19: Paul Bernardo: Where Does Responsibility Lie?

About this episode

This episode explores the complex question of responsibility in the case of Paul Bernardo, a notorious serial offender in Canada, through interviews and archival research.

Paul Bernardo is one of the most notorious serial offenders in Canadian history. But this episode asks a different question: who was really responsible? Between 1987 and 1993, Bernardo committed a series of violent assaults across the suburbs of Toronto before escalating to the abduction and murder of multiple victims alongside his wife, Karla Homolka. But the story doesn’t begin—or end—with him. In this episode of UNMARKED , we traveled to Toronto and speak with journalists who covered the case in real time. Drawing from court records, archival reporting, and firsthand accounts, we reconstruct what actually happened—and how it was allowed to happen. Because this case isn’t just about a killer. We examine: The early warning signs and missed opportunities to stop Bernardo The Scarborough investigation—and how he was nearly identified The role of FBI profiling and how it may have misdirected investigators Karla Homolka’s involvement—and the debate over coercion, complicity, and responsibility This episode goes beyond the headlines—separating fact from mythology, and asking the question that still divides people decades later: Where does responsibility actually lie…

People in this episode

Host: James Buddy Day

Topics covered

• serial offenders
• responsibility
• violent assaults
• investigation
• court records
• media coverage
• coercion

Keywords

• Paul Bernardo
• Karla Homolka
• true crime
• Toronto
• serial killer
• investigation
• responsibility
• FBI profiling
• court records

Sponsors

BetterHelp, FUM

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: FBI

Places: Toronto, Canada

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• 24: Erin Caffey: Who Was Really Responsible? · May 27, 2026 · 55 min
• 23: John Wayne Gacy: What His Death Row Attorney Discovered · May 20, 2026 · 58 min
• 22: The Happy Face Killer: Psychopathy, Control, and Confession · May 13, 2026 · 48 min
• 21: Joel Rifkin: What the Psychologist Discovered · May 6, 2026 · 54 min