38 Facts About Paul Bernardo

Paul Bernardo was born in Scarborough, Ontario, near Toronto, on August 27,1964, the third and youngest child of Kenneth Walter Bernardo and Marilyn Elizabeth Bernardo.

Paul Bernardo presented himself as being a happy and well-adjusted child despite his family's dysfunction, and was an active member of Scouts Canada.

In retaliation, Paul Bernardo set fire to all of her belongings to which he had access.

Paul Bernardo attended Sir Wilfrid Laurier Collegiate Institute and, in 1982, the University of Toronto Scarborough, where another notorious Canadian murderer, Russell Williams, was coincidentally two academic years behind him.

Paul Bernardo's relationships became increasingly violent and unstable, and he threatened to kill his partners if they disclosed the abuse.

In 1986, Paul Bernardo was served with restraining orders by two women after he made obscene phone calls.

In October 1987, Paul Bernardo met Karla Homolka while she was visiting Scarborough to attend a pet store conference.

Paul Bernardo attacked most of his victims after stalking them as they got off buses late in the evening.

In July 1990, two months after police received tips that Paul Bernardo resembled the Scarborough Rapist composite, he was interviewed by two police detectives.

Paul Bernardo spent long periods of time with Homolka's family, who liked him and were unaware of his criminal activities.

Karla helped Paul Bernardo by breaking the windows in her sister's room, allowing him access.

Paul Bernardo served it to her sister, who soon lost consciousness.

On December 23,1990, Karla and Paul Bernardo administered sleeping pills to 15-year-old Tammy in a rum-and-eggnog cocktail.

Early in the morning on June 15,1991, while detouring through Burlington to steal licence plates, Paul Bernardo came across 14-year-old Leslie Mahaffy.

Paul Bernardo left his car and approached Mahaffy, saying that he wanted to break into a neighbour's house.

When Paul Bernardo led her to his car, he blindfolded her, forced her into the car, drove her to Port Dalhousie, and informed Homolka that they had a victim.

Paul Bernardo bought a dozen bags of cement at a hardware store the following day; he kept the receipts, which were evidence at his trial.

Several days before Homolka's release from prison in July 2005, Paul Bernardo was interviewed by police and his lawyer, Tony Bryant.

Paul Bernardo claimed that Homolka planned to murder Mahaffy by injecting an air bubble into her bloodstream, triggering an air embolism.

When French looked at the map, Paul Bernardo attacked from behind and forced her into the front seat of the car at knifepoint.

At his trial, Crown prosecutor Ray Houlahan said that Paul Bernardo always intended to kill French because she was never blindfolded and could identify her captors.

Homolka testified at her trial that Paul Bernardo strangled French for seven minutes while she watched.

Paul Bernardo claimed that Homolka beat French with a rubber mallet because she tried to escape, and French was strangled with a noose around her neck which was secured to a hope chest; Homolka then went to fix her hair.

Paul Bernardo had been washed and her hair was cut off.

Homolka and Paul Bernardo were questioned by police several times in connection with the Scarborough Rapist investigation, Homolka's death, and Paul Bernardo's stalking of other women before French's abduction.

On May 12,1992, Paul Bernardo was briefly interviewed by an NRP sergeant and constable, who decided that he was an unlikely suspect despite his admission that he had previously been questioned in connection to the Scarborough Rapist.

Paul Bernardo was arrested, and later released on his own recognizance.

Twenty-six months after Paul Bernardo submitted a DNA sample, Toronto police were informed that it matched that of the Scarborough Rapist and immediately placed him under 24-hour surveillance.

Paul Bernardo testified that the deaths were accidental, later claiming that Homolka was the actual killer.

Paul Bernardo was designated a dangerous offender, making him unlikely to ever be released.

In 2006, Paul Bernardo gave a prison interview in which he claimed that he had reformed and would make a good parole candidate.

Paul Bernardo became eligible to petition a jury for early parole in 2008 under the faint hope clause but did not do so.

In September 2013, Paul Bernardo was transferred to Millhaven Institution in Bath, where he was reportedly segregated from other inmates.

In November 2015, Paul Bernardo self-published A MAD World Order, a violent, fictional, 631-page e-book on Amazon.

In October 2018, Paul Bernardo had been set to go to trial for possession of a "shank" weapon while incarcerated.

In May 2023, after spending a decade at Millhaven Institution, Paul Bernardo was transferred to La Macaza Institution, a medium-security facility in Quebec, where he will continue to serve his indeterminate sentence.

Paul Bernardo was denied parole for a third time by the Parole Board of Canada.

Paul Bernardo scored 35 out of 40 on the Psychopathy Checklist, a psychological assessment tool used to assess the presence of psychopathy in individuals.