Scarborough, Canada – In the late 1980s and early 1990s, Paul Bernardo committed a series of heinous crimes that terrorized the nation. From 1987 to 1990, he sexually assaulted numerous women in Scarborough, Canada, often nabbing them from behind and raping them. Bernardo initially operated alone, but in 1990, he involved his fiance, Karla Homolka, in the crimes after their engagement.
The couple, reportedly intensely in love, committed increasingly brutal crimes together. In a particularly horrifying incident just days before Christmas in 1990, Homolka assisted Bernardo in drugging her own teenage sister so he could rape her. The teenager tragically did not survive, and the couple’s crime spree continued, culminating in the rape and murder of more young women between 1991 and 1993.
Bernardo’s crimes finally came to an end in 1993 when his DNA was linked to the Scarborough Rapist, thanks to the efforts of authorities and a sketch provided by one of his victims. However, it wasn’t until testing his DNA samples 25 months after initially collecting them that the match was made. Karla Homolka, who had been aware of Bernardo’s sadistic behavior, ultimately confessed to the police and agreed to testify against him in exchange for a plea deal.
In February 1993, Bernardo was arrested and charged with nine counts, and in 1995, he was found guilty and sentenced to life. The story of their crimes has since been adapted into a feature film, underscoring the enduring impact of Bernardo and Homolka’s horrific actions on the nation.
In summary, Paul Bernardo’s reign of terror spanned several years, and despite his initial success in evading capture, justice eventually caught up with him. He now serves a life sentence as a result of his and Homolka’s brutal crimes.