The Ken and Barbie Killers

Paul Bernardo and Karla Homolka met on a balmy summer night in Toronto, Canada, in 1987. They had an instant attraction, as each seemed to indulge the dark psychological longings of the other. Paul, who had already begun building a career as a prolific serial rapist, seemed to find his perfect mate: a dependent, sexually extreme and emotionally unaffected woman who catered and indulged his every twisted whim. Together their relationship created an incredibly toxic and dark collaboration that would see at least three young women brutally sexually assaulted and murdered. How do paraphilias like sexual sadism manifest in people and how does this differ from psychopathy? How does the darkness of two sick personalities come together in a destructive kind of synergy that amplifies the other and creates something horrifically new?

Find the Writing About Crime podcast here

Learn more about Sexual Sadism Disorder here

Find the study Relational Patterns Associated with Sexual Sadism: A Study of 20 Wives and Girlfriends by Warren & Hazelwood here

Learn more about codependency here

Find the book Adult Children of Alcoholics/Dysfunctional Families here