Psychological Profile of Paul Bernardo PDF

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Family History ● Paul Kenneth Bernardo (also known as Paul Jason Teale) was born to Marilyn and Kenneth Bernardo on August 27th, 1964 ● At 16, Bernardo was informed by his mother that he was conceived illegitimately during an affair that she had ● Marilyn Bernardo became depressed and withdrew from the family, living in the basement ● Paul was said to be a happy kid, who smiled a lot. He was the kid that all mothers wanted: polite, well-mannered, doing well in school, and a seemingly good citizen. Early Adulthood ● Bernardo attended Sit Wilfred Laurier Collegiate Institute where he studied Accounting. ● Then attended the University of Toronto at Scarborough in 1982, and worked a job in sales for Amway. ● Bernardo met Karla Homolka in 1987 and there was an immediate attraction. Karla fueled Bernado’s sadistic side through S&M. He was the master and she was the willing slave. Married Life ● Bernardo and Karla married on June 29th, 1991. ● The same day that Michael Doucette and his son found Leslie Mahaffy’s dismembered body. Violent Escalation ● Between 1987 and 1990, Bernado commits multiple sexual assaults, eventually escalating in violence. ○ Most attacks happened after he stalked his victims through the city buses when they were going home late at night. ● May 4th, 1987: rape ● May 14th, 1987: rape ● July 17th, 1987: attempted rape ● September 29th, 1987: attempted rape ● September 23rd, 1987: rape ● April 18th, 1988: assault ● May 25th, 1988: almost caught by Metro Toronto police staking a bus shelter--escaped ● May 30th, 1988: rape ● October 4th, 1988: attempted rape--victim fought off Paul, receiving two stab wounds requiring stitches ● November 16th, 1988: rape ● November 17th, 1988: Metro Police formed a task force to catch the Scarborough Rapist. ● 18 months after the attacks began: ○ The suspect described as young, good looking, with light coloured hair ○ Anger based rapist ● December 27th, 1988: attempted rape ● June 20th, 1989: attempted rape ● August 15th, 1989: rape

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November 21st, 1989: rape December 22nd, 1989: rape May 26th, 1990: rape--this victim’s recollection of the assault leads to a computer composite sketch of the assailant. First Murder Victim ● Tammy Homolka--15 years old ○ Tammy was Karla’s younger sister. Shortly after Bernardo and Karla became a couple, Bernardo became infatuated with Tammy. ■ Peering in her window and even entering her room while she slept so he could masturbate to the sleeping sister. Karla even broke the windows in Tammy’s room to grant him access to her younger sister’s room. ○ December 23rd, 1991 ■ Karla gives Bernardo her sister Tammy’s virginity as a Christmas present. The couple drugged Tammy and when she passed out unconscious, they undressed her. ■ The couple videotaped each other raping Tammy until she began to vomit ■ Panic set in and the couple tried to resuscitate Tammy, but their efforts were futile, they depressed Tammy and called 911 ■ When 911 arrived, they brought Tammy to the hospital where she died shortly after ● Her death was ruled as an accident despite there being an unusual burn on Tammy’s face Other Murder Victims ● Jane Doe--15 years old ○ June 7th, 1991 ■ Invited for a “girls night out” by Karla, where she was given alcohol laced with Halothane ● When Jane Doe passed out, Karla called Bernardo to let him know she had an “early wedding gift” for him ● Bernardo videotaped Karla assaulting the young girl before sexually assaulting her ● Jane Doe awoke the next morning nauseous assuming it was because of the alcohol ○ Invited back a second time in august, again drugged and assaulted ■ This time, Jane Doe stopped breathing causing Karla to call 911. Jane regained consciousness. Karla called back to say that everything was okay--911 did NOT follow up--Jane Doe survived. ● Leslie Mahaffy--14 years old ○ June 15th, 1991 ■ Bernado encountered Leslie Mahaffy on June 15th when she was late for curfew after a friend’s wake. He approached her and she asked him for a smoke, then followed him to his car. Bernardo then blindfolded Leslie and forced her into his car to bring her to his home in Port Dalhousie. ■ Bernado and Karla assaulted the young girl on videotape while she was

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bound in twine. ● On one of the recordings, she is heard saying that her blind-fold was slipping, which would have made Bernardo think that she may be able to identify him ■ The next day, she was killed ● The couple have conflicting stories about what happened that night; Bernardo claims Karla overdosed her on drugs, while Karla states that Paul strangled her. ■ The couple then stashed Leslie’s lifeless body in their basement while they had Karla’s parents over for dinner ■ Later that same evening, they dismembered Leslie’s body, encased it in cement, and dumped the blocks in Lake Gibson, only 18km from their home. ● At least one block containing Leslie’s body was too big to sink-was found on June 29th, 1991 by Michael Doucette and his son ● The orthodontic application was the only identifying factor Kristen French--15 years old ○ April 16th, 1992 ■ Kristen is grabbed from outside of a church on her way home from school ● Witnesses say that a couple grabbed her and forced her into the car, all that remains is her show in the parking lot ■ Karla exited the car with a map in hand to distract Kristen so that Bernardo could attack her from behind. He held a knife and forced her into the front seat of their car, Karla sat in the back to secure Kristen by her hair ● When Kristen didn’t come home, her parents knew something was wrong and called the police ■ Niagara Regional Police assembled a task force to retrace Kristen’s steps, with the help of eyewitnesses who saw Kristen abducted ■ Over that weekend Kristen was forced to consume alcohol and submit to Bernardo’s will ● She was videotaped being tortured, raped, and sodomized. Then she was killed. Bernardo claims it was Karla who beat her with a rubber mallet and then strangled her with a noose, Karla claims Paul strangled her. ■ Kristen’s body was found dead and nude on April 30th, 1992, about 45 minutes away from the cemetery where Mahaffy is buried January Girl ○ After Tammy’s funeral, the couple abducted a girl, Bernardo raped her while Karla watched. They dumped the girl on a deserted road near Lake Gibson--she survived. Apri 6th, 1991 ○ Bernardo abducted a 14-year-old girl from a rowing team, pulled her into a bush near the rowing club, and assaulted her.

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Elizabeth Bain ○ Disappeared June 19th, 1992, 3 weeks after the last known Scarborough rapist attack ○ 3 days later, her car was found with bloodstains in the backseat ○ Robert Baltovich, her boyfriend at the time, was convicted of her murder on March 31st, 1992 ■ At his trial, it was suggested that it was the Scarborough Rapist at fault ○ Robert served 8 years of his life sentence before being released in 2000 ○ On April 28th, 20008 Baltovich was found not guilty--blame put on Bernardo Missing Information ● March 29th, 1992 ○ Bernardo stalked and videotaped 2 sisters from his car and followed them to their home ■ Sister incorrectly identified the car’s license plate ■ The other sister reported it to the Niagara Regional Police on March 31st. ○ April 18th, 1992 ■ Bernardo was out running errands when one of the sisters saw him and tried to track him ■ Got a better description of the car and license plate ● Police lost information provided, launching an investigation into their information handling Investigation into Bernardo ● Bernardo was questioned several times about his connection to the Scarborough Rapist, Tammy’s death, and his stalking habits. He even provided a DNA sample. ● May 12th, 1992--NRP officer interviewed Bernardo ○ Concluded he was an unlikely suspect ○ Bernardo admitted to being questioned previously in connection to the Scarborough Rapist. ● May 15th, 1992--Green RIbbon Task Force created to investigate the murders of Mahaffy and French ○ The same day Paul and Karla apply to have their names changed to Teale ○ At the end of May, John Motile, one of Bernardo and Karla’s friends, reported Paul as a potential murder suspect ● December 1992--DNA samples collected 2 years prior began testing Spousal Abuse ● December 17th, 1992 ○ Bernardo severely beat Karla with a flashlight and claimed she had been in a car accident ○ Karla returned to work on January 4th, 1993 where her concerned coworkers called her parents. ○ Karla’s parents physically removed Karla from Bernardo’s home--Karla claimed battered spouse and filed charges against Bernardo The Arrest of Paul Bernardo ● February 1993--DNA results confirm that Paul Bernardo is the Scarborough Rapist

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Karla interviewed on February 9th--focused on spousal abuse ■ Later that night she confessed to her aunt and uncle: ● Paul was the Scarborough Rapist ● Their combined involvement in Mahaffy and French’s murder ● That they had videotaped the rapes NRP reopened the investigation into Tammy Homolka’s death ○ Paul and Karla’s name change is approved on February 13th, 1993 February 17th, 1993-- Metro Sexual Assault Squad and Green RIbbon Task Force arrest Paul Bernardo on several charges ○ A search warrant was obtained and lasted 71 days ■ Only videotapes found were of Karla with Jane Doe

June 1st, 1995--Bernardo’s trial begins A Publication Ban was put in place to ensure Bernardo would receive a fair trial ○ US Journalists, who were not affected by the Ontario Publication Ban published many of the gruesome details of Karla’s testimony ○ Bernardo is Tried for the murders of Mahaffy and French ■ The trial included testimony from Karla as well as videotapes of the rapes Conviction ● September 1st, 1995--Paul Bernardo is convicted ○ 2 counts of First-Degree murder for the deaths of Leslie Mahaffy and Kristen French ○ 2 counts of aggravated assault ● Sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole for 25 years. ● Bernardo has also been deemed a Dangerous Offender which makes him very unlikely to ever be released ● Since conviction: ○ 2006: ■ Bernardo admits to sexually assaulting at least 10 other women in 1986 as the Scarborough Rapist ○ 2015: ■ Bernardo applied for Day parole but was denied Diagnosis ● Scored 35/40 on the psychopathy checklist ○ Clinical Psychopathy with severe sexual sadism ○ Clinical childhood psychological abuse ■ Did not meet the criteria for sexual sadist but because of the nature of crimes he has been labeled as one ■ Bernardo suggests that he has “cured himself”, which is concerning ● Clinical Psychopathy ○ Characterized by: ■ Impaired empathy and remorse ■ Boldness--low fear, high-self confidence, social assertiveness ■ Disinhibition--poor impulse control, lacking urge control, poor behavioural

restraint Various psychometric instruments administered to Bernardo since in Prison that reveal: ○ A remorseless man ○ Quick to deny his own problems and is quick to portray himself in a positive light ■ Suggests that he may be beyond treatment ● Scored well on the statistical scale used to predict Recidivism ○ 4.5 offenders re-offend within 3 years ■ Moderate risk because of the nature of crimes ■ Motivation and accountability moderate ■ Reintegration low ■ Not a good candidate for release Psychological Theories ● Biological: ○ Assumes that mental illness is genetic ○ The model would assume Bernardo’s mental illnesses are predisposed because of his father’s mental health problems ● Learning: ○ Assumes that mental illness is a product of what is seen as a child ○ This model would assume that because Bernardo watched his father go through child molestation charged paired with the verbal abuse from his mother would cause him to become a sexually violent person ● Psychodynamic: ○ Freud’s theory that there is a conflict between the unconscious urges and the conscious desires that drive a person. ○ This model would assume that there is a battle happening in Bernardo’s brain over right and wrong ■ He stated in an interview that he: ● “Did not enjoy inflicting pain, he did it to feel better about himself” ● “Had a disregard for the victims suffering, not a sadist who enjoyed their pain” Treatment ● Treatments for Clinical Psychopathy have been ineffective as patients are insensitive to punishment or treatments ● Bernardo has participated in Sexual Offender Treatment Programs ○ Group programs being much more effective ● Because of the inability to be properly treated there is very little hope for reintegration into society or for Bernardo to have a free life. As of 2020, Bernardo is still in Prison ●...