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Ryan Reynolds
Ryan Reynolds here from Mint Mobile with a message for everyone paying big wireless way too much. Please, for the love of everything good in this world, stop with Mint. You can get premium wireless for just $15 a month. Of course, if you enjoy overpaying, no judgments. But that's weird. Okay, one judgment anyway. Give it a try@mintmobile.com Switch upfront payment of $45 for 3 month plan equivalent to $15 per month required intro rate first 3 months only, then full price plan options available, taxes and fees extra. See full terms@mintmobile.com what is DAX, Are you tracking all our cars on Carvana Value tracker on all our devices? Yes, Kristen, yes, I am. Well, I've been looking for my phone for In Dax's domain we see all. So we always know what our cars are worth. All of them? All of them. Value surge trucks up 3.9%. That's a great offer. I know. Sell. Sell. Track your car's value with Carvana Value Tracker today. Oh my God. It's the coolest thing ever. Hey, guys, have you heard of Goldbelly? Well, check this out. It's this amazing site where they ship the most iconic famous foods from restaurants across the country, anywhere nationwide. I've never found a more perfect gift than food. They ship Chicago deep dish pizza, New York bagels, Maine lobster rolls, and even Ina Garten's famous cakes. Seriously. So if you're looking for a gift for the food lover in your Life, head to goldbelly.com and get 20% off your first order with promo code gift. Just a heads up before we begin. This episode contains references to sexual violence, abuse and murder. Listen with care on the last episode of Very Scary People, the Ken and Barbie Killers. The picture perfect perception of Carla and Paul's relationship couldn't be further from the truth. Paul had been physically and mentally abusing Carla for years. And after a violent attack that sent Carla to the hospital, she left Paul for good. And on February 1, 1993, there was a break in the Scarborough Rapist case. A DNA match led straight to Paul. Nearly two weeks later, Paul was arrested and charged as the Scarborough Rapist. But there was more. Police suspected Paul was also involved in the murders of Kristen French and Leslie Mahaffey. It's February 19, 1993, two days after Paul Bernardo's arrest in the case of the Scarborough Rapist. The Metro Toronto police have just obtained a search warrant. They're on a mission to raid Carla and Paul's home to find the videotapes they think are hiding in the Garage, and the clock is ticking. Their warrant expires in eight days. They get in their police cars and race to Paul and Carla's charming Pink House on 57 Bayview Dr. In St. Catharines. Their first stop, the garage. They're confident this will be their big break and enough to charge and convict Paul for kidnapping and murder. I remember talking to one of the officers going and said, if there's anything in here, we're going to find it. They get into the house and start to look for the tapes, but they weren't in the garage. They're stumped. Without these tapes, they can't charge Paul. No sign of the tapes in the garage means they have to broaden their search. And that means turning over the entire home. They tore the rental house apart. I mean, they stripped the floors out, everything. After a few days, they find the buried treasure. Over 100 individual videotapes. They pull out a TV and a VCR. And right there inside Paul and Carlo's home, they start to review the footage. One after another. They watch the home videos, but all they see recorded are videos of the couple celebrating holidays, vacations and special moments between the two over the years. No murder, no kidnapping. Discouragement was mounting. The tapes they needed was still nowhere to be found. I mean, the investigators in that case, they worked their butts off. They really worked hard, but they put in the hours, but they just didn't really come up with anything. After eight days, their search warrant expires, but that doesn't stop them. They are hell bent on finding these tapes and finally giving victims the justice their families have long been waiting for. So they partner with the Green Ribbon task force and request additional warrants to press forward. Days turn into months. The police had searched it for, if memory serves me, the better part of two months and had come up empty handed in terms of finding these videotapes. And still nothing. They looked for 71 days inside that pretty little house in Port Dalhousie, Ontario. They couldn't find it. If they aren't in the house, then where exactly could they be from? Id? This is very scary people. The Ken and Barbie Killers. I'm your host, Donnie Wahlberg. You might remember me from our first season, the Amityville Murders. And now in this season, we're traveling to Canada, a place known for its cold beer and warm welcomes to trace the twisted path of Paul Bernardo and Carla Homolka, a couple from Toronto that appeared loving and wholesome. The truth is, they were anything but. We'll explore how the boy and the girl next door became the killers known as Ken and Barbie. This is episode five, the videotapes. When we left off with Carla, she had been brutally attacked by Paul. For Carla, that was the straw that broke the camel's back. She left Paul after that. A month later, the Metro Toronto police met with her while she sought refuge at her aunt and uncle's home. They continued to zero in on the details she provided at the hospital. Her horrific descriptions of Paul's sexual abuse and violence got more gears turning and left them with more questions. The day Toronto police questioned Carla about Paul for a second time, they jumped right in. We now have to ask you a few more intimate type questions, if you don't mind, you know, and it's about, you know, your sex life. Do you fantasize? Is it rough sex? Does he like to fantasize about schoolgirls or, you know, young teenagers who he might kidnap and rape? And they continued to pull on the thread, probing her for information that may point to Paul's involvement with the murders of 14 year old Leslie Mahaffy. In 15 year old Kristen French. Retired FBI agent Greg McCreary says the police got really specific. Was she at all familiar with the parking lot of the Grace Lutheran Church? Had she ever been there? For Carla, this was when things started to take a turn. She saw the writing on the wall. She knew he was going down and she didn't want to go down with him. And as they drove away from her aunt and uncle's home, she realized something. She apparently held it together during that interview with the cops. But once they left, she was staying with their aunt and uncle and she sort of collapsed into their arms and said, oh, they know everything. They know everything. In that moment, it dawned on her the narrative she built on remaining silent about Paul's crimes out of fear of violent retaliation caused could fall apart. She felt that she could be implicated in Paul's crimes. Carla knew it was time to attain legal representation. She hired a seasoned defense lawyer, George Walker. He's been practicing law in Ontario, Canada for nearly 40 years now. He looks exactly like you'd imagine a lawyer in fitted tailored suits with slicked back hair. But in pictures of him from the time he was representing Carla, you can tell he has some flair too. Sporting aviator frame glasses and patterned ties, Paul Hunter remembers Carla's proposition. She goes and lawyers up. Boom, right, I've got a story to tell if you grant me immunity. His interest was piqued and he was confident he could get Carla a plea deal if she had enough information. So she tells George and the prosecution the story of Kristen and Leslie. But Megan Sachs says it wasn't exactly the whole story. We'll get into that later. She did alert them as to what had happened with these crimes and, you know, the murders and the assaults. Still, what she did confess was enough to spark discussion about possible immunity. And that starts the negotiation that eventually leads to her cooperation. And her cooperation is premised on her being completely truthful and open and honest, the usual. And she has to plead guilty. So they started negotiating a plea deal with Canada's Crown Court. Canada is a monarchy. That's where the Crown moniker comes from. It's part of their governmental framework. Basically, the Crown is Canada's prosecutors. Carla approached the Crown claiming she assisted Paul in the abduction and murder of Kristen and Leslie out of intimidation and fear of more domestic violence at his hands. Here's Megan again. Carla's claim was always that she was a victim of Paul's, which she was a victim of domestic violence. We know that, but that she wasn't a participant in these crimes because she was willing, she was forced to do it. And because Carla claimed she was coerced into participating, she felt she didn't deserve punishment. Karla initially wanted no time, but her ultimate sentence was still up in the air. The video evidence was yet to be discovered, and if they were never found, the Crown was going to need more from her. Wade Hemsworth, a former reporter for the Hamilton Spectator, explains how it worked out. At that time, there was very little physical evidence beyond circumstantial to show that Paul was the killer or one of the killers. They were going to need Carla's testimony against Paul in court. Knowing it would be difficult to go up on the stand against her abusive husband, they offered her an incentive. The only way to obtain that testimony would be by offering her some inducement to testify, which in her case was a a lesser homicide for manslaughter and a lower sentence and lower parole eligibility than one would have with a first degree murder conviction. She needed this deal as much as they needed her word against his. So she agreed. She would testify in exchange for a lesser sentence. She was nearly all they had, and she was what they needed to be certain of a conviction. And with her cooperation, Carla's fate was sealed. Carla was given a sentence of 10 years for her involvement in the killings of Leslie Mahaffey and Kristen French. Now that the deal had been reached, it was time for Carla to start prepping for her testimony against her husband, all while Paul, who was in custody, being held on charges for the Scarborough rapes at Metro East Detention center, was completely oblivious to Carla's arrangement. Hi, it's Eugenio Derbez. Did you know that with Boost Mobile you can cut your phone bill in half this tax season? Yes. Half. Buy six months of service and get six months free. Free. That's a full year of service. Paying half. That sounds good, doesn't it? And all on the boost network with 99% nationwide coverage. Don't wait. Visit your Boost store today. Requires upfront payment, taxes and fees. Extra terms and exclusions apply. Visit boostmobile.com for full terms. Will full coverage make me look cakey? Is my undertone neutral? Or is it cool? We get it. Finding the right foundation is hard. 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They are truly amazing masters of this wilderness. But even these amazing pets can't sign up for Lemonade Pet Insurance. You can sign up now@lemonade.com Amazing. At this point in the story, we know a lot is happening all at once. Here's Kathy Kenzora breaking it all down. Paul Bernardo was arrested and charged with the Scarborough rape case, not charged with the murders of Kristin and Leslie. Meantime, Carla was in hiding at her aunt and uncle's place and realized that something was going on with Paul, that he'd been arrested. So she got herself a defense lawyer who started negotiations with the Crown regarding her giving all the information she has in exchange for a lesser charge and a lesser sentence. But now that Carla had accused Paul of murdering Kristen and Leslie, he would potentially face additional charges, homicide and kidnapping. Now, Paul was The one looking for legal representation. Defense attorney Ken Murray decided to take on Paul's case. Ken maintained a professional look. He wore wire frame glasses and had a full, thick mustache. Together, Paul and Ken started crafting the defense strategy, and they took a page out of the blame game playbook. Bernardo's whole defense was simple. He admits he's a very bad guy. He acknowledges the Scarborough rapes. He acknowledges he's a kidnapper and a rapist. But he's not a killer, says Bernardo. She's the killer. That was the only way that he could escape the rest of his life in prison. He would be lucky if he got away with a long prison term instead of his whole life. And that was all predicated on his word against her word. Ken versus Barbie, Paul versus Carla. Meanwhile, the new charges he was facing became public. Paul's face was on every news channel and on the COVID of every newspaper. On Thursday, February 18, 1993, the day after his arrest, the Toronto Sun's front page read in bold white type, against a blue background, arrest and rape, murder spree. St. Catherine's accountant charged in Kristen French Leslie Mahaffy murders and Scarborough Rapist case. In the right margin was a black and white picture of Paul on top and Leslie and Kristin's school photos in color below. All of Canada made the connection. The Scarborough rapist and the serial killer in East Toronto were the same person. Kathy Kenzora vividly remembers when the news hit. I can still remember, you know, the newspapers with his photo coming out of the police station with his big puffy yellow winter coat and thinking, this is the guy. Like, this is the person who's responsible for all these things. In the picture, Paul is surrounded by four police officers holding onto his arms. He's in handcuffs, gripping a plastic bag containing his belongings from the day he was arrested. It's not what we imagine a serial killer will look like. He looked like someone I went to high school with or, you know, he looked like he could be a neighbor. So it was just so surprising that this was the person having been officially arrested. It was time to prep Paul for the much anticipated trial against him. Tony Bryant, another attorney who worked on Paul's defense team, says he was surprisingly compliant. Working with law enforcement, he was very easy to deal with. He was always ready, willing and able to answer any questions that we had. He would tell us what he had done and where he had gone, and if questions like that were ever asked. I recall, you know, trying to get a sequence of events just with respect to the kidnapping of Leslie Mahaffy. And when he was presented with logistical questions, he was cooperative. They had some information which showed his cell phone being used in accessing different cell towers. Going from essentially may have been as far east as Scarborough and along the highway towards Burlington, a distance of 50 km or thereabouts. We were trying to get a sense of who were you talking to when you were on the cell phone, where were you going and, you know, what took you off the highway and that sort of thing. And of course, he was helpful in the preparation of his own testimony. But there was one detail Paul kept close to his chest. He knew where the long sought after videotapes were hidden. The only person he trusted with the truth of their whereabouts was his lawyer, Ken Murray. Mary Garofalo says he told Ken exactly where the tapes were. The tapes, those gruesome, disgusting tapes, were hidden in a light fixture in one of the rooms. You just have to watch a movie about drug deals and see how they're fictionalized to know that that's where the drug dealers always hide their stash, inside the light fixture. And during the extensive search, it just happened to be the one place that was overlooked. They supposedly went through this house with a fine tooth comb, but they didn't check the light fixture. You're probably asking yourself, if the police spent 71 days painstakingly searching every nook and cranny of Paul and Carla's house, how could they miss the ceilings? Well, search warrants are complicated, and the ones granted in this case were very specific. The police had to adhere to a charter of rights about necessary damage allowed to the property and limitations of rooms they were permitted to search. The police were only allowed to search areas of the home. It was believed the girls were held captive. The tapes were hidden in the upstairs bathroom. The girls were limited to the basement. Upstairs was off limits. The courts justified the restrictions by saying that at the time of issuing the warrants, the only evidence they had on Paul was Carla's word. And to them, that just wasn't enough. On pages 211 and 212 of the investigation review provided by the Metro Toronto Police, they expressed just how tied their hands were. As one officer put it, the warrant was so strict, it became unworkable. Another officer put it more directly when he said that from time to time, it caused them to tear their hair. So now that Ken knew where the key evidence to convicting Paul was hidden, he was faced with a dilemma. His job was to do whatever it took to get his client the best outcome possible. He had to decide if that meant withholding evidence and he made an ethically questionable decision. On May 6, 1993, Ken drove to Paul and Carla's home. He walked in with a briefcase and closed the door behind him. He's the only one in the house. I'm going to go to the bathroom where Paul Bernardo told me these tapes are. And into the pothole, light reaches up. Oh, there's a bag. Oh, look, these videotapes. Puts them in his briefcase, walks out. Ken Murray viewed them and didn't turn them over to the prosecution. The lawyer kept those tapes for a year and a half, never turning them over to the police. Ken Murray thought withholding the tapes from prosecution would benefit his defense strategy and ultimately Paul. Ken kept the tapes a secret for a year and a half while Paul was awaiting trial and Carla was just beginning to serve her sentence at Kingston's prison for women. It became clear to Ken that if his decision came to light, he'd face legal consequences too. Tony says holding onto the tapes cost them both. Because Ken Murray's decision was something that was going to be the subject of some litigation. He could no longer sort of represent himself and also represent. Represent Mr. Bernardo. Ken Murray had to resign. Dear old work platform. It's not you, it's us. Actually, it is you. Endless onboarding, constant IT bottlenecks. We've had enough. We need a platform that just gets us. And to be honest, we've met someone new. They're called Monday.com and it was love at first. First onboarding, their beautiful dashboards, their customizable workflows got us floating on a digital cloud nine. So no hard feelings, but we're moving on. Monday.com the first work platform you'll love to use. Ryan Reynolds here from Mint Mobile with a message for everyone paying big wireless way too much. Please, for the love of everything good in this world, stop with Mint. You can get premium wireless for just $15 a month. Of course, if you enjoy overpaying, no judgments. But that's weird. Okay, one judgment. Anyway, give it a try@mintmobile.com Switch upfront payment of $45 for 3 month plan, equivalent to $15 per month required intro rate first 3 months only, then full price plan options available, taxes and fees extra. See full terms@mintmobile.com hey, prime members, are you tired of ads interfering with your favorite podcasts? Good news. With Amazon Music, you have access to the largest catalog of ad free top podcasts included with your prime membership. To start listening, download the Amazon Music app for free or go to Amazon.com adfreepodcasts that's Amazon.com adfreeppodcasts to catch up on the latest episodes without the ads. Oh my God. It's the coolest thing ever. Hey guys, have you heard of Goldbelly? Well, check this out. It's this amazing site where they ship the most iconic famous foods from restaurants across the country, anywhere nationwide. I've never found a more perfect gift than food. They ship Chicago deep dish pizza, New York bagels, Maine lobster rolls, and even Ina Garten's famous cakes. Seriously. So if you're looking for a gift for the food lover in your Life, head to goldbelly.com and get 20% off your first order with promo code gift. Paul needed a new lawyer, someone with experience representing high profile clients. Because at this point, Paul Bernardo was Canada's most vilified man. Representing him was a tall order. Enter John Rosen. Like Georgian Ken, he looks like your typical polished lawyer, too. He's been practicing criminal defense law in Canada for 50 years. He's risen to infamy for his ruthless approach representing the country's most notorious criminals. But despite his experience, he had his apprehensions about representing Paul. He was already inundated with work and there wasn't much money in it for him. Here's John Rosen in his own words. I spoke to my partner at the time and we decided that we did not need another legally aided funded murder case because we had many on the go. And so I said no. But when he found out about Ken keeping the tapes, he started to have a change of heart. This lawyer called me back in a bit of a panic and said, speak to his junior associate. So I called them and she explained to me what sort of the behind the scenes of what was going on in the case. I was somewhat concerned. John ultimately agreed to represent Paul, but he had some stipulations if he was going to take on the job. I said yes on three conditions. The first was that the client had to agree because the client had no idea that these discussions were happening. The second was that the people who financed the case, legal aid, they had to agree to a change in counsel, having spent so much money with the previous counsel. And the third was that the trial judge had to agree to postpone the trial, which at that time was scheduled to commence shortly after Labor Day about a month away, and I had no time to prepare. The courts considered his conditions and agreed. John was now officially leading the charge of Paul's legal team. And their first order of business was dealing with the secret Videotapes holding onto them any longer was only going to cause more trouble. So John spoke to Paul and this is how it went down. So I went to the client and I said, I only have one choice. My choice is to turn them over. I'm ethically obliged. So you have two choices. You can give me instructions to do that, in which case I can stay as your lawyer, or you can tell me, no, don't, in which case I can't be your lawyer. Together, John and Paul made the decision to hand over the long sought after evidence to the police and prosecution. So he instructed me to go ahead and do what I was supposed to do. And I turned them over to the authorities and continued on the case. And there was no denying they captured the devastating fates of Leslie and Krista. Everyone knew, of course, that you were listening to the last minutes in the lives of these young women. The long awaited moment had finally come. After nearly two years, the police finally had possession of the tapes. One after another, they popped them into their VCRs. And as they watched, each tape revealed everything Carla promised they would. Each of them was a piece of real evidence. The tapes were proof that Paul undeniably kidnapped and tortured Kristen French and Leslie Mahaffy. But there was something else they showed. Here's Greg. Once those tapes came forward, then Carla was seen in an entirely different light. Carla wasn't the coerced woman she made herself out to be to her lawyers and the police. Megan says it stunned them. They were very shocked to find out how compliant or how complicit Carla was, how active she was in these crimes and in these assaults. She wasn't a bystander. She was an active participant. And John remembers eerie details that indicated she participated in the making of the tapes too. The tape cassettes themselves had in Carla's handwriting, things like Paul, Leslie and me with hearts and flowers, stickers on them, or me, Kristen and Paul or whatever, you know, things like that. Carla wasn't just coerced. It was clear to the people that saw and heard the video that Carla was very much a willing participant and at time the main offender. While Paul filmed, the evidence was all there. Carla was Paul's co pilot. When you saw the videotapes, their tapes, their homemade tapes, you see how they were both in this together, agreeing to lure young girls to live out this sadistic fantasy. What the police were watching went against everything they were made to believe. They were sympathetic and thought she was a victim of Bernardo's. But they were wrong. Amy Schlossberg and Megan Sachs, who co host the podcast Women in Crime, say the timing of the tape circulation couldn't be more in Carla's favor. Had the videotape surfaced earlier, the police would not have viewed Carla as the victim. They saw her as I think they did see her, as a perpetrator and somewhat complicit. She's a female, too. He's a male. There's gonna be a difference in treatment. There's. But it was too late for Carla to be prosecuted further. And as the police and prosecution continued to watch the tapes in disbelief and horror, it became a matter of time before more shocking discoveries were overturned. On the next Very Scary People, the Ken and Barbie Killers. Now that the tapes have come to light and implicate Carla's hand in the murders of Les, Leslie and Kristen, she knows there's something else on tape they'll eventually see. One last thing she needs to get off her chest that only she and Paul know her little sister. Tammy's death wasn't an accident after all. She just happened to forget that they had raped and murdered her own sister. And she has no choice but to come clean. There was videotape proving what had happened to her sister, and she was terrified that her family would find out that it was her fault that her sister had died. Very Scary People, the Ken and Barbie Killers as hosted by me, Donnie Wahlberg. It's a production of ID and collaboration with Neon Hum Media and is based on an original series created by CNN executive producer Nancy Duffy. At cnn, our senior producer is Sabina Ryman. Our producer is Allison O'Brien and our associate producer is Michael Reyes from ID. Our executive producer is Jessica Lowther from Neon Hum Media. Our executive producer is Jonathan Hirsch. Cooper Maul is our producer and our association associate producer is Zoe Culkin. Our editor is Stephanie Serrano. Samantha Allison is our production manager. Our fact checker is Katherine Newham. Josh Hahn is our mix engineer. Theme and original music composed by Asha Ivanovich to get people excited about Boost Mobile's new nationwide 5G network, we're offering unlimited talk, text and data for $25 a month. Forever. Even if you have a baby. Even if your baby has a baby, even if you grow old and wrinkly and you start repeating yourself, even if you start repeating yourself, even if you're on your deathbed and you need to make one last call or text, right? Or text the long lost son you abandoned at birth, you'll still get unlimited talk, text and Data for just 25amonth. 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Get started today@etrade.com terms and other fees apply. Investing involves risks. Morgan Stanley Smith Barney LLC Member SIPIC E Trade is a business of Morgan Stanley oh my God. It's the coolest thing ever. Hey guys, have you heard of Goldbelly? Well check this out. It's this amazing site where they ship the most iconic famous foods from restaurants across the country anywh nationwide. I've never found a more perfect gift than food. They ship Chicago deep dish pizza, New York bagels, Maine lobster rolls and even Ina Garten's famous cakes. Seriously. So if you're looking for a gift for the food lover in your Life, head to goldbelly.com and get 20% off your first order with promo code Gift.