Karla Homolka English Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Karla Homolka English - Research Paper Example With both of them participating in the murders, the role of Karla Homolka in the crimes was figured out vaguely, as there were differences of opinion regarding her contribution to those murders. This paper will chronicle her life starting from her early years, her marriage to Paul Benardo, rape and murder of the girls, finishing with the investigation, conviction and her eventual release. Early life Karla Homolka was born to Dorothy and Karel Homolka in 1970 as the eldest of three daughters in the Canadian town of Port Credit, Ontario. She went to Sir Winston Churchill Secondary School and even while going to the school, Karla worked as a part-time employee at a local pet shop. She graduated in the year 1988, and got employment as a veterinary assistant in Thorold Veterinary Clinic in Ontario. She did a similar job at the Mardinale Animal Clinic as well. â€Å"Karla developed a passion for animals and after high school she went to work at a veterinary clinic† (Montaldo). Thus, when one focuses on Karla’s early life, it appears that she lived a normal life, without exhibiting any negative or even psychotic tendencies. However, it all started to change when he married Paul Bernado. Marriage to Paul Bernado Karla as part of her job attended a pet convention in Toronto in the spring of 1987. During that visit, Karla, just 17 at that time, met 23-year-old Paul Bernardo in a â€Å"suburban hotel restaurant outside of Toronto and she fell for Paul, immediately.† (biography.com). They had sex on their first meeting and as their relationship started to develop, they â€Å"discovered that they shared the same sado-masochistic desires,† (Montaldo). Because of this ‘extremity’ in their relationship, Paul assumed the role of a ‘master’, with Karla willingly assuming the role of a ‘slave’, who has no problems in fulfilling her husband’s extreme fantasies. One of these extreme ‘fantasies’ o nly leads to their first murder - the murder of Karla’s own younger sister, Tammy Homolka. Rape and the murders Three years into their relationship, Paul starts to become obsessed with Tammy and to abuse her, he gets Karla’s help. One of Paul's constant complaints with Karla was that she was not a ‘virgin’ when they met and so she becomes ‘devoted’ to pleasing Paul in every way possible. (Montaldo). Using this weakness of Karla, Paul openly expressed his feelings for Tammy, and also convinces Karla to aid him in raping her. â€Å"It was, therefore, from his point of view, her responsibility to make it possible for Paul to take the virginity of†¦Tammy without her knowledge or consent.† (Bardsley). Karla wrongly accepts this flawed logic, and decides to make or force Tammy into being a sort of ‘surrogate virgin’ for her. In their first attempt in July 1990, Karla serves Tammy, a spaghetti dinner mixed with heavy doses of Valium, which was stolen from her workplace. â€Å"Bernardo rapes Tammy for about a minute before she starts to wake up† and so they temporarily abandon their plan then, waiting for another opportunity. ("Key events in the Bernardo/Homolka case"). Then, six months before their marriage, at a Christmas party at Karla parent’s house, Karla first mixes sedative Halcyon in the alcoholic drinks of Tammy. After the party was over and family members retired, the husband and wife duo took Tammy to the basement, with Karla holding a cloth soaked with Halothane over Tammy's mouth. (Becker, 2005). There, Paul with Karla