Paul Bernardo Case Summary

Crime Summary

Paul Bernardo and Karla Homolka, also known as “the Barbie and Ken Killers” were a seemingly normal couple that lived in Southern Ontario who committed a string of violent serial rapes/murders in their time together from December, 1990 - April, 1992. Victims of these crimes include Karla’s sister, Tammy Homolka (age 14), Leslie Mahaffy (age 14), and Kristen French (age 15). Paul Bernardo's crimes did not begin when he met Karla, pervious to their relationship he had committed 16 rapes and sexual assaults between May, 1984 and May, 1990, none of these assaults ended in murder, no victims died until Karla Homolka came into the picture.

Paul Bernardo: Early Life

Paul Bernardo’s early life likely helped shape who he became, it is said that Paul’s step father Kenneth Bernardo, who he believed to be his biological father until he was sixteen years of age was abusive to his mother and himself. In 1975 Kenneth was charged with child molestation and sexual assault of his daughter, Paul never seemed affected by his parents marriage and the withdrawn depressed state of his mother until he became aware of his mother previous infidelity, after which he referred to her as a “slob” and a “whore”. After Paul graduated from Sir Wilfrid Laurier Collegiate Institute he became interested in motivational speakers and “get rich quick schemes” this lead to him using his new found

Her family consisted of her parents, Karel and Dorothy Homolka, her younger sisters Lori Homolka (b. 1971) and Tammy Homolka (1975-1990). They lived an average life in St. Catherines, Ontario where Karla attended Sir Winston Churchill Secondary School and worked at Martindale Veterinary Clinic, the clinic she would later steal various drugs including halothane, which would later be used to drug and kill her youngest sister Tammy. There is nothing documented in Karla’s early life that would explain her