Quebec, say hello to your new neighbor

I can't believe I'm going to devote a single sentence to the monster and miscarriage of justice that is Karla Homolka/Teale, but after seeing her post-prison-release interview on RDI, CBC's French-language news network, I won't be able to sleep until I register my outrage at the gall, contempt, and cynicism with which Karla Homolka/Teale manipulated the media today.

The single most indisputable fact about Karla is that she was no innocent victim swept up in the madness of her now ex-husband, murderer Paul Bernardo, during their murder/rape spree in the early 1990s. Karla was every bit as culpable for their heinous deeds as Bernardo. One need only consult the transcript of her infamous sex/torture/snuff video tapes that she made with Paul Bernardo (taken from Nick Pron's, Lethal Marriage [pgs. 488-494]).

Particularly transparent and cynical was Homolka's attempt to appeal to French sensibilities in Quebec, saying that she had such a rough time with the English media with regard to her part in the rape, torture, and murder of teenage girls in Ontario. Quebeckers are so much more forgiving -- or oblivious, or something -- she seemed to be saying. Man, I would have a hard second look at my community if a person with the same moral compass as Vlad the Impaler thought my neighborhood was a good place in which to settle. But she made her best effort toward ingratiating herself to Quebec; we'll see how successful she was in the coming weeks and months, I guess.

Over the past two months, with all the hype leading up to her release, I've been reading about Karla, and one thing has shone through all the opinions and speculation: No one believes Karla to be rehabilitated. Not in the least. She says she's rehabilitated, but she's clearly steeped in denial. This evening, during the RDI interview, Karla actually frowned and asked what the interviewer meant when the interviewer asked if Karla's relationship with her family was at all strained. Karla was utterly oblivious to the fact that she had helped murder her sister, Tammy, while setting up the poor girl to be raped by Paul Bernardo -- and that her family, you know, might be bothered by this fact. She was at an utter and total loss as to what the interviewer was referring. When the interviewer clued her in, Karla, of course, turned on all the outward appearances of emotion, and went through the well-rehearsed motions about how she will have to live for the rest of her life with the horrible things she has done. My impression was that those heinous deeds wouldn't bother her by the end of the interview. They'll doubtless be shunted aside in place of shopping and quaffing iced cappucinos.

Truly indicative of Karla's character and fibre was something I read today:

From "Karla Homolka Information" Web page regarding a segment on The Fifth Estate about Homolka: "Also what shocked me was her being taped while going through the house so Karla could point out what was done and where. First off in the living room she gets on the floor to show where she was positioned. Karla is dressed like a school girl with a pleated skirt, white blouse with Peter Pan collar and a buttoned sweater over top looking sweet as pie but showing where she was torturing her victim. Karla then gets up and starts asking about where her furniture ended up and if it was damaged, as if she totally forgot she just described a murder scene! They then go into the bathroom so she can show where they cleansed the body and seconds later, Karla turns again to the police and enquires about where her cosmetics and perfume is as she liked them back. last but not least, they head to the basement where she is to show them where she dismembered the body and as if she didn't have a care in the world, she suddenly stops and points to the floor and says "Could I take that carpet with me? My sister would like to have it?" The officer says no so she shrugs it off and proceeds into the room where they cut up that girl."

The most telling aspect of Homolka's time in jail is her relationship with Jean-Paul Gerbet, who was convicted of murdering his ex-girlfriend in 1998. Karla is a malignant magnet. Anyone to whom she feels an attraction ought to be immediately scooped up and chucked into the back of a BFI truck. Maybe that could be the public service she provides society on her release: drawing monsters out from the shadows in which they hide.

The prosecutors whom she manipulated and contorted into giving her that "Deal with the Devil" in 1993 are doubtless as steeped in denial as Homolka. Her relationship with Gerbet, among other questionable acts while in prison, are -- to my mind -- grounds for tearing up that rancid agreement and jailing Homolka indefinitely. But corner a lawyer into thinking he may be seen as having made a mistake, and you can ride the wave of his righteous indignation to the safety of shore every time. As Homolka has shown. Whole jailhouses of murderers will walk free before a lawyer puts doing the right thing above ego and making money.

The bottom line is, Karla Homolka/Teale is not rehabilitated. She is a danger to society. She is drawn to and continues to consort with murderers (however, the conditions of her release forbids this -- we'll see how she deals with this demand upon her emotional life). She is now out, among us, and fears for her safety. The irony of this predator with her song of self-pity. She does not want to be hunted. She does not want to be murdered. I guess she would know what these entail -- to the last, heart-sickening detail -- as she perpetrated such acts upon others. She wants protection, she wants to be left alone. Reminds me of what prosecutor Vincent Bugliosi said after he put Charles Manson away -- how Manson preached to his deranged followers that death was beautiful, that they were doing a favor for their victims by releasing them. But when it came time to face his own mortality in the form of the California gas chamber, Charles Manson fought tooth-and-nail to save his own wretched hide. I suppose it's not such a leap backward in character for murderers to also be hypocrites.

knowing the vapid and corrupt culture into which Karla Homolka/Teale has been released, I have no doubt that some irredeemable, repugnant television producer is right now hammering out the details to put on a reality show in which Karla dates O.J. Simpson. Maybe he would propose to her while picnicking on Alcatraz island. They could honeymoon in a Port-o-john in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.

What a sad, sad, sad situation. This is all I have to say about it. My only hope is that the families of Karla's victims continue to have the support and sounding boards they need to ride this out. I can't imagine how they're feeling tonight.