Random Horrific Details About The Ken And Barbie Killers (15 items)

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  (#9) There Were Publication Bans During Their Trials

  In June 1993, Homolka was tried for two counts of manslaughter, and a publication ban was imposed to prevent members of the public from attending the proceedings. This stopped many of the details from being published in the Canadian press. The publication ban during Homolka’s trial was designed to ensure Bernardo received a fair trial in the future. 

  However, many of the details of the proceedings - including Homolka’s testimony - were published by the American press, and people were actually illegally bringing newspapers from the United States over the border into Canada.

  Because Homolka’s trial occurred during the Internet’s infancy, people used this relatively new technology to share details about the trial in online message boards. When Bernardo was tried in 1995, the authorities imposed a publication ban, and his trial was moved to Toronto in an effort to guarantee he received a fair trial.
   
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  (#13) Bernardo Was The Result Of An Affair

  For most of his childhood, Bernardo was raised to believe that his father was Ken Bernardo. However, when Bernardo was a teenager, his mother Marilyn told him that shortly after she married Ken, she had an affair with an old boyfriend. As a result of their illicit relationship, Marilyn became pregnant with Paul.

  Ken was aware of his wife’s affair, as well as Bernardo’s illegitimacy, but he agreed to put his name on Paul’s birth certificate and raise him as his own son. When Paul learned his mother had gotten pregnant with him while having an extra-marital affair, he developed a deep hatred of Marilyn and reportedly disparaged her.
   
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  (#12) Bernardo Scored Extremely High On The Psychopathy Checklist

  After Bernardo's arrest, experts determined he exhibited sadistic behaviors and tendencies. Bernardo also scored 30 to 35 out of a possible 40 on the Psychopathy Checklist, a psychological assessment tool experts use to identify psychopaths.

  A psychiatrist who examined Homolka before she was released from prison testified that, unlike Bernardo, she was not a psychopath or sexual deviant. In fact, Homolka only scored a 5 out of a possible 40 on the checklist, indicating she does not lack empathy and a conscience.
   
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  (#1) They Drugged And Assaulted Homolka's Sister

  In July 1990, 21-year-old Karla Homolka - with the help of her boyfriend, 26-year-old Paul Bernardo - drugged her younger sister, Tammy. Homolka served her 15-year-old sister a meal of spaghetti laced with Valium, which she’d stolen from the veterinarian’s office where she worked as a vet tech. Bernardo then briefly violated the teen but stopped when she quickly regained consciousness.

  Several months later, on December 23, 1990, the couple again drugged Tammy - who was unaware of the prior assault - using eggnog spiked with Halcion. Reportedly, both Bernardo and Homolka sexually assaulted Tammy while she was under its effects. The couple hatched their plan months earlier when Bernardo became obsessed with his girlfriend's little sister.

  Homolka was not a virgin when she started dating Bernardo and this allegedly upset him. Homolka agreed to provide her boyfriend with her younger sister’s virginity in an effort to make up for her own lack of chastity.
   
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  (#15) Bernardo Was Denied Parole After Serving 25 Years

  In 1995, Bernardo was convicted for the murders of Leslie Mahaffy and Kristen French and given a life sentence with the possibility of parole after 25 years. He also received an indeterminate sentence after he admitted to having an additional 14 victims and was deemed a dangerous offender - a special status reserved for Canadian offenders who are considered too violent to be released back into society.

  However, in 2015, Bernardo became eligible for day parole, a type of conditional release that enables offenders to participate in activities in their communities. Bernardo has been denied day parole multiple times, and in October 2018, Bernardo was denied both day and full parole. Bernardo may re-apply for parole in 2020.
   
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  (#10) Videotapes Of The Couple's Crimes Were Kept From Prosecutors

  Police searched Bernardo’s home shortly after his February 1993 arrest, but they only found a single videotape. The tape depicted Homolka performing oral sex on an unidentified young woman. However, in May 1993, Bernardo’s attorney Ken Murray visited his client’s house and removed several videotapes Bernardo had hidden in the bathroom ceiling. 

  Instead of turning these recordings over to the authorities, Murray kept them a secret from prosecutors and police. In September 1994, Murray resigned as Bernardo’s counsel and gave the videotapes to his former client’s new attorney, John Rosen, who turned the tapes over to the authorities later that month.

  When investigators reviewed the videotapes - which Murray discovered prior to Homolka’s trial - they found that they included recordings of both Bernardo and Homolka assaulting Leslie Mahaffy and Kristen French. Homolka had received a special deal in part because she claimed Bernardo forced her to harm the teenage girls, and many people who viewed the tapes felt she’d actually been a willing and active participant.
   

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