Karla Homolka

Karla was born May 4, 1970 in Port Credit, Ontario, to the parents of Dorothy and Karel Homolka. Karla was the oldest of her other two siblings and was well loved by family and friends as well as very popular and pretty. She was raised in a nice, middle class home and suffered from no abuse. After high school, Karla developed a strong love for animals and began working in a veterinary clinic. Overall, Karla appeared to be a very happy, smart, and normal girl. However, nobody knew what was really festering deep down inside her. When Karla was 17 she attended a pet convention in Toronto where she met 23 year-old, Paul Bernardo. Like Karla, Paul was tall, blonde, and very smart and she was attracted to him instantly. The two soon realized that they both shared the same sado-masochistic desires. As the two became more and more intimate, Paul soon assumed the role of "Master, " while Karla took the role of "Slave" (Montaldo).

Karla and Paul worked as a team, killing and raping their victims. The duo's first victim was one of Karla's younger sisters, Tammy. Karla had known how upset Paul had been that she wasn't a virgin when they met and she knew his attraction to her younger sister, Tammy. Because of Karla's uncontrollable desire to please Paul, she decided to use Tammy as a "surrogate virgin." The two drugged Tammy at the family's Christmas party with animal tranquilizers that Karla had stolen from work. The two then recorded as the two proceeded to rape the girl. During this time, Tammy was killed. The two dressed her, hid the drugs and the video camera, and called 911. Tammy's death was ruled an accident. On June 14, 1991, the couple struck again. Paul kidnapped 14 year old, Leslie Mahaffy and brought her to their home. The couple then drugged, raped, and killed Leslie. The couple got married soon after this on June 29, 1991. Also during this time, Leslie's body was found encased in concrete in a lake (Marsala, 2005).

The two had an elaborate wedding held at the Niagara-on-the-lake Church. Paul had put himself of the wedding plans having the two ride up in a horse drawn carriage and with Karla in a big white gown. The guests were served an expensive and elaborate meal while they watched as Karla swore to love and obey her husband (Montaldo).

Together, the couple rape and kill one more girl, Kristen French. In January of 1993, Paul became upset with Karla and beat her with a flashlight. Karla let and filed charges against him. A few months later, Paul was arrested and was accused of being a serial rapist in their area. When the police searched the home for evidence, they found all the video tapes of the girls that the couple raped and killed. After a lengthy investigation, Karla had her trial on June 28, 1993. She plead guilty to two counts of manslaughter and received 12 years of prison in return for her to testify against her husband. On June 29, 1995, Karla testified against Paul in his trial. Paul was found guilty of all charges brought against him and was sentenced to life in prison (Marsala, 2005).

Karla spent her 12 year sentence in a women's prison. Karla was released from prison on July 4, 2005. Her departure from the prison was confirmed by prison authorities, but there was no sight of her leaving the prison. Homolka tried to ban the media from finding out her location and from leaking that to the public, in order to keep Karla safe from threats. Her lawyers claimed that upon release, Karla was in a "state of terror," scared to see what the world was going to do her (Montaldo, 2005).

References:

Marsala, K. (n.d.). Karla homolka-a serial killer afraid of abandonment. Retrieved from:
http://www.canadafreepress.com/2005/kmarsala070805.htm

Montaldo, C. (n.d.). Karla homolka-child rapist, torturer, and killer. Retrieved from:
http://crime.about.com/od/murder/p/homolka.htm

Montaldo, C. (2005, July 4). Serial killer karla homolka released from prison. Retrieved from:
http://crime.about.com/b/2005/07/04/serial-killer-karla-homolka-released-from-
prison.htm