Karla Homolka
Karla Leanne Homolka (born May 4, 1970), also known as Karla Leanne Teale, Leanne Teale, and Leanne Bordelais, is a Canadian serial killer who acted as an accomplice to her husband, Paul Bernardo, taking active part in the rapes and murders of at least three minors in Ontario – including her own sister, Tammy Homolka – between 1990 and 1992.
Karla Homolka | |
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Born | Karla Leanne Homolka May 4, 1970 Mississauga, Ontario, Canada |
Other names | Karla Leanne Teale Leanne Teale Leanne Bordelais |
Education | Queen's University, BA in psychology |
Criminal status | Unconditionally released on July 4, 2005 |
Spouses | Paul Bernardo
(m. 1991; div. 1994)Thierry Bordelais (m. 2005) |
Children | 3 |
Relatives | Tammy Homolka (sister) |
Conviction(s) | Manslaughter |
Criminal penalty | 12 years imprisonment |
Details | |
Span of crimes | December 24, 1990 – April 19, 1992 |
Country | Canada |
Killed | 2 convicted 3 confirmed |
Homolka attracted worldwide media attention when a controversial plea bargain with Ontario prosecutors meant she was only convicted of manslaughter, and served only twelve years for the torture, rapes and murders of two teenaged girls, Leslie Mahaffy and Kristen French. Homolka testified against Bernardo, who was convicted of the Mahaffy–French murders and received life imprisonment and a dangerous offender designation.
Homolka stated to investigators that she had been an unwilling accomplice in Bernardo's murders as a result of domestic violence, resulting in a deal made with prosecutors for a reduced prison sentence in exchange for a guilty plea to the charge of manslaughter. Homolka scored 5/40 on the Psychopathy Checklist, in contrast to Bernardo's 35/40. However, videotapes of the crimes surfaced after the plea bargain and before Bernardo's trial, proving that Homolka was a more active participant than she had originally claimed, including in the rape and death of her sister, Tammy Homolka. As a result, the deal that she had struck with prosecutors was dubbed in the Canadian press the "Deal with the Devil". Public outrage about the plea deal continued until Homolka's high-profile release from prison in 2005.
Each of the three murders was committed the day before a family holiday spent with Homolka's family (Christmas, Father's Day, and Easter).
Following her release from prison, Homolka settled in Quebec, where she married a brother of her lawyer. She briefly lived in the Antilles and Guadeloupe, but by 2014, had returned to Quebec.