started their team rape and killings in 1991, Bernardo already had quite the history of rape, although he was not known to the authorities at that time. Between May 1987 and July 1990, he had raped eighteen young girls between the ages of fifteen and twenty-two.

His first murder victim was Tammy Homolka, Karla’s younger sister. Bernardo encouraged Karla to drug her sister. When she did, Bernardo raped her before she woke up. Several months later they drugged Tammy again and both of them raped her, but this time Tammy died after choking on her own vomit. The police ruled it an accidental death, not knowing that before they called 911, Bernardo and Homolka had redressed Tammy and removed any incriminating evidence. Tammy Homolka died at the tender age of fifteen on December 23, 1990.

Meet Leslie Mahaffy, a young girl, only fifteen, born on July 5, 1976, and murdered on June 16, 1991. Two day before her death, Leslie went out for an evening with a few friends. Her curfew was 10 p.m. as the Scarborough rapist was active and like many parents, Leslie’s were afraid. Unfortunately, Leslie was having fun with the girls and ignored the ground rules set up by her parents. Her parents anticipated that she would break curfew and decided to teach her a lesson which they would forever regret. Leslie arrived home after 2 a.m. to find herself locked out of the house. She did not know what to do so she called a friend to see if she could stay over, but her friend’s mom told her to go home and face the consequences.

Bernardo was crouched behind a car when Leslie came strolling by. Carrying a hunting knife, he forced her into his car and drove her to his house where he undressed her, blindfolded her, and videotaped her naked. He was going to have vaginal intercourse with Leslie but he ejaculated prematurely. When Karla woke up, he gave her instructions on how he wanted her to have sex with Leslie while he videotaped. This done, he instructed the submissive Karla to film him while he sodomized Leslie. The brute power of his anal penetration caused Leslie to cry hysterically. After twenty-four hours of disgusting rape and torture, the couple killed Leslie and, later that night, Bernardo used a circular saw to dismember her body and place her in cement.

On June 29, 1991, a couple enjoying canoeing trip on Lake Gibson spotted a concrete block in the water. The cement block had what looked like animal flesh coming out of the cracks. There were anglers on the bank; they were asked to help retrieve the cement block. After splitting it with a crowbar, they were devastated when they saw a foot and the calf of a human crawling with maggots.

Enter Kristen French, born May 10, 1976, a beautiful fifteen year old young girl. On April 16, 1992, one month shy of her 16 birthday, she was walking home from school when Homolka lured her over to her car on the pretense of asking for directions. As Kristen was giving directions on the map, Bernardo, brandishing a knife, attacked her from behind and forced her into the car. This hostage-taking was observed by several witnesses. A BOLO was sent out to all units and a sketch was prepared of Bernardo by a witness. Kristen was kept for three days, being raped and tortured while the couple videotaped it all, and was forced to drink large quantities of alcohol before she was killed by Bernardo and Homolka. She was found in a ditch on April 30, but as she was not dismembered, the investigators did not believe it was the same person who had killed Leslie Mahaffy.

The Green Ribbon Task Force was set up by the police with Superintendent Vincent Bevan taking the lead. The F.B.I. in the U.S. was consulted in an effort to profile the rapist. Citizens were concerned and kept their children at home. In the meantime, after the death of Kristen French, the newlywed-killing-duet moved to the Niagara Falls area.

As the drawing sketch of the rapist was plastered on TV, in post offices, in stores, and sidewalks, the police received calls saying that the man they were looking for resembled a man named Paul Bernardo. The investigators went to Bernardo’s home where he claimed he was not the rapist/killer but admitted that, yes, the picture did resemble him, which he said was embarrassing.

While the detectives were there, they noted that the car in the driveway looked nothing like the Capri which witnesses had seen, but instead was a Nissan. Paul Bernardo, therefore, was not considered a suspect. Police were no further ahead and Bernardo continued his spree of rape and murder of teenage girls.

By February, 1993, Bernardo made a mistake that would put him in the limelight as a suspect. After he blackened both eyes of Homolka and knocked out several of her teeth, she called 911. The police in Niagara Falls took her to the hospital and began investigating the matter. Karla was admitted to hospital and her uncle came to visit her. She whispered to him that Bernardo had killed Leslie Mahaffy and Kristen French and went on to tell her uncle that he was indeed the Scarborough Rapist. Author’s Note: she never mentioned about the death of her sister Tammy. Homolka hired lawyer, George Walker, and told him that she wanted immunity if she gave up Bernardo. Walker said he would see what he could do.

The next day, on February 11, 1993, Homolka’s lawyer, George Walker, met with Director, Murray Segal, of the Crown Criminal Law Office. Walker told Segal that they had videotapes of the rapes, and Segal advised Walker that, considering Homolka's involvement in the crimes, full immunity was unlikely.

Paul was arrested and charged with the murders of Mahaffy and French and the rapes of several young girls. It was not until the 19 of February that police were granted a warrant to search Benardo’s and Homolka’s house. They did not, however, find any videotapes as Homolka had claimed. They did find a complete register in Bernardo’s handwriting of all the murders and rapes, as well as books on serial killers, and perverted sex magazines. The much-wanted videotapes were in the possession of Bernardo’s lawyer who surrendered them when he withdrew from the case.

Before the tapes were handed to the police, a plea bargain was arranged based on Homolka’s testimony. She would receive twelve years for each of the two victims (not her sister). The prosecutor said that it had to be done in order to nail Bernardo. Her earliest release date would be June, 2001. Once the videotapes were obtained from Bernardo’s lawyer, it clearly showed that Homolka was heavily involved in cruel sex acts with both of the girls. Her lawyer could see for himself that she was a willing and eager participant in the crimes. As this news broke, public outraged for her plea bargain grew. The media dubbed it the worst deal the Canadian government had ever made with a criminal witness.

Bernardo’s trial started in May of 1995. He was charged with two counts of murder in the 1 degree, two counts of aggravated sexual assault, two counts of kidnapping, two counts of forcible confinement, and one count of dismembering a body. He pleaded not guilty.

The prosecutor, Ray Houlahan, first rolled a tape of Homolka, naked and masturbating with a flashlight inside her. The jury was disgusted. They knew there would be pornography, but they hadn’t thought it would be so explicit. The prosecutor’s intention, however, was to show the court how Bernardo forced women to do anything for him, even kill a sibling. A pin drop could be heard in court when Homolka testified, showing how they had drugged and raped her sister Tammy in order to demonstrate how terrified she was of Bernardo’s violence and control.

Homolka was asked why she committed these horrifying crimes. She explained “Paul was very upset when he discovered she was not a virgin the first time they had sex. It was therefore, her responsibility to make it possible for him to take the virginity of her pretty younger sister Tammy. It would have to be videotaped without Tammy's knowing anything about it so I decided to give her to Paul as a Christmas present.” This was the first time that the Homolka parents ever heard the details surrounding what had happened to their fifteen-year-old daughter, Tammy. They could not believe what they were hearing.