268-269 EASY WAYS TO GET OFF THE HOOK: SERIAL KILLING IN CANADA

Il est temps que le Québec sache quelle vipère il héberge et ce qu’elle est capable de faire. Il y a des enfants qui disparaissent au Québec. Certains ont disparus depuis la réception royale que firent le Québec et son élite à une des femmes les plus dangereuses de l’histoire du Canada.

Rouler le Québec ne constitue pas un exploit...

Jacques Clouseau

rod/ee

A RECENT CASE IN CANADA

In the course of compiling this book, literally tens of thousands of pages were sent to us by concerned and interested Canadians. Some of this material related to three particularly vicious serial killings: Leslie Mahaffy (14), Kristen French (15), and Tammy
Homolka (15).

We seem to have a new twist on the serial killer here, not a single individual operating in isolation but - seemingly - a young man and his wife, both in their twenties.

Tammy Homolka, sister of convicted killer Karla Homolka, died on 24 December 1990. At the time her death was thought to be accidental. It was only after the murder of the other girls that it was discovered that she had been murdered too.

The second girl, Leslie Mahaffy, was abducted on 15 June 1991. On 29 June 1991 'Leslie Mahaffy's concrete-encased body parts are pulled from Lake Gibson, south of St. Catharines' (Toronto Sun, 28 August). Is it one of the accidents of history or one of the perversions of man that the discovery of the dismembered body of this your girl coincided with the marriage consummation of her alleged killers? 'June 29,1991 - Paul Bernardo and Karla Homolka are married in a glitzy wedding in historic Niagara-on-the-Lake'. On the 17 February 1993 Bernardo was arrested with police allegations 'that he raped and murdered Kristen French and Leslie Mahaffy, killed his wife's sister Tammy Homolka and attacked or raped 19 young women' (Toronto Sun, 28 August). In Toronto, the suspect Bernardo went so far as to flaunt his 'accomplishments' by actually changing his name from Bernardo to the name of a real serial killer called Teale. In doing this, he seems to have wanted to empower himself as a double serial killer, in myth and reality. The press followed along obediently and soon the name of Paul Teale was, like some new blasphemy, on everybody's lips, repeated over and over. After a period of this, the name was changed back to Bernardo. It's not clear what this signifies.

In the meantime his estranged wife did a deal with the Attorney General's Office and received a 12-year sentence because she said she will give evidence against her ex-husband.