To the untrained eye, Paul Bernardo and Karla Homolka appeared to be a typical, attractive couple deeply in love – but behind closed doors they were a duo of sadistic murderers.

During the late 1980s and early 1990s in Ontario, Canada, Bernardo terrorised the city of Toronto with a chilling series of violent sexual assaults on young women.

His horrifying crimes earned him the moniker the ‘Scarborough Rapist’, with at least 14 victims to his name.

The deranged rapist would often stalk females – many of them teenagers – as they disembarked buses late at night, before launching his attacks. However, Bernardo’s relationship with Homolka took the horror to fatal extremes.

Their murderous spree began with the death of Homolka’s own 15-year-old sister, Tammy, whom they drugged and sexually assaulted in 1990.

Although initially deemed accidental, subsequent investigations and forensic work exposed the pair’s direct involvement in her death, reports the Daily Star.

In June 1991, 14-year-old Leslie Mahaffy was abducted, raped, tortured and murdered by Bernardo and Homolka. Her remains were discovered dismembered and encased in cement in a nearby lake a fortnight later.

Then, in April 1992, 15-year-old Kristen French was kidnapped and held captive for days before being killed. Her naked body was later found with its hair cut off, with the victim’s father later telling People: “You wonder, ‘What did she actually go through?'”

After years of terror, Bernardo was finally apprehended by the police in early 1993 when DNA evidence connected him to the rapes in the Scarborough area.

Around the same time, Homolka began collaborating with the authorities and turned against her husband. By this point, the attractive blonde couple had been labelled the ‘Ken and Barbie Killers’ by the media due to their good looks.

In 1993, she brokered a deal with prosecutors, pleading guilty to manslaughter for her involvement in the deaths of Leslie and Kristen in return for her testimony against Bernardo. The agreement resulted in her receiving a 12-year sentence, sparking public outrage.

Many Canadians deemed this far too lenient once videotapes of the crimes being committed – filmed by the couple themselves – were handed over to the authorities, clearly demonstrating her involvement.

In one of the perverse films, the couple engage in sexual activity following Tammy’s death, with Homolka donning her sister’s top and impersonating her.

Another video depicted them torturing Leslie while listening to pop music. It took an additional two years for Bernardo to be convicted and in 1995 he was sentenced to life imprisonment for multiple charges, including first-degree murder, kidnap and sexual assault.

He was also classified as a dangerous offender, meaning it is highly unlikely he will ever be released and his parole applications have been consistently rejected.

Homolka served her sentence and was released in 2005, later marrying Thierry Bordelais, the brother of her lawyer during her murder trial.

In 2017, she volunteered at Greaves Adventist Academy, a private Christian school in Montreal where her children were students, causing an uproar among parents.

She reportedly helped in supervising students on a school trip and was invited into the classroom to demonstrate knitting.

One mother stated that concerns had been voiced to the headteacher, but no action was taken. “We don’t want her here. How would you feel knowing that your child is interacting with a person who is a serial killer? It’s not right,” she expressed at the time.

However, a spokesperson for the school clarified that Homolka was not a “regular volunteer, and can never be alone with any children, either in school or churches,” adding that, “the school board was fully aware of who she is.”