Where Are the 'Ken and Barbie' Killers Now? The Crimes of Paul Bernardo and Karla Homolka — and Where They Stand Today

Paul Bernardo and Karla Homolka once presented themselves as an attractive young couple. Behind that façade, between the late 1980s and early 1990s, they committed a string of violent sexual assaults and the murders of three teenage girls that shocked Canada. This article reviews their crimes, the investigation and trial, and where each is today.

Early lives and meeting

Paul Bernardo was born on Aug. 27, 1964, and raised in Scarborough, Ontario. Accounts of his childhood describe a troubled household. He graduated from the University of Toronto Scarborough and began an accounting career. Karla Homolka, born in 1970, was a teenager from St. Catharines when she met Bernardo in 1987. Their relationship developed quickly; they were engaged by late 1989 and married in June 1991.

Escalation to sexual violence and murder

Bernardo carried out a series of violent sexual assaults in Scarborough beginning in the mid-1980s, following a pattern of stalking young women and attacking them near transit stops. As their relationship intensified, the crimes escalated and, according to court evidence, Homolka became complicit.

In July 1990, 15-year-old Tammy Homolka (Karla’s younger sister) was drugged and sexually assaulted; she died in December 1990 after a second drugged assault that was initially ruled accidental. In June 1991, 14-year-old Leslie Mahaffy was abducted, raped, tortured and murdered; her remains were dismembered and found encased in concrete. In April 1992, 15-year-old Kristen French was abducted and held for days before being murdered; her body was found later that month. The brutality of these crimes horrified communities and victims’ families.

Investigation and arrest

Bernardo was first questioned by police in 1990 and biological samples were taken but were not tested until late 1992. When DNA testing linked him to the Scarborough rapes, he was arrested in February 1993. Around the same time, an alleged assault on Homolka left her hospitalized and she began cooperating with authorities.

Plea deal, trial and convictions

In 1993 Homolka negotiated a plea agreement in which she pleaded guilty to two counts of manslaughter and received a 12-year prison sentence in exchange for her testimony against Bernardo. Bernardo’s trial began in 1995; evidence included videotapes of assaults that had been discovered earlier but were disclosed to prosecutors later in the process. In September 1995 Bernardo was convicted on multiple counts, including two counts of first-degree murder, and was sentenced to life imprisonment with a 25-year period before parole eligibility. He was also designated a dangerous offender.

Controversy over evidence and the plea deal

Public outrage followed revelations that videotaped evidence depicted Homolka in a more active role than she had originally described. Many criticized the decision to accept a manslaughter plea and the 12-year sentence; others argued the deal was necessary to secure testimony that led to Bernardo’s conviction. An inquiry later found the plea agreement legally defensible, though the controversy remains a major part of the case’s legacy.

Where they are now

Karla Homolka was released from prison on July 5, 2005, after serving her 12-year sentence. She has since remarried and had children, and has lived in different locations including Montreal. Media reports later noted she volunteered occasionally at her children’s school under restrictions that prevented her from being alone with children.

Paul Bernardo remains incarcerated. He served two decades in a maximum-security penitentiary before transfers to other institutions; in November 2023 he was moved to a medium-security facility. That transfer prompted public concern and a probe in 2024 because of the institution’s amenities and his designation as a dangerous offender. Bernardo has applied for parole several times—October 2018, June 2021 and November 2024—and each application has been denied.

Legacy and ongoing questions

The Bernardo–Homolka case continues to raise difficult questions about evidence handling, plea bargaining, victim protection and how the justice system balances the need to prosecute violent offenders with the use of accomplice testimony. For families of the victims and the communities affected, the case remains a painful chapter in Canadian criminal history.

“You wonder, ‘What did she actually go through?’” — a father of one of the victims asked, reflecting the enduring anguish and unanswered questions surrounding these crimes.