Behind-the-Scenes Look into "Ken and Barbie" Killing Spree

Ken & Barbie killers Paul Bernardo and Karla Homolka

Source: Discovery, used with permission

Jennifer Black never bought into the sweet innocent teen demeanor of her former co-worker-turned-murderer. Black is also perplexed with the legal system and the fact that Karla Homolka, who made a plea deal with authorities, is now a free woman living in Montreal. Black is part of a new four-part series on Discovery+ about Canadian serial killers Homolka and her former husband Paul Bernardo, dubbed the Ken and Barbie Killers, so named because of their good looks.

Bernardo was convicted of first-degree murder in the deaths of two teen girls, Leslie Mahaffy, and Kristen French. He later admitted to raping 14 other women and helping kill his wife’s 15-year-old sister, Tammy Homolka. During the "trial of the century" for Canada, Bernardo was sentenced to life imprisonment and later declared a dangerous offender.

“Karla should still be in jail too,” Black said in a telephone interview. “She was caught red-handed.”

As part of the plea agreement, Karla Homolka provided investigators with information about a series of sex and torture videotapes her former husband Paul Bernardo had recorded. Black, however, said that Homolka is free today only because Bernardo’s attorney Ken Murray withheld those tapes for 17 months. By that time, Homolka had already made the plea deal, copped to manslaughter, and testified against her ex-husband, claiming he forced her to participate in the killings, something the videotapes showed otherwise. Homolka was sentenced to just 12 years in prison, a light term compared with possible life in prison had she not pleaded out.

Jennifer Black first met Karla Homolka in 1985 when Homolka applied for a job at a pet store in St. Catharines, where Black worked. Because of that job, Homolka met Paul Bernardo while working at a pet convention in Toronto.

“I carry a lot of guilt,” Black said. “I discussed with my boss about her working there. I fought for her.” Also, she said, “The drugs that Bernardo killed her sister with, she got from the veterinary clinic.” Had Karla not gotten the job at the pet store, Black contends, “she would never have met Paul.”

Black blames Bernardo’s defense attorney Murray for not turning over the tapes earlier, which would have meant Homolka would not have gotten a plea bargain and might still be in custody.

Murray, for his part, told CBS News, "I'm just as relieved for everyone involved that it's now over. Now, hopefully, everyone can get on with their lives."

For Black, it is not over. The effect of the murder spree has been profound. “My heart aches for the victims,” she said. “I've been diagnosed with PTSD.”

With PTSD, writes psychologist Seth J. Gillihan, guilt over a trauma is not unusual. “If the trauma involved someone close to us being injured or killed, we may blame ourselves and feel guilty that we didn't somehow prevent it,” he writes. “Or we might feel responsible for being attacked or hurt, as though somehow we caused it.”

Three decades later, Black hopes that discussing the murders and first-hand knowledge of the killers now will provide a new perspective and possibly be cathartic for others.

Black described then-teenager Karla Homolka at the time she met her husband as “young and very impressionable. Here comes a guy who's older than her, has money, and gives her gifts. What young girl wasn't going to think she'd found her knight in shining armor?”

Then, once Black learned of Homolka’s involvement, the truth sunk in. “How could I know someone evil like that?” Black asked. “I think this is something that's made me who I am.”