Woman who helped rape and kill her own sister to go free in Quebec
 

Yick! I wanted to take a shower after reading about this creature. Canadian GC'ers, is this huge news up there?

The woman known as Canada's schoolgirl killer wept at a court hearing to decide how free she will be when released from prison next month.

Karla Homolka, 35, sobbed as details of the horrific crimes, including her role in the death of her sister, were read to a packed courtroom in Joliette, Quebec...Rest of story here

"At the hearing, it was decided that among the restrictions, she would have to submit a DNA sample and cannot leave Quebec without giving notice to authorities.

Why would they want to keep her?

Actually, I understand the reason, but I'd want to ship her to the farthest corners of the world.

You just reminded me of the movie Slap Shot:

"What with the notariety, the publicity, his deportation to Canada, and that country's refusal to accept him, why, that's more than most eighteen-year-olds can handle!"


Seriously, she's gotten away with murder, in the very worst of ways!

Classic! One of my alltime favorite movie lines!

Oh... she and husband have been big news for a while- link to the timeline of their relationship/crimes:
http://www.cbc.ca/news/background/bernardo/index.html
The page also has links to many other articles relating to their crimes and legal saga.

What really freaks me out about her is what she has done while in prison - her "love life" and the fact she managed to get a MA in Psychology.

This is crazy. She served only a dozen years for drugging and helping to rape her sister as well as helping to rape and kill other girls. She should rot in prison for the rest of her life.

She pleaded guilty as part of a deal with the Crown; the Crown needed the testimony in order to convict Paul Bernardo for not only the murders that Karla was a party to, but the rapes that Paul had been committing for years...

I think the Crown got blindsided when the brokered the deal, making the assumption that she wasn't a partner in the crimes, but an unwilling participant (after all it was Paul's beating of her that led her to report him to the police) - after the real story emerged, the Crown couldn't try her again under more serious charges.

The case has had a long and extensive legal saga - including the internation Human Rights Watch getting involved at one point... just browse through the link I provided earlier to get some idea of the legal complexity and scope of the case.

I'm familiar with the case. I think this case was bigger news in the U.S. than Canada because there was a news blackout in Canada if I recall correctly. I remember something about newspapers being confiscated at the borders so the jurors wouldn't be influenced by news coverage.

I remember that she was portrayed as a victim of domestic violence and an unwilling participant in these rapes and killings. When the prosecution finally viewed the videotapes, her true nature as a sociopath with absolutely no conscience and compassion was revealed. Unfortunately, a deal had been made.

At least he is still rotting in prison.

I googled her name and found out that a movie about them has been made and is expected to be released in a few months. I think that I'll pass.

I think that the confiscation and/or media blockage had more to do with the Crown's desire to limit the exposure of the victims families - when they went after a author that wrote a book about the murders, in which he named the victims, the Crown backed down because it would have meant reviewing the tapes in court again - so the Crown bowed to the wishes of the victims faimlies not to show the tapes again.

There was a lot of coverage up here - but selective coverage; the media had strict guidelines about what it could and could not publish... but as in any open society the details of the case and participants/victims did leak out.

I was wondering if anyone would get that quote - you're the best!!

Shocking, yeah...but that "love life" is going to end, since she can't associate with criminals once she's out...

This sounds vaguely familiar-was there an episode on HBO about it? I remember really bad 80's hair and a wedding...

Probably. During the trial they showed a lot of photos of Bernado and Homolka at their wedding.

The crimes took place in Ontario, yet she was imprisioned in Quebec. In the US, criminals are tried and imprisoned in the states where they committed the crimes (unless it's a federal case). Is this not the case in Canada? I didn't see anything in the articles I read addressing this.

She was originally imprisoned in Ontario at Kingston Pen for Women. This prison was closed so she was transfered.

All criminal law in Canada is federal jurisdiction, there is no provincial criminal law (only what is termed as "quasi-criminal"). The criminal code of Canada covers the entire country, and department of corrections, the federal ministry in charge of prisoners makes the determination as to where prisoners are incarcerated.

Re: Woman who helped rape and kill her own sister to go free in Quebec
 

Yes, this is huge news up here.
If you said "Paul Bernardo" or "Karla Homolka" to anyone here in Canada, they will know exactly what you are talking about.

The Crown made the "deal with the devil" because they wanted to get *HIM* (i.e. Paul Bernardo). So they did the 12 year deal, because they didn't think that they had enough to get Paul Bernardo.

Then the investigators found some videotapes of the two of them violating, torturing and murdering their victims, but alas, the deal with Karla Homolka had already been made.

Now that she is getting out after 12 years, everyone is up in arms. Karla Homolka is hoping to live in Montreal, and has been told not to return to St. Catherines, ON (which is where she was from...it's kinda near Niagara Falls).

Oh, and she had a relationship with an inmate who strangled and murdered his girlfriend, but he is a French National who will be deported back to France when his sentence is done.

There is a very comprehensive account of Paul Bernardo and Karla Homolka here:
http://www.crimelibrary.com/serial_k...o/index_1.html

Re: Re: Woman who helped rape and kill her own sister to go free in Quebec
 

Wasn't this a debacle in and of itself?

I thought I remebered hearing that Bernardo hid the tapes in his house and they didn't find them. Then Bernardo told his lawyer where they were and the lawyer got them and held onto them for a little bit, until someone found out about them.

I'm not sure, but I remeber somthing like that happened.

Re: Re: Re: Woman who helped rape and kill her own sister to go free in Quebec
 

Yeah the way i remember it, the tapes were hidden inside the ceiling of the bathroom, behind the light fixture or something. The police didn't find them and Bernardo's first lawer went with instructions from Bernardo to retrieve them. They held on to them for a while until bernardo's lawer quit or was fired. When another lawyer took over the defence he came across the tapes and immediatly handed them over to the police. Unfortunetly the Holmolka deal was already signed, sealed and delivered.

I don't remember everything that clearly, although I am interested in reading Stephen Williams' book about them. Will let you know what I know.

My understanding is that, at first, the Crown thought it was ALL HIM (Bernardo) so they made the deal with Karla Homolka. Then....when the saw the videotapes and that she was a full on willing participant, it was too late and the deal was already made.

I find it creepy that she's going back to the name Teale.

Remember that Paul Bernardo was originally known as Paul Teale....

*shudder*

The Crown was blindsighted... she should have been labelled and dangerous criminal (or whatever the term is) and held indefinately like Paul Bernardo currently is.

I read one of those links and it was beyond graphic. They even mention a lot of the victims by name and these are underaged girls. This is way too gross.

Again, I have to ask, what seriously goes on in your mind that lets you do stuff like this?

-Rudey

His mother was married to Bernardo, but she had an affair with an old boyfriend (Teale) and from that union, Paul "Bernardo" was born. His mother's husband agreed to take the child "on" as his own, so he had the name Bernardo too, although Mr. Bernardo is not Paul Bernardo's blood father.

FWIW: Mr. Bernardo was a sick mofo too...he molested his daugther, was a peeping tom, was accused of molesting some little girl, and beat his wife. It would appear that the apple doesn't fall from the tree, biological father or not.

I saw a Law & Order episode last night that sounded like this story. Totally gross.

-Rudey

That Law and Order episode is based on Paul Bernardo and Karla Homolka.

I have to admit, seeing these names made the lightbulb come on over my head! I have been just skimming this thread, as it's disgusting enough, but o.mi.gosh!!!

I have to wonder, WTF were Leslie Mahaffey's parents thinking, locking a 15 year old girl OUT OF THE HOUSE in the middle of the night? I mean, my nephew is bratty enough right now (he's 15) but still....safety first, people!!:mad:

I didn't realize they had done that, but I'm sure what happened to their daughter is punishment enough. I'm sure the deeply regret their actions, but they were obviously angry at the time and their emotions were clouding their judgement.

Yes, some parents don't think. It's like the parents who leave small children unsupervised in a tiny back yard pool with less than three feet of water, because they don't listen to the warnings the most drownings happen in less than three feet of water. It happens all the time, and parents are punished for it. I don't think we need to add to their pain.