Case Analysis: Paul Bernardo And Karla Homolka

Paul Bernardo and Karla Homolka

Case Analysis

Colette Ouattara

Wright State University

Paul Bernardo and Karla Homolka are serial rapists and murderers known for the heinous crimes they committed as husband and wife. Prior to meeting, Paul was seen as the “perfect” child. He was a high achieving student, polite, and always happy. No one ever suspect that he harbored such dark and vile sexual fantasies. May 4, 1987, Paul brutally attacked and raped a 21-year-old woman he followed home (Fowles, 2013). Days later, he attacked and raped a 19-year-old girl in her parents’ backyard. This incident was followed by another incident in July of 1987. Meanwhile, in October 1987, Paul met Karla at convention in Toronto (Montaldo,

As stated previously, Bernardo and Karla never considered the pain or the punish. They were looking to establish the power they had. For example, Paul and Karla always targeted their victims one by one. Karla would socialize with girl then Paul would approach from behind and threaten them with a knife. The two knew what they were doing. According to Application of the rational choice approach to the offending process of sex offenders: A closer look at the decision-making (2007), even if an individual is characterized as irrational or impulsive, they are capable---to certain a point—to analyze the cost and benefits of their

The two had perfected their “craft” so much so no one was able to detect what they were doing until it was too late. In February of 1993, Bernardo and Homolka were questioned by the police for their possible connection to the Scarborough Rapist (Montaldo, n.d.). It was during that time that Karla spoke to her aunt and uncle and revealed her role in the rape and murder of Kristen French and Leslie Mahaffy. On Februrary 17, Bernardo was arrested. Homolka wanted full immunity for her cooperation but she was denied and offered a plea deal that would require her to spend 12 years in prison. June 29, 1995, Homolka testified at Bernardo’s trial and painted herself as a victim (Montaldo, n.d.). The pair’s recorded sexual encounters with their victims were shown at trial and showed that Homolka played more of a role in these crimes than she had mentioned. However, she was already offered a deal, so nothing was altered. Bernardo was found guilty of first-degree murder and aggravated sexual assault (Fowles, 2013). Later, he was declared a dangerous offender which guaranteed that he would remain in prison for life. In my opinion, Karla Homolka should still be in prison. She played those officers like a fiddle. They should have waited until they had all the evidence because by the time recorded encounters were viewed in trial, she had already secured a plea