September marks 30 years since infamous Canadian serial killer and rapist Paul Bernardo was sentenced to life in prison for his crimes.
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On September 1, 1995, Paul Bernardo, also known as “The Scarborough Rapist,” was found guilty of all nine charges against him, including two counts of first-degree murder for killing 15-year-old Kirsten French and 14-year-old Leslie Mahaffy between 1990 and 1992.
According to CBC News, Bernardo later went on to admit to sexually assaulting 14 other women, and over 50 different charges have been brought against him for similar alleged acts.
Bernardo committed these crimes with his then-wife, Karla Homolka, who eventually signed a controversial plea bargain and testified against him. The couple became widely known by the moniker the “Ken and Barbie Killers.”
On September 15, 1995, Bernardo was sentenced to life in prison in Kingston Penitentiary without the possibility of parole for 25 years.
Since then, Bernardo has remained in the headlines, and applied for parole for the third time in November 2024.
Who is Paul Bernardo?
Paul Bernardo is one of Canada’s most infamous serial killers.
He was born in Scarborough, Ontario, on August 27, 1964.
Bernardo committed his first crime in the early hours of May 4, 1987, when he attacked and raped a young woman shortly after she stepped 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.”
He later admitted to sexually assaulting 14 other women.
According to CBC News, Bernardo met Karla Homolka outside of a hotel restaurant in Scarborough in October 1987. She was 17 at the time and volunteering at an animal hospital, while Bernardo, then 23, was six years her senior.
What crimes did Paul Bernardo and Karla Homolka commit?
Around two years after they first met, Bernardo and Homolka got engaged. They got married in 1991, 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, Bernardo and Homolka were living at her family’s home in St. Catharines. That night, following a family Christmas party, they drugged Homolka’s sister, Tammy, using animal tranquillizers that Homolka stole 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 Christmas Eve, Tammy choked on her vomit and stopped breathing. The pair dressed Tammy and moved her back to her bedroom before cleaning the scene and calling 911. She was then transported to St. Catharines General Hospital, where she was later pronounced dead.
Niagara Regional Police questioned the couple, focusing on a burn mark on Tammy’s face. Bernardo claimed it was a carpet burn from dragging her to her room. The wound was actually caused by halothane, an anesthetic applied to a cloth and pushed against her face.
Doctors ultimately determined that Tammy died from asphyxiation after choking on her vomit after consuming too much alcohol.
Leslie Mahaffy
On June 29, 1991, the same day that Bernardo and Homolka were married in a lush ceremony at Niagara-on-the-Lake, fishermen discovered 14-year-old Leslie Mahaffy’s dismembered body encased in concrete in Lake Gibson, near St. Catharines.
Mahaffy had been reported 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 pair 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 had been missing from St. Catharines since April 16. Bernardo, with help from Homolka, kidnapped, raped, tortured and murdered French.
After receiving a tip, Niagara Regional Police interviewed Bernardo in May 1992. However, they ruled him out as the primary suspect for the deaths of Mahaffy and French. The former’s remains had been exhumed, and investigators saw she had suffered injuries similar to those of French.
In January 1993, Homolka was sent to St. Catharines General Hospital after Bernardo beat her with a flashlight. He was arrested and charged but released on bail.
The following month, the Centre of Forensic Sciences proved that Bernardo’s DNA matched that of the “Scarborough Rapist.”
What was Karla Homolka’s plea deal?
After being in the hospital after she was assaulted by Bernardo, Homolka initially declined to cooperate with the police. It wasn’t until she consulted with her legal team that she decided to testify against Bernardo, claiming she had been an unwilling accomplice in his crimes.
According to The Canadian Encyclopedia, the attorney general of Ontario refused to offer her complete immunity but agreed to negotiate a lowered sentence. During a four-day police interrogation, Homolka painted a picture that she lived in fear of her husband and was forced 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 were unable to locate the videotapes the couple had recorded.
In May, Bernardo’s lawyer, Ken Murray, gained entry to the home and found the tapes hidden above a ceiling light fixture in an upstairs bathroom. He held 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. He turned the tapes over to his successor, John Rosen, who then submitted them to the police.
The footage showed 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 revealed that Homolka was an active and willing participant in the crimes.
The tapes sparked public anger, with media outlets accusing the Crown of making “a deal with the devil.” Nevertheless, prosecutors maintained the agreement, noting that Homolka had testified against Bernardo and fulfilled her end of the bargain.
In July 2005, Homolka, at the age of 35, was released from St. Anne des Plaines prison near Montreal.
Reports from 2017 revealed that she had changed her name to Leanne Teale and moved to Châteauguay, Quebec.
According to The Globe and Mail, after her release, Homolka married her lawyer’s brother, Thierry Bordelais. They went on to have three children — a girl and two boys.
In 2017, she was in the news again as reports said she had been volunteering at her children’s school.
Is Paul Bernardo still alive?
Yes, Paul Bernardo is still alive. He is 61 years old.
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 the medium-security La Macaza Institution in Quebec. According to Global News, Bernardo has spent the bulk of his almost 30 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 an excessive risk to public safety.
In May 2023, he was transferred from the maximum-security Millhaven Institution near Bath, Ontario, to La Macaza, which provoked across-the-board public and political backlash.
Conservative MP Frank Caputo criticized the conditions in which Bernardo and fellow inmate Luka Magnotta live.
He shared an almost seven-minute-long video on X, criticizing the situation.
Caputo said La Macaza felt like a “university campus.” He said the prison had a hockey rink that could be converted into a tennis court, a state-of-the-art gymnasium, a weight room, and a billiards table.
Correctional Service Canada (CSC) confirmed to Narcity in March 2024 that the hockey rink wasn’t in use because “there has been no ice for the past two winters.”
CSC also added that inmates have options “to participate in programs and activities” that are “not unique” to La Macaza and can be found in other institutions.
How old is Paul Bernardo?
Paul Bernardo was born on August 27, 1964. He recently turned 61.
Who is Paul Bernardo married to now?
Bernardo and Homolka were divorced in 1994. There is no evidence that Paul Bernardo is currently married.
However, in July 2014, the Toronto Sun reported that Bernardo was marrying a 30-year-old woman from London, Ontario.
She reportedly had a tattoo saying, “Paul’s girl,” on her ankle.
The Sun says that she reconsidered her decision after “reality set in.”
Is there a movie about Paul Bernardo?
In 2006, the American film Karla was released, dramatizing the crimes committed by Paul Bernardo and Karla Homolka.
Misha Collins took on the role of Bernardo, while Laura Prepon portrayed Homolka.
Is there a documentary about Paul Bernardo?
Yes, there is a documentary about Paul Bernardo.
Ken and Barbie Killers: The Lost Murder Tapes is available on several streaming platforms, including Amazon Prime Video, Apple TV+, and Hulu.
Did Paul Bernardo write a book?
In 2015, Bernardo published an ebook on Amazon.
According to Global News, the 631-page ebook included violent, gory descriptions of death and terrorist plots.
A MAD World Order was later pulled from sale.
It is still unclear how Bernardo was able to publish the book, as the Correctional Service of Canada stated that he would have had no access to the internet or email.
This article has been adapted from a previous story, “‘Barbie Killer’ Karla Homolka was released 20 years ago — Here’s where she is now.”
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.
