Victims' families urge parole board to keep 'sadistic' killer Bernardo behind bars

The mothers of two teenage girls who were tortured and murdered by Paul Bernardo made emotional pleas at a Parole Board of Canada hearing Tuesday to keep the notorious killer and rapist behind bars, as he makes his third attempt to secure a release.

Bernardo, who was designated a dangerous offender, is serving an indeterminate life sentence for the kidnapping, sexual assault and murder of 15-year-old Kristen French and 14-year-old Leslie Mahaffy in the early 1990s near St. Catharines, Ont.

The 60-year-old is seeking both day parole and full parole, and if neither is granted, he wants to be given escorted or unescorted absences from prison so that he can attend a community program for sex offenders.

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The victims' families made an impassioned case against Bernardo's bid for release, and said they have been re-traumatized every time his parole hearings come up.

"The biggest destruction of the peace and joy and hope in my life has been and remains Bernardo," Leslie's mother Debbie Mahaffy told the parole board hearing at the La Macaza Institution in Quebec, where Bernardo is currently held.

"I remain hopeful that you understand the sadistic, manipulative and psychopathic nature of Bernardo's behaviour and the endless threat he represents to public safety," she said.

Mahaffy, who spoke of her struggle to forget "the horrors of Leslie's death," was overcome by emotion as she delivered her victim impact statement.

Tim Danson, the lawyer representing the French and Mahaffy families, finished reading the statement on her behalf, urging the board to deny Bernardo any type of release due to the heinousness of his crimes and his lack of remorse.

Bernardo, who was denied parole twice in the past, was also convicted of manslaughter in the December 1990 death of his then-wife Karla Homolka's 15-year-old sister, Tammy. He ultimately admitted to raping other girls and women, beginning in the late 1980s.

Kristen's mother Donna French, who delivered her victim impact statement remotely, spoke of the "senseless and brutal" loss her family has endured for decades.

"It has been more than 32 years since my daughter, Kristen, was abducted, sexually assaulted, beaten to within an inch of her young life, tormented, humiliated and murdered, then dumped by the side of a road like a piece of trash," she said.

"They say that time heals but I don't for a minute believe that, for I have not healed."

Danson had previously said that because the parole board initially denied his clients the right to attend Bernardo's hearing in person, a last-minute reversal of that decision meant that Donna French was unable to travel to Quebec on Tuesday.

The parole board also heard, via video conference, from other members of the French family and Leslie's brother Ryan Mahaffy.

Mahaffy, who was seven years old at the time of his sister's murder, said Bernardo didn't just steal his "mentor and best friend" -- he also stole his parents.

"As a child, I lost one of the largest parts of my world and to my mother and father's own grief, I lost them," said Mahaffy, whose gut-wrenching victim impact statement prompted a brief pause in the hearing.

He told the board that the "perpetual hell Bernardo bestowed upon my family" gave him nightmares as a child and left him struggling with interpersonal relationships as an adult.

He said that when he became a father, he and his partner "agonized" over what to name their kids.

"We wanted to honour Leslie by name but couldn't, for fear of what they will find when they or others Googled their names," he said. "Bernardo's actions haunt the simplest details of my life, including Father's Day, the day he murdered her."

Bernardo's parole hearing is taking place at the medium-security La Macaza Institution, after his transfer there from a maximum-security Ontario prison caused public outcry last year.

Bernardo's parole officer told the hearing that he has "adjusted well" since his arrival at La Macaza but concerns remain about his risk of recidivism and he is "overestimating his progress while underestimating the risk he presents."

The board heard that the Correctional Service of Canada recommends Bernardo's day and full parole requests be denied and that it believes he hasn't met the criteria for escorted or unescorted absences from prison.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 26, 2024.