KARLA WE HAVE NOT FORGOTTEN AND
CANADIANS WILL BE WATCHING YOU!
THE LOST LIVES OF OUR DAUGHTERS DO NOT COME CHEAPLY!
Homolka ruling appalls victims' families
Nov. 30, 2005. 06:35 PM
CANADIAN PRESS
MONTREAL — The mother of one of Karla Homolka’s
teenage victims said she felt “kicked in the stomach”
today after a judge ruled the schoolgirl killer can come
and go with no restrictions.
The families of slain teenagers Kristen French and
Leslie Mahaffy reacted with horror to news that
Homolka no longer has to report to the police and
can even contact them and her ex-husband Paul
Bernardo.
“The shock and disbelief and anguish that they
expressed to me on the phone this morning was
very painful to hear,” Tim Danson, the families’
lawyer, said in Toronto.
Danson said Debbie Mahaffy, Leslie’s mother,
told him `I feel that I have been kicked in the
stomach.’ ”
Justice James Brunton of Quebec Superior
Court acknowledged in his ruling the possibility
that Homolka, who now goes by the name
Karla Leanne Teale, could reoffend one day.
“However, her development over the last 12 years
demonstrates, on a balance of probabilities,
that this is unlikely to occur.
She does not represent a real and imminent
danger to commit a personal injury offence.
. . The appeal should be granted.”
Homolka left prison in July after completing a
12-year sentence for manslaughter in the
sordid sex slayings of French and Mahaffy
in the 1990s.
The restrictions under Criminal Code provisions
were handed down in June after another judge
ruled Homolka still posed a risk to the community.
The restrictions included having to report her
whereabouts and travel plans to police on a
regular basis. She was also to provide a
DNA sample when she left prison but it was
not clear if that was done.
Lawyers for Homolka were not available for
comment.
Niagara Region police Insp. Brian Eckhardt,
who worked to help impose the restrictions,
said he feels powerless to protect the
community of St. Catharines, where the killings
took place.
“We have no idea now whether or not she is
coming to this area,” Eckhardt told Global TV.
“So our ability to protect the citizens of this area
are diminished and certainly our ability to
protect her has been eliminated.”
Danson described Brunton’s decision as
“very serious and thoughtful” but said the
judge made legal errors.
Danson said the families believe the
application for the restrictions was bungled
and they should have been allowed to intervene.
He also suggested the current federal election
campaign is a good time to start a public
debate about Sec. 810 of the Criminal Code,
which grants the restrictions.
Joanne Marceau, a spokeswoman for the
Quebec Justice Department, said several
options are being considered, including an
appeal and an attempt to seek another set of
conditions.
“We will take a decision very, very promptly,”
she said, although she did not rule out letting
Brunton’s decision stand.
“We have to consider that this woman is free
since more than six months,” Marceau said.
“The information we have since she was
released (is) that she has always respected the
conditions that were imposed on her. She seems
to have been a good citizen for now.”
Ontario Attorney General Michael Bryant said
he hopes the decision will be appealed.
“Believe me, this is not over,” he said. “It’s not
over in Quebec, it certainly is not over in the
province of Ontario,” said Bryant, adding he
would contact the Quebec attorney general.
Bryant said the Ontario government had been
confident the restrictions would be upheld.
“To say that I’m disappointed would be an
understatement,” Bryant said. “I am urging an
appeal of this decision.
“And furthermore, we will continue to do
everything we can to protect the public under
these circumstances.”
Under Brunton’s ruling, Homolka can go where
she pleases and see anyone she wants.
The ruling also means Homolka – if she wants
to – can contact Bernardo, who is serving a life
sentence for the schoolgirl killings.
Brunton suggested the lower court decision
granting the restrictions lacked balance in that
there was not much favourable to Homolka
presented at the hearing.
“This was a complex case which called for the
analysis of the development, or lack thereof, of
Ms. Teale over a period of 12 years. The proof
presented was not exclusively negative from
Ms. Teale’s point of view.”
Homolka and Bernardo took the surname Teale
from a movie in the 1990s. The character with
the name Teale was a serial killer.
Several media initially reported eight of the 14
conditions were struck down but Brunton
confirmed he had voided them all.
Ontario Conservative justice critic Bob Runciman
said he believes the conditions on Homolka were
valid.
“From our perspective and the perspective of most
Ontarians, we felt the conditions, the restrictions
placed on her were reasonable and
were justified,” he said in Toronto. “I think it’s going
to be of great concern to victims’ families for sure.”
Runciman criticized the Ontario government for
not paying to allow the families of Homolka’s
victims to attend the appeal hearing.
“If the families were there I think it would’ve elevated
the issue with respect to the decision being taken
by the judge.”
Homolka is believed to be living in the Montreal area.
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