Invisible darkness : the strange case of Paul Bernardo and Karla Homolka

by Williams, Stephen, 1949-

  The fact was Dorothy Homolka already knew or strongly suspected what had happened to her youngest daughter. Paul had made Karla help him rape her sister, and then Tammy had accidentallv died. As far as Dorothv was concerned, Paul had

  really killed Tammy Lyn and Karla had been an unwitting weapon. Walker had a talk with the Homolkas.

  Karla noted in her datebook that Paul had yet another bail hearing on May 3. By the time Walker and Segal met on May 5 in Walker’s Niagara Falls office between 8:00 a.m. and noon the deal was done.

  Karla would “take two” for Tammy—instead of two ten-year terms for manslaughter, she would get two concurrent twelve-year terms. That would add an extra year to the mandatory time she would have to spend in jail. Instead of three and a third years before she was paroled, it would be four years and four months. Two for Tammy, but no new charges. Effectively, Karla had been completely exonerated in the death of her sister and had escaped any sexual-assault charges whatsoever.

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  he medication is not working anymore,” Karia stated mat-ter-of-factly. When Dr. Arndt asked whether or not the family had talked about their previous session, the one in his basement where Karla’s mother had read the letter about Tammy Lyn, Karla replied distractedly, “No, not much.”

  Karla said she did not even remember writing the letter. She must have “blocked it.” Her tone was fractious. “Everyone else is just fine now,” she declared, “except me… .”

  Karla was still having dreams about running away with Leslie and Kristen and Paul going after her other sister, Lori. Then she would wake up. There were many times, Karla said, when she did not know whether what happened really happened or whether it had been something she had dreamt. The jacket copy on Michelle Remembers was prescient: “Michelle remembers what you’ll never forget.” Karla never forgot it.

  Karla had been discharged from hospital on the following medication: Surmontil 50mg twice a day, plus 20()mg at bedtime. Surmontil was another potent antidepressant with a sedative effect. She was also prescribed 200 mg of Tegretol twice a day. Tegretol was a medication used with psychiatric patients to facilitate and speed up sedation. She had been given a prescription for Valium—5mg, twice a day, and lOmg at bedtime—and Chlorpromazine, a major antipsychotic. Karla was taking 50mg of that every hour.

  “The medication is not working,” Karla repeated. Hans Arndt was amazed. Karla was clearly outstripping even his prodigious prescriptions.

  That evening, Drs. Long, Malcolm and Arndt met with George Walker in Dr. Arndt’s basement. Walker arrived at 7:30 p.m. He explained that Karla would be in court the following Tuesday and then released on bail.

  They discussed the doctors’ diagnoses: dysthyniia or “reactive depression,” as well as posttraumatic stress disorder. PTSD was not considered curable; proper management required years of intensive therapy. Walker did not think that the doctors would ever be required to testify, but he needed their reports.

  Before he left to meet Murray Segal at L’Auberge Pommier, a smart bistro just north of Dr. Arndt’s house in the exclusive neighborhood of Hogg’s Hollow, Dr. Arndt agreed to contact whoever was in charge at the regional psychiatric facility in St. Thomas.

  Walker got to the restaurant around 9:15 p.m. It was a modest celebratory dinner, since the deal was done. Walker told Segal

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  what the doctors had said about dysthymia and posttraumatic stress disorder, alexithymia and battered-woman’s syndrome.

  The doctors had all underscored the fact that Karla was not violent, or a danger to the community. That conclusion would allow Segal to release Karla into her parents’ custody with im-pumt The dinner went past midnight. Walker did not get home until 1:30 a.m.

  Although Mr. Bernardo was destitute, the police had found more than three thousand dollars m Canadian and American currency in the house. The money was not relevant to the crime, nor was cash itemized in the search warrants, so junior defense counsel Carolyn MacDonald recovered it. She used it to pay the landlords Paul Bernardo’s arrears. That done, the defense could retrieve anything left behind by the pohce after the last search warrant expired. MacDonald took pride in this maneuver because she had figured it out on her own.

  Ken Murray, Paul Bernardo’s lawyer, looked a bit Hke a malevolent librarian. He was long, lean and lanky. His face had the angularity’ of Wyndham Lewis’s Ezra Pound. He conveyed the color brown, even when he wore black.

  A droopy mustache gave him a walrus-Uke appearance, which was complemented by the round wire glasses he always wore. Murray had spent much of the last decade up in Newmarket, Ontario pleading out Legal Aid certificates. Prior to that, he had been a prosecutor in North York, one of those large cities—like Scarborough—within the cit' of Metropolitan Toronto.

  Murray arrived at 57 Bav^iew Drive on May 6 with an entourage that included Carolyn MacDonald, and their law clerk, a petite, demure, bespectacled woman named Kimberly Doyle, and with instructions from his client to look in a specific place for a specific package.

  Murray had also asked John Leftirgey, a young St. Catharines lawyer who had gone to law school with MacDonald, to come

  along. Lefurgey had been retained to file motions in St. Catharines and Murray decided Lefurgey at least deserved the grand tour.

  The landlord, Brian Delaney, was there as well. When Murray’s portable phone rang, he did not seem surprised that it was Paul Bernardo calling collect from jail. He listened and responded with inaudible grunts. When the call was terminated Murray mumbled something about an electric train set, and he and MacDonald charged upstairs. They came down a few minutes later with a package. That accomplished, Murray let the cadre of nameless well-muscled men he had assembled to remove the remaining contents get to work.

  Shortly afterward Murray left with his package.

  Six hours later, the house was empty. There were some books left, strewn around upstairs. Brian Delaney saw a Honolulu newspaper, dated July 11, 1991. The headline read, “Pulled Off Road and Raped Says Woman in Maui.” In the middle of the empty living room, there was a dressmaker’s dummy wearing Karla’s wedding dress.

  Dr. Hans Arndt contacted Dr. R.S. Swaminath, the psychiatrist in charge of the psychiatric facility in St. Thomas.

  After Dr. Swaminath saw Karla, he appeared to be ambivalent about her qualifications for St. Thomas. He agreed with Dr. Arndt that she appeared to be under a great deal of stress and that stress might be affecting her psychological functioning, but given her circumstances that was probably to be expected. In conclusion. Dr. Swaminath wrote, “I am not quite convinced at the present time that she would require intensive in-hospital treatment in a secure setting at St. Thomas Psychiatric Hospital. I would suggest that we wait until we know the outcome of her present legal charges, and if it becomes necessary in the future for her to receive in-hospital treatment I would be willing to consider it.”

  On May 14, George Walker again left Niagara Falls for a Journey’s End—this time the motel in Whitby, Ontario. Karla, her mother, Murray Segal and about twenty police officers were waiting for him when he arrived at 1700 Champlain Avenue in the middle of the morning.

  Ministry officials and the police had rented two floors of the motel. Karla and her mother were registered in Room 242. Karla’s “induced” and “cautioned” statements were to be given down the hall in Room 238. Murray Segal had the final official copy of the “resolution agreement,” which he ceremoniously-handed over to Walker.

  Walker had explained the difference between “induced” and “cautioned” statements to Karla. He pointed out a clause in the resolution agreement: “If the authorities learn through any means that your client had caused the death of any person, in the sense of her stopping life, any proposed resolution will be terminated at the suit of the Crown, regardless of the state the process is at.”

  And … “The statement and any subsequent statement will be a full, complete, and truthful acc
ount regarding her knowledge and/or involvement or anyone else’s involvement in the investigations into the deaths of Leslie Mahafiy; Kristen French; alleged rapes in Scarborough; alleged rape on Henley Island; the death of Tammy Homolka; and any other criminal activity she has participated in or has knowledge of An ‘induced’ statement cannot be used against her in any criminal proceedings.”

  An “induced” statement was just what it said—an “inducement” for the prosecution to make the deal. Since they were already sufficiently “induced,” the day devoted to inducement was a formaUty.

  The “cautioned” statements were given under oath and would be considered evidence. Karla agreed to be audio-and videotaped throughout. The clause in the resolution agreement that Walker considered to be the most important:

  “They (the authorities) will provide no protection for a prosecution if it is discovered that she lied, including a prosecution

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  for obstructing justice, public mischief, fabricating evidence, perjury, inconsistent statements and/or false affidavits.”

  Walker and Karla would give the prosecution “an opportunity to inspect a copy of any psychiatric, psychological or other medical reports.”

  And finally the last two paragraphs:

  1./ She will not give an account directly or indirectly to the press, media, or for the purpose of any book, movie or like endeavor.

  2./ She will not seek or receive, directly or indirectly, any compensation relating to the above, including any and all events and occurrences arising from the police investigations, criminal proceedings, or any statements given by her to the police.

  Walker spent a couple of hours discussing the forthcoming interviews with Inspector Bevan and various other police officers. Karla would have two interviewers who would act as facilitators rather than interrogators. Detective Mary Lee Metcalfe and Sergeant Robert Gillies. Although they could ask questions, their tone could not be challenging or abrasive. Karla was the storyteller, and every good storyteller needs an inquisitive and interested audience.

  At 3:30 P.M., Karla greeted Detective Metcalfe as though she were one of Karla’s former bridesmaids.

  Karla sat straight up and very still as they adjusted the video camera and checked the audio-recording equipment. Metcalfe sat on Karla’s right hand, Gillies on her left.

  Karla said she would prefer it if Detective Metcalfe asked the questions. The detectives readily agreed. Mary Lee started by asking Karla about her doctors and her medication. Karla recited the hst. Karla had enough drugs in her to stun a horse.

  “Do you feel that this medication that you described would affect, in any way, your participation in this interview?” Detective Metcalfe asked poHtely.

  “Absolutely not.”

  “Okay. Thank you, Karla.”

  “You’re welcome.”

  “What is the current status of your marriage?”

  “Zero. Zilch. It’s over.”

  “Do you see any prospect of any reconciliation with Paul Bernardo?”

  “No. I have already spoken to a divorce lawyer and divorce proceedings will be put under way very shortly… . The fact that he assaulted me made it absolutely certain that I would not reconcile with him. There is no hope. Absolutely none. I hate him, I don’t want anything to do with him. I wish—^hke, I want him to be totally out of my life.”

  “You are aware that your husband is a suspect in several crimes, includmg the Leslie MahafH’ and Kristen French matters. What effect has his alleged involvement in these crimes had upon your marriage?”

  “We really didn’t talk very much because our marriage was falling apart… .” Conservatively dressed, with nothing moving except her mouth and eyes—occasionally Karla would brush her hair back like a movie star—she began her sordid tale with a carefully thought-out understatement. “He hked tall brunette girls because they were opposite to me. He hked them to be virgins—I know that’s what you’re looking for.”

  “What was videotaped, Karla?” Detective Metcalfe inquired. Karla had made an offhand remark about something she and Paul had done with one of the girls, which had been videotaped. From the question and her tone, it was obvious Metcalfe did not know about the alleged existence of multiple videotapes.

  “The sex.”

  “What sex?” Metcalfe inquired. Since the return trip to Brampton from George Walker’s office on February 11, Metcalfe had not seen Karla, except when she had watched her perform on “Karla’s Sex Video.”

  “What was done with those videotapes?” she asked.

  Karla reahzed conclusively, for the first time, that the pohce did not have the videotapes. Paul had often played them while they were still together; Karla knew where he had originally

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  hidden them and had been convinced the pohce had found them.

  “I’ve heard that Paul has edited them.” Watching this interviews, afterward, it was obvious that Metcalfe was taken aback by Karla’s matter-of-fact description of the extent of the videotaping, so much so that she did not ask the obvious following question … about where Karla heard that Paul had edited the videotapes. Sergeant Gillies said nothing. Up to this point, the police had no awareness of the extent of Paul and Karla’s videography.

  “The videotapes were put up in the garage,” Karla continued. “There was a platform up there for storage. If you stand up, the roof slopes and there is insulation up there, and the last time I saw them they were up there in the insulation.”

  “When was the last time that you saw those tapes up there in the insulation?” Metcalfe asked. She knew the house had been hterally pulled apart, no strand of insulation left unexplored after Paul’s hunting knife was found concealed there. The only other thmg in the insulation had been Spike the iguana’s skin.

  “Well,” said Karla, with schoolgirl candor in contradiction of her previous statement, “I have never seen them in the insulation, I was told they were in the insulation.”

  “Who told you that?” Detective Metcalfe asked.

  “Paul. He told me that if anything ever happened to him, that’s where they were and I should take them and destroy them. Or if I knew of any pohce that were coming around, I should take them and destroy them.”

  “You referred to them, in your words, as videotapes.”

  “No, I’m sorry, videotape. I believe it was just a singular one.”

  “Let me take you back briefly for a moment.” Metcalfe was very solicitous, even gende. But she also realized that a good deal of information had been kept from Metro—or from her, at least. “You said that certain parts of LesHe Mahaflfy’s death and captivity …”

  “No death was videotaped,” Karla snapped. For someone who claimed not to have seen most of the six or seven hours of

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  videotape, she was very specific about what had and had not been taped.

  “Okay. Correct me,” instructed Detective Metcalfe. “What was videotaped with Leslie Mahaffy?”

  “The same thing: the sex and the part of her sitting on the living-room floor saying her name.”

  “Okay. And what happened to that …”

  “Videotape? Well, I think you have it—or they have it,” she nodded toward Gillies. Karla understood the separation between the two poHce forces very well.

  “And where was that kept?”

  “It was kept in the insulation. It was all on one videotape as far as I know.”

  “Okay. Sorry, I’m just a Httle bit confused,” Metcalfe confessed, but she pursued it, trying to establish exactly what it was they should have been looking for. Even the Green Ribbon Task Force and Inspector Bevan did not know—for sure—that there were videotapes or the extent of Paul and Karla’s trophy-taking. “Is there one separate tape for Mahaff^’ and one separate tape for French?”

  “No. They’re both on the same tape, as far as I know. As far as I know there is only
one videotape, as far as I know. I never watched it. So, well, I was forced to watch it a couple of times, but I never took it out and watched it. So I don’t know if it is all on one or if there is parts or whatever.”

  “Okay. Is there anything else that you can tell me? About Kristen?”

  “Yes.”

  “She was very nice. She was a really nice girl. And she wasn’t given any sleeping pills. The way she was killed, she was tied up, she was on her knees with her head curled down hke that, kind of in a fetal position on her knees.”

  “Just a minute, Karla,” Metcalfe interrupted, apparently more concerned about whether or not the video camera in the room was capturing all of Karla’s gestures than she was about the content of the dialogue. “Just because I know the tape can’t see your hands there.”

  “You know^ how I hke to describe things that I am seeing,”

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  Karlk said, continuing to bond with the female detective. Of course Detective Metcalfe knew^; she remembered their nice drive to George Walker’s office as if it were yesterday.

  “I didn’t pay attention to a lot of stuff that he did,” Karla continued unabashedly. “Like, I didn’t want to see those videotapes. I didn’t want to know about anything. …”

  “I understand that he left some kind of a note with the videotape saying ‘This is what I wanted’ or ‘This is what I was looking for’ or something?” Detective Metcalfe asked.

  Karla was not given a chance to answer. All of a sudden. Sergeant Gillies decided to interject. “Okay. Karla,” he said, “you’re doing very well. What we would like to do is go back to the beginning one more time, when you first meet Paul, and run through it again in chronological order. Can we do that?”