Karla XOXOXO
In the car at Lake Gibson, Karla was then expected to follow this script: “I love having Snuffles in my mouth.” “And what are you?” “Your little cocksucker.” “What else?” “Your little cunt. Your slut. I want to suck on Snuffles all the time.”
In February 1988, after Paul Bernardo threatened to drop her, Karla finally agreed to anal sex. He brought Karla back to his parents’ house while they were away on vacation. As usual, by the time Karla had agreed to anal intercourse, Bernardo was ahead of her. Now he wanted to take pictures as well. Setting up his Polaroid camera, he had Karla masturbate with a wine bottle. He then had her get on the bed and he penetrated her anally. At one point, he tied a black electrical cord around her neck and yanked on it. In his hand, he held an eight-inch-long hunting knife. He told Karla not to worry, that the two props excited him more. The dated photographs were later entered into evidence.
Instead of running as far away from Bernardo as fast as she could, Karla actually became excited by these games and told Paul she hoped that he would marry her. In the autumn of 1988, about a year after they had met, Homolka said that Bernardo struck her for the first time. He told her he wanted her to wear a dog collar, and when she laughed, he slapped her. The next time they had anal sex, Karla was tugging on a dog leash while Bernardo tenderly whispered, “You’re my little mutt.” That was shortly followed by Bernardo’s demand for analingus and that Karla now also add “ass-licker” to her vocabulary of scripted words. In one of Homolka’s cards to Bernardo (which she wrote and mailed almost every day), she wrote—around their first anniversary.
Thanks for the best year of my life. You enriched my life beyond belief…I want to suck Snuffles and get him so hard that he can’t take it anymore. And then I want to ease your pulsating penis into my tight little cunt. Your little girl wants to be abused. She needs her Big Bad Businessman to dominate her the best he can.
Love, Kar
In 1989, Karla Homolka graduated from high school. She wanted to become a police officer and was planning to enter the Faculty of Criminology at the University of Toronto. Bernardo told her that he did not want “his wife” working in a job that dangerous. Thus instead of university studies, Homolka went to work as an assistant in a veterinarian’s office in St. Catharines. She had thought first of going to Toronto, but by then Bernardo was on the brink of quitting his job and taking up smuggling cigarettes almost full-time. He told her that he wanted to live in the St. Catharines area, conveniently in the middle between the U.S. border and Toronto.
After the case broke, friends all unanimously recall that Karla and Paul during this period appeared to be a happy and a loving couple with a familiar today Fifty Shades Of Grey kinky side: love cuffs and collars. But there was no sense that Karla was an abused partner; she appeared happy in and out of his presence and there were no visible signs of anything amiss in their relationship. Even Karla herself would later say to police that she and Bernardo had argued over “typical” things a few times but that otherwise they were happy in the beginning. Before they started raping and killing.
Deadly Innocence
During Karla’s high school graduation party, Bernardo displayed another side of himself. He drunkenly accused some of her fellow male students of flirting with Karla and got into a fight with several of them. Although they were members of the school football team and were quite athletic, Bernardo showed no fear in fighting them. Despite being outnumbered by big football players and receiving a few blows that bloodied his nose, Bernardo continued to throw punches and seemed to enjoy the confrontation. Unlike many serial killers, Bernardo was not afraid or physically meek in the presence of other males.
Bernardo wanted to produce a rap record and recorded an album he titled Deadly Innocence in his home studio. During his trial, the judge refused to allow the lyrics of the songs to be entered into evidence. In the eyes of the law, the poetry or lyrics that one writes do not necessarily reflect the actual state of mind of the artist. Perhaps…but here is what Bernardo wrote anyway:
You think I’m innocent?
But behind this I’m packing a lot of deadliness
So come at, come at me
I got a fucking nice face
I look like a pretty boy
Why don’t you come at me, man?
Take your best shot
See what happens to you, pal
You’re outta here, man
You come at me with your beer belly
And you think you’re really tough
I come back, looking like I’m 13 years old
I’ll kick your ass
I’ll kill your parents
I’ll shoot your girlfriend
And fuck your wife
That’s me, Deadly Innocence.
Bernardo was as completely aware of the angelic image he projected as he was of the violent rage that seethed inside. Karla’s parents and her younger sister, Tammy, were enthralled with the baby-faced Paul Bernardo. Her mother referred to him as her “weekend son,” while 15-year-old Tammy was in love with her sister’s boyfriend. All this time as he lusted after their younger daughter and snuffled their oldest daughter in their house, outside their house, he was viciously battering and raping vaginally, anally and orally random women he stalked on the streets.
“It was like 2,000 other calls”
Bernardo raped his fifteenth victim in the spring of 1990 in Scarborough. This time though, he made a mistake. The victim saw his face and police issued a composite sketch of the suspect that was almost a photographic likeness of Paul Bernardo. It triggered several people who knew Paul Bernardo to contact the Toronto Police.
Tammy Homolka was still alive when the police received this report
METROPOLITAN TORONTO POLICE SUPPLEMENTARY REPORT
Date of this Report
27 Jun 1990 1300
Info from: Ms M… Royal Bank, Ellesmere Road & Neilson Road
The above party called S/Insp. J.Wolfe at the S.A.S. office and gave the following info.
One Paul BERNARDO 21 Sir Raymond Drive West Hill DOB 27 Aug 64 is a dead ringer for the photo in the papers of the Scarb. Rapist.
The caller also reports that he had not been seen at the Bank since the last rape until June 27/90. When seen on June 27/90 he had changed his hair style, the caller also reported that this party was a student at the Scarbor. Campus of the U. of T. and that he looks about 21/2 yrs. old.
P.C. Buchanan #1897
Suspects were being graded A, B, C, by how good of a suspect they were. By now the police were computerizing their system but many of the old school cops were scoffing at computer technology. P.C. (police constable) Buchanan would later explain why the tip was filed away and forgotten, saying, “I picked up the phone because no one else was around. The info would go into the stack and the reader would file it ABC and the criteria was did he live in Scarborough, look alike, so he ends up in the A box. Detective Sergeant gets the tip and it is given to an investigative team. It should be marked on the super duper computer when it is cleared. We waited for the “spit” samples. If they were a non–secretor, then we go out and get blood. It was like 2,000 other calls.”
An independent review of the Bernardo case, after it was all over, concluded that “By October 25, 1990 there were about 930 suspects… Detective Irwin of the Metro Sexual Assault Squad in January of 1993 referred to a number of suspects in the range of 3,000. Because there was no consistent case management system it is impossible to know exactly how many suspects there eventually were.”[iv]
In September 1990, four months before Tammy’s murder, Alex and Tina Smirnis, a couple acquainted with Bernardo, after seeing the composite sketch of the Scarborough Rapist suspect, approached the police. Alex had grown up with Bernardo and hung out with him until he married Tina. They brought some home wedding videos and photographs of Bernardo. The Toronto Police notes from that interview read
Police notes on BERNARDO
· Alex Smi
rnis grew up with Paul Bernardo
· very close family friends with Alex's family
· grew up with each other in Guild
· Paul does/has done some accounting for Alex's family–family restaurant
· Alex and Paul known each other since birth
· distinctive voice
· photo & video from their wedding [Smirnis wedding]
· 24 Sir Raymond
· 21 Sir Raymond
· lives with parents
· engaged–relocating to St. Catharines
· relocating is out of Paul's nature & sudden …
· New Years Eve–1987–I…–Morningside/Lawrence (s/e) `swatted her'–said guys I want some privacy–might have beaten the shit out of her
· always young girlfriends–small petite–not bright
· Fiancé–18 years old–still in school
· started dating more than one girl–was dating an oriental girl from U of T and in his home with another girl (I…)
· Sept. 1987–oriental broke Paul's windows (occurrence on file)
· Carla–current girlfriend–met at Howard Johnson's on Progress–first night they slept together
· Paul always wanted a pure wife–his morals have gone by the wayside
· Carla says that if you wanted to know anything about girls–ask Paul–he knows
· Paul has said to Alex's brother about raping girls–out driving around and commented about getting the girl walking along the street and raping her
· Carla–2–2 1/2 years together–short, petite, light coloured hair–subservient
· dated another girls while dating Carla
· Paul–sly–manipulative–trendy–preppy dresser
· Cars–Capri, white, 1980–81 (parents) Ken Bernardo (father)
· instigator
· braggart
· talk about having sex in his suit with his briefcase in his hand–and his wife in house clothing
· very domineering
· rough sex–had joint relationship with sisters–Paul talked about having anal sex a few times
· not into conventional sex
· carries a knife in a car
· didn't like people going in his room
· at one point involved in Christian Broadcasting on TV
· scouts
· interest in money & girls
· extended credit
· leather jackets
· photos–4 years ago in red sweater
· 3 years ago in wedding
· 14 months ago–video
· Spring '87–professional worm picker at night
· 240SX Gold–since '89 leased
· past 1/2 years accounting
· insecure
· non–smoker
· left handed?
· drinks to fit in
· Florida: Mar. '89–girl passed out–taken up to room
· Paul raped her while she was passed out
· A's brother walked in on him. He said wait, he'd be done in a minute–then they could jump on (Van Smirnis & Gus)
The Scarborough Rapist Task Force had been puzzling over the sudden halt to the rapes in May 1990. The report that Bernardo had “relocated to St. Catharines” should have rung more bells than it did. Nevertheless the police now finally made a move. Two months later.
In November 1990 Paul Bernardo was invited in for an interview with the police. He came in on November 20, cooperative but nervous. Detectives Steve Irwin and John Munro interviewed him and filed the following report.
On Tuesday, November 20, 1990 at about 4:30 p.m., the undersigned interviewed Paul BERNARDO re the Sexual Assault on [R. L.]
BERNARDO lives with his parents at 21 Sir Raymond Dr. in Guildwood Village. He stated that he has lived there for the last 24–25 years. He went to Sir Wilfred Laurier High School in the Guildwood Village.
He is currently engaged to one Karla HOMOLKA 20 yrs. of age. He plans to move to St. Catharines Ontario with HOMOLKA within a month. He and HOMOLKA have just recently started a Self Development Company. Prior to this he worked in the accounting field with Price Waterhouse Co. When the undersigned asked him why his name would come up in the Scarborough Rapist case, he said that he felt that he looked like the composite drawing, and that he had a baby face like the drawing.
He could not remember specifically what he was doing on the weekend of [R. L.]'s assault, but believed that he was most likely with his girlfriend. He has been going out with Karla HOMOLKA for the past 3 years. BERNARDO very willingly supplied hair samples for PGM, a blood sample and a saliva sample. He appeared very nervous during the interview but was very co–operative. Samples to be submitted to CFS [Centre for Forensic Sciences] on Nov. 21/90
Munro Det. 2245
The taking of a blood sample, instead of just saliva samples was unusually thorough and more than what was normally sampled from suspects on first pass. When Munro was later asked why he decided to ask Bernardo for a blood sample, he said, “I am not certain. Whether it was his behaviour, or his face being familiar to the composite. Steve [his partner] didn’t have any problems that I asked for it. It was a combinations of things.”
Samples of Bernardo’s blood, hair, and saliva were first submitted to the Centre of Forensic Studies (CFS) on November 21, 1990. Bernardo was one of 92 suspects whose samples were submitted to CFS but only one of 5 for whom police requested further DNA testing. Before CFS could do the DNA testing, in those days, they first had to determine whether Bernardo’s serology had the type of profile that would allow for DNA testing. That test returned a positive result only on December 13, 1990. Police then put in a request for full DNA testing.
DNA testing even today is a painstaking process that cannot be completed overnight. Had the CFS made DNA testing of Bernardo’s samples their foremost and only priority, they could have processed the testing sometime in early January, about a month later, and there would have been a positive DNA match to Bernardo in four of the Scarborough rape cases. No matter what, it would have been too late for Tammy who only had eleven days left to live, but not too late to have saved Leslie Mahaffey and Kristen French.
But it was not made a priority. The CFS DNA lab had only been first set up in the summer of 1990 and was undergoing growing pains. It was heavily backlogged with requests for DNA reports and there was no priority system implemented. The DNA sample that police requested in December 1990 would not come back from CFS with a result until February 1, 1993, over two years later!
The “Christmas Wedding Present”
In the winter of 1990, Paul Bernardo and Karla Homolka had become engaged to be married. They began to plan their wedding for June of 1991. Bernardo, in the meantime, was obsessed with Karla’s little sister Tammy. He would enter her room at night while she was sleeping and masturbate on her pillow. He began to demand that Karla dress in Tammy’s clothes and developed a new script for her. (“Scripting” is a typical trait of a sexually sadistic offender.) Now Karla had to say, “I’m your 15-year-old virgin. I love you. You’re the king.” While Karla would perform oral sex on Bernardo, he’d stare at a photograph of Tammy. He would insist that he and Karla have sex in Tammy’s bedroom while she was out. None of this seemed to offend Karla and she went along with the game.
Sometime in 1990, Bernardo bought a new video camcorder. He said they would need it for the wedding. Bernardo began to obsessively record everything on videotape. One day, Bernardo and Tammy drove over to the U.S. to buy some liquor without Karla. On the way back, they stopped and necked. Karla somehow became aware of this and lashed out angrily at Bernardo: “She’s a virgin. She wouldn’t know what to do with Snuffles.” Bernardo charged into the opening that Karla had inadvertently made: “Maybe I should have sex with Tam and teach her the proper way. Wouldn’t it be great if Tam got to feel Snuffles inside of her? Wouldn’t it be great if I took her virginity?”
Paul Bernardo and Karla Homolka: The Ken and Barbie Killers (Crimes Canada: True Crimes That Shocked The Nation Book 3) Page 4
