Karla Homolka By: Jeremy Richardson & Andrew Hunt

Background of Case Convicted of manslaughter of his sister Tammy Homolka, Leslie Mahaffy and Kristen French Was most known as the the government making a Deal with the Devil Was part of the worst plea bargain in the history of the Canada’s court system I chose this because the crimes happened in Canada and it is interesting how corrupted the court system can be at times

The Defendants Karla Homolka was born on May 4th 1970 in Port Credit in Ontario Canada Homolka is the eldest of three daughters Well adjusted, pretty, smart, popular and received ample love and attention by friends and family. Karla developed a passion for animals and after high school she went to work at a veterinary clinic. On outside appearances, everything about Karla seemed normal. No one suspected that she was hiding deep psychotic desires that had yet to be unleashed.

Crimes Commited She raped three younger teenaged women including her sister Tammy, with the help of her boyfriend the “Scarborough Rapist” Paul Bernardo She stole animal tranquilizers from her work and used it on her younger sister Tammy so, that they could rape her that night. The police came to the house that night and her boyfriend Paul said that he tried to revive her but it did not save her and the police called it an accident They raped and killed Leslie Mahaffy and Kristen French

Facts or Prosecution Arguments The facts that were used in this case were that the murders and raped victims that happened in Scarborough Ontario Canada were in somewhat similarities to the murders and raped victims that occurred in St. Catherines Ontario Canada During the Christmas Eve night at the Homolka’s residence, Karla and her boyfriend Paul said that Tammy was drinking alcohol that night so the police believed that her reason of death was probably from too much alcohol intake. The police questioned Karla and Paul a threw times about the Scarborough murders and raped victims and they found him to be an unlikely suspect to the murdered and raped victims

Defense for the Case The defense that was used in the court case was that Karla Homolka said to the court that she was not the one that murdered and raped all of those victims, she said that Paul Bernardo controlled on what she was going to do during the murders and rapes With the death of Karla’s sister, the defense was that she had to much alcohol on Christmas Eve night and that was why she choked on her own vomit and eventually died and that Paul told the police that he tried to revive her but it did not work The defense also said that there was not enough evidence to convict them both for the murders of those young teenage girls The defense is that Paul is telling the court that Karla did all of the murders

Evidence There were video tapes that were found of Karla Homolka and Paul Bernardo of raping and murdering all of those teenaged girls in there basement in St. Catherines and in Scarborough The tapes were used for Paul Bernardo’s trial because Karla Homolka was seen as someone that Bernardo was controlling during the murders and rapes of the young teenaged girls Karla asked for a plea bargain during the case of Paul Bernardo’s and she would tell the court what was actually happening during that two year period of marriage with Paul Bernardo The video tapes were significant to the court case because it shows what actually went on during the murders and rapes that they both were not telling the truth in the court case There was a search warrant and the police looked through there home and they found Paul’s diary and it was about all of the murders

Evidence Continued In January 1993, Homolka separated from Bernardo because of constant physical abuse that he subjected her to beginning in the summer of 1992. His attacks had become increasingly ferocious, resulting in Homolka being hospitalized. She left him and moved in with friends of her sister, one of which was a police officer.

Jury Decision & Sentence When the court watched the video tapes they found out that Karla was actually a participant of the crimes in St. Catherines Ontario Canada They founded that the plea argument was not necessary however, as was provided in the plea bargain, Homolka had already disclosed sufficient information to the police and the crown found no ground to break the agreement and re-open the case. Karla was convicted of manslaughter and was sentenced with 12 years in prison with early parole because of her plea bargain Paul Bernardo was convicted with the murder and assault and was sentence to life imprisonment with possible parole in 25 years

A Deal with the Devil The plea bargain with Karla Homolka was known as The Worst Plea Bargain In Canada's History Homolka always portrayed herself as an abused wife forced into participating in Bernardo's criminal activity. It was not until the several videotapes that Homolka and Bernardo made were turned into police by an ex-lawyer of Bernardo's, that it became clear that Homolka enjoyed herself with their victims and the truth to Homolka's involvement in the crimes came to light. Regardless of her obvious guilt now coming to light, a deal was a deal, and she could not be retried for her crimes.

Works Cited