Paul Bernardo
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KarlaHomolkaPaulBernardo.jpg
Paul Kenneth Bernardo (he later assumed the name Paul Teale) (born August 27, 1964 in Scarborough, Ontario) is a Canadian serial killer, known for the murders he committed with his wife Karla Homolka.
On June 15, 1991, Bernardo kidnapped fourteen-year-old Leslie Mahaffy, whom he then raped and murdered. Her dismembered body was found in Lake Gibson near St. Catharines, Ontario. On April 16, 1992, Bernardo, with the assistance of Homolka, kidnapped Kristen French from a church parking lot. Again, Bernardo abused and murdered her. Later that year Bernardo started physically abusing Homolka, and as a consequence she left him in January 1993. In return for a plea bargain (twelve years in prison) Homolka agreed to testify against Bernardo in his murder trial. This plea bargain received much criticism.
Bernardo's trial for the murders of French and Mahaffy took place in 1995, and included footage of the rapes that Bernardo and Homolka filmed themselves. (This footage has since been destroyed.) During the trial, Bernardo claimed the deaths were accidental, and later claimed that his wife was the actual killer. On September 1, 1995, Bernardo was convicted of the murders and sentenced to life in prison. Bernardo was also declared a "Dangerous Offender", virtually ensuring that he will never be released on parole.
Bernardo was a fan of stories about serial killers, including Bret Easton Ellis's American Psycho. His assumed surname, "Teale", was apparently an homage to the fictional serial killer Martin Thiel played by Kevin Bacon in the movie Criminal Law.
Bernardo and Homolka, "The Ken and Barbie" murderers by the press, were also responsible for the death of Homolka's younger sister Tammy. Homolka wanted to "give" Tammy to Bernardo as a Christmas present. To do so, she drugged her sister with Halcion-laced drinks and then used a halothane-saturated cloth to further sedate her. As a consequence of the drugs, Tammy choked to death on her own vomit.
Bernardo also committed a number of rapes in the Scarborough, Ontario area, causing him to become known as the "Scarborough Rapist". He is also suspected of other murders, including that of an acquaintance, Elizabeth Bain, for whose murder Robert Baltovich was convicted. The discovery of new evidence pointing to Bernardo as the murderer led to Baltovich's release from prison.
Bernardo is also a graduate of the University of Toronto at Scarborough. His graduating class photograph is hung in one of the University's hallways alongside those of other years. Students often use knives or keys, and scratch the protective glass over the photograph, until the scratches make his face unrecognizable.
Homolka's sentence ended in 2005 and she was released.
A number of books have been written about the Bernardos and in October of 2005, the Hollywood motion picture of their story will be released under the title Deadly, starring Misha Collins as Bernardo and Laura Prepon as Homolka.fr:Paul Bernardo