School Girl Serial Killer Set to Leave Prison

June 16, 2005 — -- The accomplice in a series of rapes and murders of teenage girls, reviled as one of Canada's most infamous criminals, will walk free in a few weeks.

Karla Homolka, now 35, has finished her 12-year sentence for her role in the sexual assault and slaying of two pubescent girls in the early '90s. She also took part in the slaying of her sister, Tammy, but wasn't charged in her death. Many in Canada believed at the time she deserved to spend the rest of her life behind bars, but in a rush to get her to testify, the Canadian justice system agreed to a plea bargain and reduced her sentence putting her away only a dozen years in prison.

Now that her release is imminent, many Canadians fear the "bloodless blonde" will strike again and are demanding further punishment. Legal experts say the case is closed and Homolka has a right to move on with her life. Regardless, the case still has people wondering if Homolka was her husband's pawn or a cold-blooded killer.

"This is one of the most well-known, horrible cases in Canada," said Anthony Doob, a criminology professor at the University of Toronto. "People believe she got away with murder, literally."

Falling Under the Spell

Seventeen-year-old Homolka felt bored with high school boys, so when she met Paul Bernardo, 23, in 1987, she was swept off her feet. He was tall, good-looking and worked in an accounting firm near Toronto. Bernardo's charm won over Homolka's parents and he started spending more time in their home in St. Catharine's, near Niagara Falls. Homolka became obsessed with her new boyfriend, believing he was her ticket out of her hometown. Her parents liked the calming effect Bernardo was having on their daughter as she began to shed her rebellious teenage attitude, according to the Toronto Star.

But it turned out Homolka's Prince Charming was not all he seemed. He began to play rough sexual games with his young girlfriend, but Homolka stayed with her beau and loved the attention and gifts he lavished upon her. During their courtship, Bernardo also conducted a series of rapes that baffled local police.

According to court testimony, Bernardo escalated his demands on Homolka. She claimed Bernardo beat her until she agreed to drug and rape her sister, and said he would kill her and her family if she didn't.

On Christmas Eve in 1990, the couple drugged Homolka's youngest sister, Tammy, to knock her unconscious while they sexually assaulted her and videotaped the assault. The episode ended horrifically, with Tammy choking on her own vomit and dying.

Tammy's death was considered an accident at the time. The unintended killing seemed to push the pair toward more heinous crimes.

Target: Teenage Girls

Bernardo and Homolka decided to tie the knot in 1991. Her friends said that Homolka had lost her insouciant ways and was on edge all the time, according to the Toronto Star. And it wasn't just over the wedding menu or the flower arrangements.

Two weeks before their wedding day, Bernardo abducted, assaulted and strangled 14-year-old Leslie Mahaffy. Some accounts say the girl's body was rotting in the couple's cellar prior to the festivities and no one noticed.Soon after the wedding, police found Mahaffy's body, but interagency rivalries kept them from making much progress.

Bernardo had quit his accounting job and was working different jobs. He allegedly kept Homolka from attending university and his life centered more and more around alcohol and drugs.

A year after their wedding, the couple struck again. In April 1992, Kristen French, 15, disappeared. Homolka and Bernardo kidnapped the teenager and raped her day and night with a video camera rolling. Three days later, they dumped her body by the side of the road and drove off. In court, Homolka claimed that her ex-husband blackmailed her into helping him ensnare more victims, including raping yet another girl known as Jane Doe.

Bernardo never seemed to be satisfied. He became more violent with his wife and abused her constantly. It was harder for her to shrug off the bruises and one day in 1993 she showed up at her workplace with obvious injuries around her eyes. With pressure growing over progress in the police investigation and fearing for her own safety, Homolka told her story to police.

Deal with the Devil

Sensing that Homolka was the ticket to putting Bernardo away for life, the attorney general's office from Ontario province offered the 23-year-old a plea bargain. She agreed to testify against her husband and plead guilty to two counts of manslaughter. As part of her plea agreement, she was not charged in the death of her own sister. She was sentenced to 12 years in prison. On the day the plea bargain was struck, Bernardo's lawyer accused Canadian authorities of "making a deal with the devil," according to the Globe and Mail.

She started her prison term 60 miles northeast of Montreal and divorced Bernardo. During his trial in 1995, she claimed she was under his spell and that he bullied her into the slayings.

But her attempts to portray herself as her husband's pawn were put into question when the videotapes of the girls' sex slayings were discovered and played during the trial. On tape, Homolka seemed to eagerly assist her spouse and enjoy herself.

Suddenly, public opinion turned and Homolka was as reviled as Bernardo, and the police investigation and the prosecution came under harsh criticism.

Homolka's testimony got her husband two life sentences for first-degree murder and sexual torture of the two teenage girls and he was also charged for the dozen rapes that occurred in the early '90s. While she would one day be a free woman again, Bernardo would never get to ditch his Kingston penitentiary prison uniform.

Fearing Homolka's Release

As the countdown to Homolka's release began, panic ensued about having the 30-something, convicted criminal shack up in a Canadian neighborhood, whichever one she chose to live in.

The public called her a con artist and said she deserved more punishment. "A lot of people are saying that she should be kept in [jail] forever to punish her, but what they're forgetting about is that for better or worse the trial is over," said Doob.The overriding principle in the legal system is that the government gets one chance to prosecute a case, he said.

Regardless, many Canadians lashed out at the lopsided plea bargain and the overall laxity of the system. "Plea bargaining as a first step rather than a last resort is a symptom of a sick justice system, and we, as citizens, deserve something far more healthy," wrote Leslie Millin, in an op-ed in the Kitchener-Waterloo Record.

Criminal lawyer Isabelle Teolis doesn't believe the system is in need of repair. "I think this was a one-time thing; for the most part the system works." She said that the attorney general's office has had to be more careful about plea bargaining to avoid another public backlash.

The public outrage has had some effect.

Homolka served her full term with no early release or parole, a rarity in Canada. And at a hearing regarding her release in early June, a Quebec judge slapped a number of restrictions on her, saying this was an exceptional case. The court ruled that there were grounds to fear that Homolka could act again.

A psychiatrist testified that the young convict needed therapy and that she was vulnerable to being bullied again by dangerous men. During the hearing, Judge Jean Beaulieu pointed out he was perplexed by Homolka's choice of pen pal; she had been writing to a male inmate who was incarcerated for strangling his ex-girlfriend.

Homolka, set to be released between June 30 and July 5, will have to check in with police every month and advise them of any changes in her name, address, job or roommates for a year. Drugs are out of the question, as is any contact with her victims' families. She can't work with or be a guardian to anyone under the age of 16 and must undergo therapy. In addition, if she wants to leave Quebec she has to give the police four days' notice. And, finally, she can't be in contact with criminals and must supply a sample of her DNA.

"The question is how far can they [courts] go?" asked Bernard Dickens, law professor at the University of Toronto, discussing the restrictions placed on Homolka. There's a gray area concerning released offenders and how much scrutiny can be imposed, he said, citing the possibility that the restrictions can be renewed year after year. "Won't she want to challenge the courts if they keep her from getting married or visiting her family?" Dickens asked.

Homolka is slated to live in the French-speaking province of Quebec and not return to her native Ontario. During her time in prison, the young woman learned French and got a college degree.

Meanwhile, Bernardo, 40, has had "absolutely no interest" in initiating any contact with Homolka, his lawyer, Tony Bryant, told the Canadian Press.

As her day of freedom nears, Homolka also has reason to be worried. Death threats have poured in, according to her lawyer, Sylvie Bordelais.

The Correctional Service of Canada has sought police assistance in transferring Homolka out of prison, saying her highly public profile necessitates additional help. Speculation is rampant regarding Homolka's exact release date and even whether she will dye her signature blonde hair.