The Canadian National Newspaper: Karla Homolka And Paul Bernardo: Barbie and Ken

Karla Homolka, Canada's most horrific female criminal was born Karla Leanne Homolka on May 4, 1970 in Port Credit, Ontario . The oldest child of three, she was always pretty and smart and adored by everyone. Little did anyone know the "psycho" that she was going to turn out to be. Homolka was 17 and working at a veterinary clinic when she met Paul Bernardo at a pet convention. The two soon found out that they shared the same "psychotic" desires and Karla seemed to take the role of a slave, always obsessed with filling Paul's each and every fantasy.

Their relationship steadily grew over the course of the next few years; it was then when Bernardo began raping women with the approval of his wife and accomplice, Homolka. He did so by luring them off buses and taking them home. He was named The Scarborough Rapist.

However, Bernardo had always complained to Homolka that he was disappointed that she was not a virgin when they had first met so, wanting to fulfill his every wish and knowing of his attraction to her fifteen-year-old sister, Homolka decided that Tammy would be a replacement virgin for her. But achieving this took careful planning. It was decided that Homolka would steal the animal anesthetic halothane from the veterinary clinic where she worked.

The date was set and on December 23, 1990, at the family Christmas party, Tammy was served an alcoholic beverage spiked with halcyon . They then lured her into the basement and held a cloth soaked with halothane to her face. She soon fell unconscious and the couple raped her. However, something went terribly wrong and Tammy began choking on her own vomit during the rape and died, a week before her birthday. The drugs in Tammy's body went undetected and her death was ruled an accident.

Unphased by the death of Tammy, Homolka and Bernardo decided to move in together. Bernardo took to blaming Homolka for Tammy's death and since she was no longer around for his sexual enjoyment, he demanded that Homolka find him a replacement. Her name was Jane; she was young and attractive and had always seemed to idolize Homolka. So like she did with Tammy, Jane was invited out for dinner and her drinks were spiked . Then she was brought home to Bernardo, who was overjoyed with his gift. Thus, there and then in their own house, Jane was brutally raped and the events were videotaped. The next day when the girl awoke she was in great pain, but had no recollection of the night's events and so they set her free. Jane was lucky because, unlike Tammy and the others to come, she managed to survive.

The couple was extremely pleased with their new hobby together and were thirsting for a new victim. Consequently, on June 15,1991 Bernardo kidnapped Leslie Mahaffy and, repeatedly over the next few days, she was raped. When they finally had enough with her, they slaughtered her into little pieces, covered them in cement, and deposited the remains into the lake. On July 29, her remains were discovered. This was the same day as Homolka and Bernardo were married in ceremony at Niagara-on-the-Lake Church.

For a period of time, the couple focused on their marriage and new life together and it wasn't until April 16, 1992 that the couple struck again. This time they tried a different technique, pulling into a church parking lot, pretending to be lost. They then grabbed fifteen-year-old Kristin French and pulled her into the car and, like the rest, raped and killed her. Her remains were discovered on April 30 in a ditch; she was the last victim in the couple's sick twisted game.

In January of 1993, Homolka separated from Bernardo after he committed what the E.R. called "the worst wife-beating case ever seen." Homolka's injuries included bruises all over her swollen body and a screwdriver puncture wound.

On February 1,1993 police discovered from a twenty-six-month-old sample that Bernardo was the Scarborough Rapist. After questioning Homolka, she admitted everything to her lawyer and sought full protection for her cooperation. She was sentenced to 12 years in prison rather than four life sentences for the murders she committed. Bernardo, however, was sentenced to life in prison without parole.

On July 4, 2005 Karla Homolka was released after 12 years, with the restrictions placed upon her she was ordered to report regularly to police on her whereabouts and travel plans, among other restrictions.

Since Homolka's release Four months have passed and on Nov 30 th all restrictions placed upon Homolka, (who now goes by the name of Karla Teale) were released). She is free to go where she wants and do what she wants without reporting to the police. This has many people up in arms, but Judge Burton says" The possibility that Ms. Teale might reoffend one day cannot be completely eliminated," "However, her development over the last 12 years demonstrates, on a balance of probabilities, that this is unlikely to occur. She does not represent a real and imminent danger to commit a personal injury offence . . . The appeal should be granted." No matter what she does, however, she will always be regarded as one of Canada's most horrific criminals and perhaps the most horrific of all female criminals.