Wicked Attraction

Top 10 Deadly Duos
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One: Paul Bernardo and Karla Homolka

Bernardo and Homolka

This couple terrorized neighborhoods and took the lives of young women without looking back.

It began with a series of rapes in Scarborough, Ontario in 1987. By 1988, nine rapes had been committed without the authorities finding any serious leads to locate and capture the Scarborough Rapist. The man behind the deviant and violent crimes was Paul Bernardo, a young, charismatic and handsome man whom no one took for a criminal. The rapes continued until 1991, when Bernardo moved to St. Catharines, a nearby town, where he met Karla Homolka. Homolka immediately became enamored with Bernardo, and as their relationship progressed, Bernardo began to push the limits and opened Homolka up to increasing sexual deviance.

Bernardo’s actions turned from bad to worse when he convinced Homolka to drug her 15-year-old sister, Tammy, so the couple could perform sexual acts on her. The drugs used on Tammy, combined with a large amount of alcohol, caused Tammy to aspirate and ultimately die after Bernardo and Homolka had their way with her. Authorities never questioned the death – which appeared accidental – and Bernardo and Homolka continued to commit heinous crimes. The couple’s next two crimes were perpetrated upon 14-year-old Leslie Mahaffey and 15-year-old Kristen French, both of whom they kidnapped, raped and subsequently killed.

Eventually, Bernardo and Homolka were captured by authorities, and Homolka received a 12-year prison sentence in exchange for her testimony against Bernardo, who received life in prison with limited possibility for parole. Homolka was released from prison in 2005. Bernardo will be eligible for release in 2010.