Paul Bernardo

Dominique Fields

March 14, 2017

Student Number: 4281563

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 Paul Bernardo, who may be more commonly known as the Scarborough Rapist, The

Schoolgirl Killer, or Paul Jason Teale, is Canadas vilest serial murderer and rapist. Paul has

been found guilty on multiple counts of rape, murder, and assault which lead to him being

convicted of a life sentence in prison. Paul grew up from a young boy who smiled a lot and was

admired by many mothers, to a sadistic sexual predator everyone feared.

Born on August 27th, 1964, in the city of Toronto, Paul Bernardo was the result of an

affair his mother, Marilyn, had trying to escape his abusive father, Kenneth. In 1975, Kenneth

was charged with child molestation for fondling a young girl, and sexually abusing his own

daughter. This caused Marilyn to become depressed, she began to withdraw from their family life

and ended up living in the basement of their Scarborough home. Paul appeared to be unaffected

by the events that occurred between his parents. In his book Lethal Marriage, Nick Pron

describes young Paul: He was always happy. A young boy who smiled a lot. And he was so

cute, with his dimpled good looks and sweet smile, that many of the mothers just wanted to

pinch him on the cheek whenever they saw him. He was the perfect child they all wanted: polite,

well mannered, doing well in school, so sweet in his Boy Scout uniform. (Bellamy, 2001) At the

age of 16, Marilyn finally told Paul about the affair, which repulsed him, he began to openly call

his mother a slob and whore. Paul graduated from Sir Wilfred Laurier Collegiate Institute,

opting to work for Amway, whose sales culture had a deep effect on him. Paul began to practice

his techniques with his friends on young women they met in bars, and they turned out to be fairly

successful. Around the time Paul began to attend University of Toronto in Scarborough, he had

developed his dark sexual fantasies. Paul enjoyed humiliating women in public, and beating up

the women he dated. In October 1987, Paul met his partner in crime, Karla Homolka. Almost

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immediately they became sexually interested in each other. Unlike the other girls Paul knew who

discouraged his behaviors, Karla instead encouraged his sadistic sexual behavior, and

encouraged his acts as the Scarborough Rapist. (Bellamy, 2001)

The murderous duo relationship is characterized by a strong interdependence in which

both parties need something critical from the other, explains Al Carlisle, Ph.D., a former prison

psychologist. The dominant person needs the followers total loyalty in order to validate him- or

herself. The subservient follower needs the power and authority of the dominant person, so he or

she attempts to become that persons shadow and to mirror the dominant persons beliefs and

ethics. Each receives justification from the other, explains Al Carlisle. Pauls ability to rapidly

recognize the traits he sought in Karlaa young woman who showed keen interest in him and

willingly participated in his sexual deviancemeant he had locked in on a potential accomplice.

(Ramsland, 2016) Once they were dating, Karlas desperation for his attention and the fulfillment

of her own romantic fantasies allowed him to manipulate her into ever more odious acts. No

other girl Paul had previously seduced had been as willingly deviant as Karla. Some had sensed

danger and quickly ended the relationship, but Karla took whatever Paul dished out. By

submitting to degrading sex acts and obeying his every order, Karla ceded authority to him over

every aspect of her life. Her dependence and desperation to hold on to Paul made her ever more

malleable. (Ramsland, 2016)

Paul Bernardos attacks began in the year of 1987 where he developed the nickname

Scarborough Rapist. His first attack took place on May 4th where he raped a 21-year-old girl.

Following that, his next successful attack took place on May 14th of the same year. On July 17th,

Paul attempted to rape another victim but once she began to fight back, he fled the scene. After

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that, he appeared to take a break between attacks, and on September 29, he struck again, this

time he threatened her with a knife, assaulted her, bit her ear, and this time fled the scene once

the victims mother intervened. His next successful attacks took place on December 16th,

December 23rd, April 18th 1988, and May 30th where he instead attacked a girl in Mississauga,

throwing suspicions off of the Scarborough Rapist. On October 4th, he attempted to rape his next

victim, during the attack he stabbed her twice in the thigh and buttock, and fled the scene when

she began to fight back, the girl survived the attack. On November 16th, Paul had another

successful rape, and on December 27th, he attempted but fled the scene when a neighbor spotted

him and pursued him. In the year of 1989, Pauls first attempt was on June 20th, and the victim

screamed and fought back, causing him to flee the scene. Paul had three more successful rapes

throughout that year, the attacks took place on August 15th in this case he had stalked the girl

from the night before, November 21st, and December 22nd. (Bellamy, 2001)

Pauls first repeat victim was a girl Karla had befriended while she was working at a pet

shop. Karla invited the teen over on June 7th, 1991, for what she called a girls night out. Karla

took the girl out for an evening of shopping and dining, after a day out, Karla took the girl to 57

Bayview Avenue and began to ply her with alcohol which she had laced with Halcion. Once the

teen lost consciousness, Karla called Paul to let him know his surprise wedding gift was ready.

Karla assisted Paul in undressing the girl, and Paul first videotaped Karla as she raped the girl

before Paul took his turn and vaginally and anally penetrated her. The following morning the

teen was nauseous and had no previous recollection of the assault, she believed her vomiting was

due to having drunk alcohol for the first time. The next attack took place in August when Karla

invited the teen back to Port Dalhousie to spend the night. This time after she was drugged, the

teen stopped breathing, yet Paul had begun to rape her regardless. Karla called 911 at first for

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help, but after a few minutes she called them back to say everything is all right, the emergency

crew was recalled without follow-up. On December 22nd, 1992, the teen visited the couple one

last time, and this time instead of drugging her, Karla instead attempted to pressure the teen into

having sex with Paul. The girl became upset by Karlas actions, and left. (Bellamy, 2001) These

were the attacks that helped him progress from the Scarborough Rapist into now being known

as The Schoolgirl Killer. (Bellamy, 2001)

Pauls first murder victim was Tammy Homolka, Karlas 15-year-old sister. Ever since

Paul and Karla had gotten together, even after the point where they had become engaged, Paul

was constantly continuing to test Karlas commitment to him. Karla at first fought against his

wishes, but once Paul began to withdraw from her, she panicked and gave in to his demands.

Paul had showed his disappointment in the fact that Karla was not a virgin when they met

multiple times, and since Paul was aroused by the fantasy of defiling a virgin, Karla wanted to

give that to him, even if that meant sacrificing her younger sister. Paul confessed that he had his

eye on Tammy for months before the attack, he would sneak into her room while she was

sleeping, secretly masturbating as he watched her. (Ramsland, 2016) Paul soon declared that

what he wanted for Christmas from Karla was Tammys virginity. So on the night before

Christmas, Karla slipped a tranquilizer into Tammys rum-and-eggnog and then used halothane

in order to keep Tammy unconscious throughout the attack, which Karla stole form the

veterinary clinic where she worked. In the basement of the Homolkas home, the couple

videotaped themselves as Paul raped and sodomized Tammy and Karla digitally penetrated her.

Things took a very unexpected turn when Tammy vomited during the attack, which lead to her

suffocation and death. Unnerved by this, Paul and Karla just redressed her before calling

emergency services. The couple together came up with a story saying that Tammy had gotten

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drunk at a family party and passed out. The autopsy results came back and confirmed their story

since the medical examiner failed to check Tammys body closely enough to detect the injuries

following the assault. (Ramsland, 2016) Following the death of Tammy, Paul and Karla

continued on with their wedding plans. The Homolkas wish was for the couple to postpone the

wedding, but they ignored their wish, instead focusing on their new life as a married couple

instead of mourning the loss of Tammy. In order to please all of Pauls sexual fantasies, Karla

began to dress in Tammys clothes so that Paul could reenact the rape with Karla. (Ramsland,

2016)

Leslie Mahaffy was Pauls second murder, early in the morning on June 15th, 1991, Paul

found Leslie in Burlington. Leslie had missed her curfew after attending a funeral, and Paul

found her locked outside of her house. Paul approached her and told her that he was looking to

break into a neighbors house. Leslie appeared unfazed by this, and responded by asking Paul if

he had any cigarettes. As Paul lead Leslie to his car he blindfolded her, forced her into his vehicle

and drove her to Port Dalhousie, where he informed Karla that they had a playmate. (Bellamy,

2001) Paul and Karla subsequently videotaped themselves torturing and sexually abusing Leslie,

whilst playing Bob Marley and David Bowie in the background. During the tapes Paul could be

heard telling Leslie, Youre doing a good job, Leslie, a damned good job, and The next two

hours are going to determine what I do to you. Right now, youre scoring perfect. Another piece

of the tape shows that the assault escalated, Leslie was crying out in pain and begging Paul to

stop. In the Crown description of the scene, Paul was sodomizing Leslie while her hands were

bound behind her back with twine. Later Leslie was seen telling Paul that her blindfold seemed

to be slipping, development that signaled the possibility that Leslie might have the ability to

identify both of her tormentors if she was permitted to live. (Bellamy, 2001) The pair both

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claimed different facts of the events that occurred the following day which lead to Leslies death.

Paul claimed that Karla fed her a lethal dose of Halcion, while Karla claimed that Paul strangled

her. The only consistent part of both of their stories was that they decided to put Leslies body in

the basement. The couple decided the best way to dispose of Leslies body would be by

dismembering her and encasing each piece in a block of cement. Paul went to a local hardware

store the following day and purchased a dozen bags of cement, then used his grandfathers

circular saw to cut the body into pieces. Both Paul and Karla made numerous trips to Lake

Gibson where they dumped the cement blocks. There was one block that weighted 200 pounds

and proved beyond the pairs abilities to sink. The block ended up resting near shore where a

father and son on a fishing trip would discover it on June 29th, 1991. (Bellamy, 2001)

Pauls third and final known murder would be of a 15-year-old student named Kristen

French. Paul and Karla were driving through the city of St. Catharines searching for potential

victims. It was during school hours on the day before Good Friday, and as they passed Holy

Cross Secondary School, that was when they spotted Kristen walking home. The couple pulled

into a nearby parking lot, Karla then got out of the car first with a map, pretending to be lost and

asked Kristen for assistance. As Kristen was looking over the map, trying to help Karla with

directions, Paul attacked Kristen from behind, brandishing a knife and forcing her down into the

front seat of their car. Karla was in control of the girl by pulling down her hair from the back seat

while Paul continued to drive the car. (Bellamy, 2001) During the course of the three day Easter

weekend, Paul and Karla videotaped their actions as they tortured, raped and sodomized Kristen,

along with forcing her to drink large amounts of alcohol and to behave submissively to Paul. Ray

Houlahan, Crown prosecutor, said at Pauls trial that Paul always intended to kill her because

she was never blindfolded and was capable of identifying her captors. On the day of Kristens

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death, the couple murdered her before going to the Homolkas for an Easter dinner. (Bellamy,

2001) Again, both Paul and Karla gave a different set of facts for how Kristen was murdered.

Karla testified that Paul had strangled Kristen for exactly seven minutes while she stood by,

watching. While Paul testified that Karla beat Kristen with a rubber mallet because Kristen had

been trying to escape and the altercation ended with Kristen being strangled on a noose tied

around her neck secured to a hope chest. Kristens nude body was found in a ditch on April 30th,

1992 in Burlington, approximately 45 minutes from St. Catharines. (Bellamy, 2001)

Pauls trial for the murders of Leslie and Kristen took place in 1995, and included

detailed testimony from Karla and videotapes of the tapes. During the trial, Paul claimed that the

deaths of Leslie and Kristen were accidental, and later claimed that Karla was the actual killer. (

(Bellamy, 2001) In 1995 the case was wrapped up and Paul Bernardo was sentenced to 95 years

in prison with no chance of parole, and was declared a dangerous offender, which means he can

never be released. (Alive!, 2013) In exchange for her testimony against Paul during his murder

trial, Karla received a lighter sentence of 12 years in prison for manslaughter. This plea bargain

received much public criticism from Canadians as Karlas first defense lawyer Ken Murray had

withheld videotapes that Paul made for 17 months. This was considered crucial evidence, and

prosecutors said that they would have never agreed to the plea bargain if they had seen those

tapes. Murray was later charged with obstruction of justice, which he was acquitted, and he also

faced a disciplinary hearing from the law society. (Bellamy, 2001) Police investigators had

missed the video tapes that Paul had stashed in the ceiling about his bathroom during their search

of the house. Pauls lawyer retrieved them and watched them. The next day he quit as Pauls

counsel and leaked details of the tapes to the New York media, who were not subjected to the

Canadian publication ban. I can no longer in good conscience represent this monster, he told

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the awaiting reporters. (Alive!, 2013) Paul was then given a province-appointed counsel as

representation and the video tapes were admitted to court. The video tapes blew a hole in Karlas

battered wife defense, as she was clearly an active participant in the rapes and murders. (Alive!,

2013)

Paul has been kept in the segregation unit at the penitentiary for his own safety,

nonetheless he has been attacked and harassed. Once he was punched in the fact by another

inmate while returning from a shower in 1996. In June 1999, five convicts tried to storm the

segregation range where Paul lived and a riot squad had to use gas to disperse them. The Toronto

Star reported on February 21st, 2006, that Paul had admitted having sexually assaulted at least 10

other women in stacks not previously blamed on him. The majority of those assaults took place

in 1986, a year before what police termed the reign of terror by the Scarborough Rapist.

(Bellamy, 2001) Authorities suspect that Paul was the culprit in other crimes, but Paul has never

acknowledged his involvement in any of these alleged crimes. In 2006, Paul gave an interview in

prison suggesting that he had reformed and would make a good parole candidate. He is not

eligible for release in 2010 under the faint hope clause, since he was convicted of multiple

murders. Paul is currently serving his term in the maximum security prison at Kingston,

Penitentiary, in the segregation unit. Paul spends 23 hours a day in an 8 by 4 jail cell. (Bellamy,

2001)

The most recent events in the Paul Bernardo case are a scheduled parole hearing set for

an unknown date in March 2017. If Paul was awarded day parole, that would allow him to leave

the prison during set times and participate in community activities, under the condition of

returning at night. Tim Danson, the lawyer representing the families of Pauls victims, has made

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it clear that he intends to challenge the possibility of day parole, despite Pauls eligibility for it.

Since Paul has been designated a dangerous offender, he would have to present medical

evidence, similar to the ones in his first trials, to meet the criteria for the designation to be lifted.

This would come in the form of a battery of psychological tests. Tim said he also intends to push

to make the evidence in the case to be public. Tim posits that the legal system should be

transparent, and that invoking a criminals right to privacy regarding the evidence presented is, in

his words, unconstitutional. (Ivanov, 2016)

In my opinion, I believe that Paul Bernardo is a sadistic sexual predator who should

remain locked up. Paul has time and time again proven how vicious his crimes can become, and

allowing him day parole could be an awful mistake. Some people may actually believe that Paul

has paid off his dues, and learned from them considering the amount of time he has been in

prison, but I disagree. Even if he knows that his actions were wrong and unacceptable in society,

there will always be a part of him that is drawn towards those activities, Paul will always find

pleasure in them. Throughout my research, I discovered that Karla had tried to warn Paul that the

police were closing in on them, and Paul ignored it. (Alive!, 2013) I dont know much about the

mindset that Paul may have now after spending almost 25 years in prison, maybe he is a changed

man who is deserving of a second chance, but I know the idea of him walking the streets again is

very unsettling to many people, me included. Paul is very deserving of his strict sentence, and

the fact that he was even labeled as a dangerous offender is strong evidence that he should

remain in prison. There is a possibility that Paul has an ulterior motive once he is allowed out in

the public eye again. Of course, many people would be watching his every move, keeping a clear

distance from him. Now that I am thinking more on the subject, if Paul is granted his day parole,

that could lead into harm against him. Everyone knows about his crimes and how cruel they

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were, if Paul is allowed out, there is a higher chance that someone might come after him while

they have the opportunity. Dismissing Pauls request for day parole would not only protect the

community from Paul, but it would also end up protecting Paul from the community. People like

to try and take the law into their own hands when they disagree with the actions of the Crown or

even just the police, it has happened many times before.

Relating back to a quote that was mentioned about Paul as a child, which described how

he was a happy and intelligent child who smiled a lot, and the events he witnessed as a child

played a significant part on the way he is today. This ties into the ongoing argument about

whether murderers are born or made, but in this case, I think Paul was made into one. Growing

up Paul watched his father abuse his mother, heard about his father sexually abusing his sister

and getting charged with child molestation. Along with discovering at the age of 16 that he was

the result of an affair, it is quite difficult for a child so young to grow up knowing the difference

from right and wrong when they have been exposed to such cruelty since the start of their life.

People dont always end up following in the footsteps of their parents, but I find that in some

cases it is quite difficult not to. Children typically look up to their parents as their role model,

and even though they are committing such heinous acts, a child wouldnt view it that way. I

know growing up I always looked up to my mother, she was my role model, and thats why I

cant help but relate when it seems that someone is following in the footsteps of their parents,

despite how wrong their actions may be.

In conclusion, Paul Bernardo is the vilest serial killer that Canada has known. Pauls case

is known worldwide, and still leaves people all around the world impacted by his actions.

Especially the families of his victims, and the number of unknown victims that still dont have

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the answers they have been searching for. Paul raped multiple women, and is suspected of raping

many more to this day, along with murdering three of them. Paul is fulfilling a life sentence in a

maximum security prison in Kingston where he will remain until he either fulfills his sentence or

dies.

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 REFERENCE PAGE

Bellamy, P. (2001, February 1). Paul Bernardo. Retrieved from

http://murderpedia.org/male.B/b/bernardo-paul.htm

Ramsland, K. (2016, June 9). Partners in Crime. Retrieved from

https://www.psychologytoday.com/articles/201407/partners-in-crime

C. (2013, March 13). Serial Killers: Paul Bernardo and Karla Homolka. Retrieved from
https://canadaalive.wordpress.com/2013/03/03/serial-killers-paul-bernardo-and-karla-homolka/

Ivanov, A. (2016, October 31). Paul Bernardo's parole hearing set for next March and lawyer for
victims' families vows to fight. Retrieved from
https://www.thestar.com/news/crime/2016/10/31/paul-bernardos-parole-hearing-set-for-next-
march-and-lawyer-for-victims-families-vows-to-fight.html

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