It’s been 20 years since Karla Homolka — dubbed the “Barbie Killer” — was released from prison after serving her sentence, following a controversial plea deal with prosecutors.
In the early 1990s, Homolka and her then-husband, Paul Bernardo, were involved with a series of violent crimes that shocked the nation.
The case drew intense public attention, and the couple became widely known by the moniker the “Ken and Barbie Killers.”
In late 2021, the chilling case returned to the spotlight with the release of a four-part docuseries titled Ken and Barbie Killers: The Lost Murder Tapes. The series, which remains available on several streaming platforms including Amazon Prime Video, Apple TV+, and Hulu, reexamined the horrific crimes and the plea deal that continues to spark outrage in Canada.
So, where is Karla Homolka now, more than two decades after her release? Here’s what we know.
This article contains graphic content that might not be suitable for some readers.
Who is Karla Homolka?
Karla Homolka was born on May 4, 1970, in the Port Credit neighbourhood of Mississauga, Ontario.
According to CBC News, she met Paul Bernardo outside of a hotel restaurant in Scarborough in October 1987. Homolka was 17 at the time and volunteering at an animal hospital, while Bernardo, then 23, was six years her senior.
What crimes did Karla Homolka and Paul Bernardo commit?
Months before Bernardo and Homolka met, in the early hours of May 4, 1987, a young woman was attacked and raped shortly after stepping off a bus near her home in Scarborough, according to The Canadian Encyclopedia. This was later identified as the first in a series of assaults attributed to Bernardo, who would come to be known as the “Scarborough Rapist.”
By 1989, Homolka and Bernardo were engaged. In 1991, they got married, but not before they raped several women and caused the deaths of 15-year-old Tammy Homolka and 14-year-old Leslie Mahaffy.
Tammy Homolka
On December 23, 1990, Homolka and Bernardo were living at her family’s home in St. Catharines. That night, following a Christmas party, they drugged Homolka’s sister, Tammy, using animal tranquilizers that Homolka had stolen from her workplace.
While Tammy was unconscious, both Homolka and Bernardo raped her, and Homolka recorded the assault on video.
In the early hours of December 24, Tammy choked on her vomit and stopped breathing. Homolka and Bernardo dressed her and moved her back to her bedroom before cleaning the scene and calling 911. She was transported by ambulance to St. Catharines General Hospital, where she was later pronounced dead.
Niagara Regional Police questioned the couple, focusing on an unusual burn mark on Tammy’s face. Bernardo claimed it was a carpet burn from dragging her to her room, but the injury was actually caused by halothane — an anesthetic applied to a cloth and pressed against her face.
Doctors ultimately determined that Tammy died from asphyxiation after choking on her vomit after consuming too much alcohol.
Leslie Mahaffy
According to The Canadian Encyclopedia, on the same day of Bernardo and Homolka’s wedding in Niagara-on-the-Lake (June 29, 1991), fishermen discovered 14-year-old Leslie Mahaffy’s dismembered body encased in concrete in Lake Gibson, near St. Catharines.
Mahaffy had been missing since June 16. She was abducted by Bernardo and Homolka, who raped, tortured, and murdered her. While Niagara Regional Police launched an investigation into her death, the newlyweds were honeymooning in Hawaii.
Kirsten French
On April 30, 1992, 15-year-old Kirsten French’s body was found in a ditch on a rural road near Burlington. French’s parents had reported her missing from St. Catharines on April 16. Bernardo, with help from Homolka, kidnapped, raped and tortured French.
After receiving a tip, Niagara Regional Police interviewed Bernardo in May 1992, but ruled him out as the main suspect for the deaths of Mahaffy and French. The former’s remains had been exhumed, and investigators noticed she had suffered injuries similar to those of French.
In January 1993, Homolka was admitted to St. Catharines General Hospital after Bernardo assaulted her with a flashlight. He was arrested and charged but released on bail. The following month, the Centre of Forensic Sciences confirmed that Bernardo’s DNA matched that of the so-called Scarborough Rapist.
What was Karla Homolka’s plea deal?
After being admitted to the hospital, Homolka initially refused to cooperate with police. It wasn’t until she consulted with her lawyers that she accused Bernardo, claiming she had been a reluctant accomplice in his crimes.
According to The Canadian Encyclopedia, the attorney general of Ontario declined to offer her full immunity but agreed to negotiate a reduced sentence. During a four-day police interrogation, Homolka portrayed herself as someone who lived in fear of her husband and was coerced into participating in his crimes.
On February 17, 1993, Bernardo was arrested, and police searched his home in St. Catharines. However, as reported by CBC, investigators failed to find the videotapes the couple had recorded.
In May, Bernardo’s lawyer, Ken Murray, gained access to the home and discovered the tapes hidden above a ceiling light fixture in an upstairs bathroom. He kept them for over 16 months. That same month, Homolka entered into a plea deal with prosecutors.
In July, she pleaded guilty to two counts of manslaughter and was sentenced to 12 years in prison.
In September 1994, Murray stepped down as Bernardo’s lawyer and turned the tapes over to his replacement, John Rosen, who then submitted them to police.
The footage revealed the rape and death of Homolka’s sister Tammy, as well as the rape, torture, and murders of Leslie Mahaffy and Kristen French. It also showed that Homolka was an active and willing participant in the crimes.
The tapes sparked public outrage, with media outlets accusing the Crown of having made “a deal with the devil.” Nonetheless, prosecutors upheld the agreement, citing that Homolka had testified against Bernardo and fulfilled the terms of her plea.
Did Karla Homolka’s parents forgive her?
In a 1999 interview with CBC, Karla Homolka’s mother, Dorothy, expressed concern for her daughter’s safety after her eventual release from prison.
“She’s a human being who has made a very bad mistake, and she’s going to pay for it for the rest of her life,” she said. “She can never pay her debt to society.”
When Homolka was released in 2005, The Globe and Mail reported that her family did not attend her release.
Homolka was never convicted of the rape and murder of her sister Tammy. It is not publicly known to what extent she has had a relationship with her parents since her release.
Where is Karla Homolka now?
In July 2005, 35-year-old Karla Homolka was released from St. Anne des Plaines prison near Montreal. Just hours later, she gave a televised interview to SRC, the French-language arm of CBC (now ICI Radio-Canada Télé).
Prior to her release, Homolka had attempted to prevent media outlets from reporting on her personal life, but a Quebec judge denied the request.
More than a decade later, in 2017, Global News reported that she was living under the name Leanne Teale in Châteauguay, Quebec. That same year, she drew renewed public attention after it was revealed that she had been inside a classroom at the private Montreal school her children attended.
Per CTV News, school officials confirmed that Homolka was invited by a teacher to demonstrate a knitting technique and emphasized she was never left alone with students. She had also accompanied a class field trip with other parent chaperones and once brought a dog for show-and-tell.
Who are Karla Homolka’s children?
A 2012 report by The Globe and Mail revealed that Karla Homolka became a mother to three children — a daughter and two sons — following her release from prison in 2005. She initially settled in Montreal and gave birth to a son in 2007.
According to The Canadian Encyclopedia, she later moved to the Caribbean island of Guadeloupe, where she lived under the name Leanne Bordelais with her husband, Thierry — the brother of her former prison lawyer, Sylvie Bordelais — and their three children.
Homolka returned to Quebec in 2012 after a Canadian journalist located her in Guadeloupe.
Where is Paul Bernardo now?
In 1995, Paul Bernardo was convicted of the murders of Kristen French and Leslie Mahaffy, as well as the manslaughter of Tammy Homolka. He was also found guilty of several other charges, including aggravated sexual assault and kidnapping.
He is currently serving a life sentence in Canada. According to Global News, Bernardo has spent the majority of his 27 years in prison in solitary confinement.
Bernardo became eligible for parole several years ago but was denied in 2018. A second attempt in 2021 was also rejected. Most recently, in November 2024, the Parole Board denied his third request, again determining that he posed too great a risk to public safety.
In May 2023, he was transferred from the maximum-security Millhaven Institution in Bath, Ontario, to the medium-security La Macaza Institution in Quebec — a move that prompted widespread public and political backlash.
Is there a movie about Karla Homolka?
In 2006, the American film Karla was released, dramatizing the crimes committed by Karla Homolka and Paul Bernardo.
Laura Prepon portrayed Homolka, while Misha Collins took on the role of Bernardo.
There is also a TV series about the couple called Ken and Barbie Killers: The Lost Murder Tapes, which remains available on several streaming platforms, including Amazon Prime Video, Apple TV+, and Hulu.
If you or someone you know has been the victim of sexual assault, call the Assaulted Women’s Helpline at 1-866-863-0511. You can also contact support services for male survivors of sexual assault at 1-866-887-0015. If you need immediate assistance, please call 911 or go to your nearest hospital. Support is available.
