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52 Lock Up: Ken & Barbie Killers

52 weeks, 52 crimes

By CadmaPublished 2 years ago 20 min read
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This week dives into Karla Homolka and Paul Bernardo; the Ken and Barbie killers. Yes, they have been done before but I wanted to cover it my way. Be sure to like, subscribe and leave me some feedback for 52 Lock Up, 52 weeks 52 crimes; Let’s get started.

Karla

Karla Homolka

Karla Leanne Homolka was born on May 4th 1970 to Karel Homolka, an alcoholic Czechoslovak immigrant, and his Ontarian wife Dorothy Seger who worked as a geriatric clinic employee. She had two younger sisters, Lori and Tammy; we will return to Tammy later in the story. Karla was a bright child and good student but was doted on by her father, but he would also insult her and her mother and sisters during his drunk episodes then would head to the basement. Eventually her father took on a mistress and wife’s response was to propose a threesome and pretend everything was normal. In the meantime, Karla was often described as stubborn & domineering, being unable to compromise with other children and always willing to speak her mind to adults; which is an interesting aspect to take into consideration later on.

She had developed depression after she began to attend Sir Winston Churchill Secondary School, during which she would dress in a nonconforming manner, cut herself and claim false suicide attempts as a way to seek attention. She later developed sadistic and masochistic fantasies. Although was considered to be pretty, popular and loved by everyone around her. She had a passion for animals. Homolka got a part-time job at a pet store while she was in high school, and after graduating in 1988, she was hired by Thorold Veterinary Clinic as a full-time veterinary technician. When she was 17 her passion for animals led her to a pet convention in 1987 where she met Paul Bernardo there was an immediate spark between the two and they became inseparable.

A little bit about Paul

Paul Bernardo (left), Karla Homolka (right)

Paul Bernardo was born on August 24th of 1964 to 3 kids of Marilyn Bernardo.

Paul’s childhood apparently His parents' unhappy marriage came from the result of Kenneth’s abuse. Later on in life he would later in life face charges for peeping and pedophilia, which makes me wonder about the psychological impact his childhood had on his upcoming “famous” future. Kenneth was abusive to the other members of the family and even molested Paul's sister. His mom Marilyn was depressive and would often leave her family unattended to visit sisters she reconnected with on the weekend, then retreat to the basement when home. Although in his youth he seemed oblivious to his broken home and described as a happy child by the age of ten he gained a passion for making fires at the age of 10 in the Boy Scouts.

In 1981, when he was 16 years old he learned that his abusive “father” Kenneth was not his biological father but rather the child of his mother with and I see the male is referred to as her “once favorite suitor”. Bernardo referred to his mother as a slut or whore and reciprocated his anger by calling his a bastard. If you’re unaware a bastard is a fatherless child. Paul begins to date his first girlfriend Nadine Brammer but his controlling behavior lead her to leave him for one of his friends; and his response was to burn everything she had ever given with his passion for fire since 10.

He finally graduates and joins a company Amway. He dove deep into books and tapes of famous motivational speakers and started applying their lessons to when he would hit the bar with his friends to seduce as many woman as possible. Typical patriarchy.

By the time he begins to tend the University of Toronto at Scarborough he begins to develop dark sexual fantasies of rape. One of his fantasies included a “virgin farm” where he would breed virgin girls to rape. It became known later that he enjoyed forcing anal sex and degrading any of his dates in public. Overtime any relationship he did obtain became shorter and shorter then he began to date more than one woman at a time. With all of his girlfriends he was abusive and threatened he would kill them if he spoke about the abuse. Unfortunately women’s voices were still gathering to be heard during these times, although women could vote but there are still a lot of obstacles women faced and it made sense that they feared his words, as well as the backlash of society if they spoke up; because rape culture includes the victim blame game. Now in 1986 two women were granted restraining orders against Paul for making observe calls to them. I mean if Gerald Gault can be arrested in 1964 as a juvenile we can let Paul slide. **eye roll**. Judging from his history, he was raping the women he was with, rape means sex without consent including coercion.

Paul Bernardo (left), Karla Homolka (right)

However his major raping crime sprees start to kick up in 1986 right before he meets his wife Karla Homolka.

Paul Bernardo had already began his serial raping spree in 1986 but the known and proved crimes that are accounted for follow with May 4th of 1987 he raped a 21 year old Scarborough woman in front of her parents’ home after he had followed her home; oddly enough on the birthday of Karla before meeting. 10 days later he did not control himself and raped a 19 year old woman in the backyard of her parents home. July 17th 1987 attempted rape after beating his victim and abandoned her when she chose to fight back. September 29th 1987 attempted rape of 15 year old girl after braking into her home. He had jumped on her back and threatened her with a knife. He fled when the mother entered the room and screamed.

Anthony Hanemaayer

**Side note** a man named Anthony Hanemaayer was convicted of the crime in 1989 after being wrongfully identified as the man in the room but only served a 16 month prison sentence until he was exonerated after Bernardo admitting to the crime in 2006); like I guess he helped someone one out **eye roll**….

Paul Bernardo (left), Karla Homolka (right)

October 1987 Karla begins having threesomes for Paul and the first one is with Debbie Purdie. December 16 1987 raped another 15 year old girl and immediately the next day Metropolitan Toronto police issued a warning to women about the the rapist. December 23rd 1987 Paul rapes a 17 year old girl with a knife he was starting to add to his criminal ritual and this is when he develops the name the Scarborough rapist. Like he was very busy committing these crimes and yet found time to go to a pet convention and meet Karla Homolka. However in between the rapes and attempted rapes, Paul starts to run every aspect of her life. He tells her what to wear, how to style her hair, what opinions to have and what to eat. He calls her fat and ugly. He learns that Karla is not a virgin and he is upset about this, although he is still very interested in her.

March 1988 Karla's friend Lisa discovers "The List". Karla writes about having a healthy diet, exercising regularly, and having good hygiene. She also writes in regards to Paul and their relationship: Never let anyone know our relationship is anything but perfect; Don't talk back to Paul; Be a perfect girlfriend for Paul; If Paul asks for a drink, bring him one quickly and happily; Remember you're stupid; Remember you're ugly; Remember you're fat; I don't know why I tell you these things because you never change.

April 18th 1988 17 year old girl, May 25th 1988 Paul was almost caught by an investigator who was staking out a bus shelter who spotted him and began to pursue him and Paul escaped. May 30 the because I presume the 25th he had not been able to complete his task he unfortunately successfully rapes 18 year old girl in Ontario going about 25 miles south west of Scarborough. I presume it’s because the cops were so actively looking for him. There’s another random hiatus until October 4th 1988 with another attempted rape but this victim fought back and although she fought hi off he did stab her in her thigh and butt and required 12 stitches. Around November of 1988 Bernardo meets a girl named Anna and begins dating her while he is in Toronto, and also continues to see Karla. Paul also begins to become attracted to Karla’s younger sister Tammy. He demands that Tammy not have sex with any guy. November 16th, raped an 18 year old girl in the backyard of her parent’s home again and the following day Metro Police form a task force to capture him. December 27th 1988 attempted rape but chased off by a neighbor.

Take a longer hiatus then resumes June 20th 1989 attempted rape but this woman fought back and her screams alerted the neighbors and he fled. August 15th 1989 raped a 22 year old young woman. November 21st 1989 raped a 15 year old girl he saw at a bus shelter, December 22nd 1989 raped a 19 year old young lady.

In 1990 Paul is on his 11th rape of a 19 year old young woman exiting a bus but this victim was able to help police create a computer composite and it was released 2 days later. Finally July 1990, two months of searching and receiving tips that Bernardo resembled the Scarborough Rapist composite and then he was interviewed and snatched up. The police are getting closer and in November 1990 2 detectives interview Paul for 35 minutes, Paul gives them hair, saliva, and blood samples for testing, swears that he isn’t the Scarborough rapist

However, this tip did not come fast enough because in December of 1990 These two were engaged and Paul repeatedly kept telling Karla That she was unable to give him what it was that he was looking for. She desperately wanted to please him and keep him happy and this is where Tammy comes in.

Tammy Homolka (Karla Homolka’s little sister)

Bernardo, at 26, was engaged to Karla Homolka, 20, and was living at her family’s home in St. Catharines, Ontario. That Christmas Eve evening, while Homolka’s parents and younger sister Lori slept, Karla makes the choice to package her sister up for her fiancé. Homolka and Bernardo drugged the youngest sister, 15-year-old Tammy Lyn, so Bernardo could rape her. Homolka participated in and videotaped the sexual assault of her sister.

Karla and Paul decide to rape Tammy by putting crushed pills into her drink. After she passes out from the drugs and alcohol, Paul rapes her as Karla videotapes. Tammy starts to choke on her own vomit and cannot be revived. She dies, and the paramedics suspect no foul play.

Karla later explained she wanted to give him the teen’s virginity as a Christmas present. Tammy choked on her own vomit while she was unconscious and later died at a local hospital, but the couple was able to convince family and the authorities that the teen’s death was accidental. A few weeks later, they filmed a notorious video called "The Fireside Chat," in which Homolka dressed up as Tammy, and she and Bernardo discuss their enjoyment of the crime before having sex on Tammy’s bed. They went on to abduct, rape and murder three more teenage girls, videotaping the torture of one and encasing another's dismembered body in cement

Karla and Paul, "the Ken and Barbie Killers," were to wed in 1991. However let’s start the year with Paul is bitten by Karla’s pet iguana and becomes very upset. This leads to him cutting the iguana’s head off and then barbecuing and eating the body parts. April 26 1991 Paul commits 12th rape, age 14, not like the others, not at night and not stalking at a bus stop. Karla begins preying on her younger sister friends for Paul like Jane Doe.

Paul Bernardo (left), Karla Homolka (right)

After Tammy

Ms. Homolka, then 21, invited the 15-year-old back to the couple's St. Catharines home where Ms. Doe drank enough peach schnapps to make the teen sick. Returning home later that day, "I told my mother I had the flu," she testified. After that, she became a frequent visitor at the Bernardos', despite her mother's opposition to the growing relationship between a married couple and a single young girl.

The videos the Bernardos made of their sexual assaults on Ms. French, Ms. Mahaffy and Ms. Doe have been shown in court, but in 1991, Ms. Doe described them as "the perfect couple" in a letter. "You guys are the perfect couple," she wrote, adding when she grows up, "I hope I find a guy like Paul -- a good-looking, sweet and caring person."

August 1991 Karla invites Jane Doe to drug and rape her again, in the midst of everything she stops breathing; Karla calls 911, then finds that she is breathing and calls 911 operator to let them know she is alright

From the fall of 1991 through Christmas 1992, Ms. Doe was at the Bernardos' home "usually every weekend," for visits that now included sex, she admitted. Bernardo would "take me to the bedroom and say he wanted me to perform oral sex on him," she continued. She said she agreed "because he told me if I didn't keep him happy, Karla wouldn't be happy, and I wanted to keep Karla happy." But when he wanted to have intercourse, she refused. "I said, 'No, I didn't think it was right because you're married and I was a virgin,' " she testified.

Despite this, when Bernardo asked Ms. Doe to promise he would be the first man she had sex with, she did promise, a vow later fulfilled when Bernardo allegedly drugged and raped her. Though Ms. Homolka knew of Ms. Doe's sexual encounters with Bernardo, Ms. Doe said the older woman was never jealous. The first crack in their relationship came when Ms. Doe's riding instructor told the girl's mother about the affair with Bernardo.

"Mom confronted me about it. I told her he touched my breasts," Ms. Doe said. Bernardo "called later that day and said Mom visited him and told her what I said. He was upset and said I should have told her it was my idea." The relationship ended, Ms. Doe went on, around Christmas 1992. When Ms. Doe told Bernardo she was not interested in having sex with him any more, "he got angry and said he didn't want to see me again. He said I was worthless and that I didn't deserve to live." In the living room, "he picked up a picture of me and threw it across the room. Then, he carried Karla to the bedroom and left me alone at the bottom of the stairs."For the next 45 minutes, while she waited for her mother to pick her up, Ms. Doe said, Bernardo "stood at the top of the stairs, staring at me."

"Jane never received some calls, I wouldn't allow them through. I lied. I took messages off the machine. I couldn't imagine why a married couple would be interested in a single girl six and 10 years younger. Where were their friends?" Mrs. Doe said. Despite efforts to win her over with a lavish dinner, Mrs. Doe told Bernardo "to stop buying her gifts, that we had enough money to buy her whatever she needed. He said, 'I like to give gifts to my girl friends.' "

When Mrs. Doe confronted Bernardo with the riding teacher's allegations, she said, she was fearful of what might happen. She told her co-workers where she would be and kept her keys clutched between her fingers while she talked to him, she said. Bernardo got angry and followed her out the door, Mrs. Doe said, "screaming from the top of the porch. I was in the car driving away, and he was still yelling. I knew then I was right" about him.

Leslie Mahaffy

Well things are going on with Jane doe June 15-17 1991 the couple spots Leslie Mahaffy, age 14, late for curfew, Paul comes up to her and blindfolds her and puts her in the car, Karla tortures and rapes her while videotaping, murdered her, Karla says Paul strangled her, left body in basement until they figured out what to do next, decide to cut her body into pieces with a circular saw and dump her remainings in Lake Gibson; Which were discovered by the end of June 19 91 while this couple goes and gets married.

April 16-19 of 1992 Karla and Paul abduct Kristen French, age 15, Karla asks for directions and gets out of the car with a map and Paul comes up behind her w a knife and they force her into the car, torture and rape her for three days. Bernardo rapes and sexually tortures Kristen French in his and Karla’s home. Paul orders Karla to participate and record the events. During these three days Kristen is shown a video tape of Leslie Mahaffy’s rape. Kristen French is murdered by Bernardo with the use of the same electrical cord used to kill Leslie. The body is left in Karla and Bernardo’s home while the two visit Karla’s parent’s house for dinner. Later that, Paul disposes of the body in a dumpster in Burlington. Her body was discovered on April 30, 1992

May 1992 Paul’s Male childhood friend Van notices the similarities between Paul and the rapist profile, and goes to the police. May 12 The police question Paul about where he was on the nights of the two kidnappings. DNA samples are taken, but he is not considered high on the list of suspects.

Composite sketch of the Scarsborough Rapist

May 23rd Terri Anderson’s body is found beside a road. It is thought to be linked to the two other murders but no evidence is found to link the death to Paul and Karla.

Terri Anderson

December 1992 Jane Doe confronts Paul and Karla about being forced to have sex with Paul. Then on 12-27-1992 Bernardo beats Karla with a flashlight, causing severe facial bruising. Jan 5th 93, Karla’s parents find her beaten up and take her out of her house, but she goes back to get the videotapes. Paul is arrested and charged with assault, released on recognizance. The cops begin to test his DNA and find matches and now Paul is in big trouble. February 24, 1993 Karla is arrested, and she agrees to testify against Paul in return for a reduced Sentence. Her trial is set for June 28. But the next day Karla’s request for a divorce from Bernardo is officially granted.

Paul Bernardo

March 1993 Paul's father sentenced to 9 months in jail and 3 months probation for assaulting a woman. Like its a family affair.

Karla- 2 counts manslaughter and goes through with a psychological evaluation.

Peter Jaffe, a specialist in the psychology of the battered woman syndrome, explained that, theoretically, Ms. Homolka could fit the profile of a woman forced through physical and psychological torment to aid Bernardo's alleged crimes, as Ms. Homolka has suggested. However even if she was a batter woman syndrome I believe she was also an aggressive hybristophiliac; that is someone who is aroused by the acts of their partner and enjoys participating in it as well.

Hybristophilia is still being analyzed and studied today, I had even posted a survey up to see what responses I would get from both genders. As a side note I received responses from both males and females who said that they were attracted to people who were commit crimes but what I had noticed the difference was men did not fully engage or pursue the female if they have committed a crime versus the female who is willing to pursue someone in prison and a lot of the ones who had these relationships with someone in prison generally gave me the same answer that “they could not hurt me because they were locked away” which is really interesting those women would fall underneath passive hybristophilia versus aggressive where the other person becomes involved in it.

I am not confident she was completely a battered woman but rather wanted to utilize the excuse when other women actually suffer from it. BWS begins as an abusive cycle with three stages. First, the abuser engages in behaviors that create relationship tension. Second, the tension explodes when the abuser commits some form of abuse: physical, psychological, emotional, sexual, or otherwise. Third, the abuser tries to fix his wrongdoing and apologizes. This third stage is frequently referred to as the "honeymoon" stage, and involves the abuser making amends for his bad behavior. During the honeymoon stage, the abuser is forgiven, and the cycle starts all over again. is it possible, sure? But she offered her sister she grew up with BEFORE meeting Paul, there’s a disconnect. I digress

April 1st 1993 Karla is living in Brampton with her aunt and uncle Calvin and Patricia Seger, who had disclosed to the police Karla’s confession even though the police can’t use it to prosecute Paul due to hearsay rules, but they can use it as evidence to prosecute Karla for first degree murder. They decide that instead of charging Karla with murder, they would use it in order to push Karla into accepting a plea bargain, which means the police would have a witness in the prosecution of Paul Bernardo for first degree murder. Police have murder and rape search warrants that expire after 71 days for 57 Bayview Dr. The police are no closer to proving that Paul Bernardo committed the murders of Leslie and Kristen than when they first started the investigation.

Karla Homolka

If she doesn’t accept the plea bargain she will be charged with 2 counts of first degree murder, 1 count of second degree murder and other crimes. Walker decides to accept the plea bargain with Karla’s approval and later she decides to accept it also. Homolka agreed to a 12-year plea bargain in exchange for cooperation, accusing Paul’s lawyer, Ken Murray, goes to Paul’s house and removes six 8-mm videocassettes. He found them hidden in the ceiling above a bathroom light fixture. Murray is not allowed to view the tapes until May 18th after Paul has been convicted of first degree murder. The tapes Murray finds show the rapes of Tammy Homolka, Leslie Mahaffy, Kristen French and Jane Doe.

By May 18th 93’ Paul is charged with two counts of kidnapping, two counts of unlawful confinement, two counts of aggravated sexual assault and first degree murder. In addition he is charged with the dismemberment of Leslie Mahaffy’s body. Karla appears in court for her arraignment on two counts of manslaughter and a bail hearing. Her bail is set at $110,000. There are a number of conditions. Karla must appear in court on June 7, 1993 at which time a trial date will be set. Her parents use their house as collateral for bail and she is released.

Bernardo of as many as 30 other sexual assaults. Bernardo was ultimately sentenced to life in prison with the possibility of parole, though in 1995 he was declared a "Dangerous Offender," making it unlikely that he will ever be released. Karla Homolka, meanwhile, was released from prison in July 2005, and since has remarried and had three children. Although hybristophilia is associated with women, I think of the males who filled out my survey and wonder if her new husband fits that profile of a passive hybristophiliac and his attraction to her; but I couldn’t find much on their relationship.

Extra info

Rape kits were developed in the late 1970’s by Chicago Police Sgt. Louis Vitullo; his daughter has a TikTok. She’s an incredible Forensic Psychologist Dr. Engles. She also does work Innocence Projet, offers consultation and mentorships; and clinical services to California residents. She’s an amazing follow on TikTok, for those of you looking for other true crime and forensic psychologists to learn from.

He later then became chief microanalyst for the city’s crime lab. Now his kit contained plastic test tubes and swabs for vaginal, rectal and oral smears, individual slides and mailing boxes for the smears, a comb to collect samples of foreign (that is, not from the victim) hair, and nail clippers to salvage evidence from under fingernails. It also included a brown paper bag for victims’ undergarments and clothes, forms for the doctors and police officers involved to complete, sealing tape and a pencil to write on the slides. This is great but how do we pin the rapist? Keep in mind DNA testing emerged in 1985.

A book on Bernardo and Homolka, Deadly Innocence, is published in 1995 by Toronto Sun reporters Scott Burnside and Alan Cairns & there’s another book Lethal Marriage: The Unspeakable Crimes of Paul Bernardo and Karla Homolka By Nick Pron

And thats the ken and Barbie killers; Mattel must hate these people having that nickname.

References

https://allthatsinteresting.com/paul-bernardo-ken-and-barbie-killers

https://www.ranker.com/list/paul-bernardo-karla-homolka-ken-and-barbie/cat-mcauliffe

https://www.the-sun.com/news/4263308/ken-barbie-killers-victims-karla-homolka-paul-bernardo/

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/key-events-in-the-bernardo-homolka-case-1.933128

https://www.thefamouspeople.com/profiles/karla-homolka-11294.php

http://maamodt.asp.radford.edu/Psyc%20405/serial%20killers/Bernardo,%20Paul.pdf

https://www.crimemuseum.org/crime-library/serial-killers/karla-homolka/

https://www.uscourts.gov/educational-resources/educational-activities/facts-and-case-summary-re-gault

https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/paul-bernardo-and-karla-homolka-case

https://buffalonews.com/news/teen-outlines-relationship-with-bernardos/article_9ad83a57-d507-5417-ad88-57cbe6dbbd59.html

https://studylib.net/doc/9602102/most-recent-crimes--paul-bernardo-and-karla-homolka

https://www.upi.com/Archives/1995/08/21/Bernardo-says-ex-wife-lied-about-abuse/2877808977600/

https://www.investigationdiscovery.com/crimefeed/murder/the-ken-barbie-killers-where-is-karla-homolka-today

https://canadiancrc.com/Newspaper_Articles/Tor_Star_Families_step_aside_Homolka_film_13OCT05.aspx

https://www.thehansindia.com/hans/opinion/news-analysis/are-our-children-safe-and-secure-723155

https://www.the-sun.com/news/4260479/who-were-karla-komolkas-parents/

https://torontosun.com/news/local-news/hunter-parole-board-documents-reveal-a-delusional-paul-bernardo

https://torontosun.com/news/local-news/mandel-30-years-since-paul-bernardos-murder-of-leslie-mahaffy

https://nationalpost.com/news/canada/newsalert-parole-denied-for-killer-rapist-paul-bernardo-after-25-years

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About the Creator

Cadma

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