Friday, March 30, 2012

Runaway Devil Almost Free



"J.R." aka Runaway Devil


The girl known only as "J.R." who was convicted of killing her own parents and little brother when she was only 12 years old is almost free.

J.R. is currently in the fourth and final stage of her "sentence," known as Intensive Rehabilitative Custody and Supervision (IRCS). She appeared in court via closed-circuit television on March 30, 2012 for a bi-annual assessment of her progress. 

She began her 10-year sentence at a psychiatric hospital, and was officially released to a group home in 2011 so that she could begin her "reintegration into the community." Since then, she has enrolled as a University student in Calgary, and has even accepted a part-time job.

Justice Scott Brooker, who headed up the review panel, seemed overly sympathetic of the teen's plight:

"She's been in custody since she was 12-years-old, I'm sure it's a terrifying experience."

As terrifying as it must have been for little Jacob Richardson to look into his big sister's cold, dead eyes as she fatally stabbed him in the chest? Only the Big Buddha in the sky can know for certain, but personally, I have my doubts.


More Information...

CBC News (March 30, 2012)

Wednesday, March 28, 2012

Terri-Lynne McClintic Climbed Deadly Ladder



McClintic strikes a "gangsta" pose (Facebook)


Confessed and convicted child-killer Terri-Lynne McClintic violent history was entered as evidence in the ongoing murder trial against her former lover, Michael Rafferty.

"I’m not denying that I have a history of violence, but I'm not violent towards children and I've never hurt a child in my life. To try to fathom and comprehend the fact that a child lost their life by my hands is something I could not comprehend." 

Terri-Lynne's troubles with the law began with two assault charges stemming from altercations with her adoptive mother, Carol McClintic. Terri-Lynne choked her mother with her left hand as she punched her in the face with her right hand after the two got into an argument over the fact that Terri-Lynne had been dismissed from work. Carol McClintic suffered partial vision loss as a result.

The second charge resulted from Terri-Lynne punching her mother in the back of the head after the two got into a "mutual confrontation." Terri-Lynne alledged that she punched her mother after Carol burned her with a cigarette.



Carol McClintic (Police File Photo)



Once inside the Youth Criminal Justice System, Terri-Lynne McClintic racked up a number of additional assault charges, mostly with regard to altercations with other incarcerated young offenders. A journal that Terri-Lynne kept while serving time was given centre-stage at Rafferty's trial:

  • "Respect"  an entry detailing the (fictional) killing of another person.
  • "Locked Up"  an entry detailing an (actual) incident where McClintic stabbed someone during a robbery. According to police records, McClintic brandished a knife as she approached two men and demanded money or drugs. McClintic stabbed one of the men, and the police arrived on the scene shortly thereafter. Although the officers had their guns drawn, Terri-Lynne resisted arrest and punched one of the officers in the face.

Michael Rafferty's lawyer, Dirk Derstine, suggested to Terri-Lynne McClintic that she had no remorse. McClintic replied that she "didn't feel certain emotions" at the time.

When McClintic was questioned by police regarding the disappearance of Woodstock, Ontario Grade 3 student Tori Stafford, she admitted that she had been present during the kidnap, sexual assault, and murder of the little girl, but told her interrogator that it had been Rafferty who killed Tori with a claw hammer that had been purchased earlier that day. On the witness stand at Rafferty's trial, however, McClintic told a different story: she told the packed courtroom that it had been her who fatally bludgeoned the child.

"Yes, it did take me time to come to terms with that. But now I have come to terms with that and I'm sitting here today telling the truth. And it doesn't get any more real than that. My testimony wouldn't be any different a year from today than it is today."


More from Mascara & Murder...

Terri-Lynne McClintic Confesses Gory Details
Heart-wrenching account of the abduction and murder of Tori Stafford, compiled from a numerous media reports on her testimony.

"I told her I was sorry."
Impressions on Christie Blatchford's article covering McClintic's testimony at the trial of ex-lover Michael Rafferty.

The Many Faces of Terri-Lynne McClintic
Examining McClintic's fractured upbringing in contrast with that of another notorious female killer, Karla Homolka.

Terri-Lynne was "Trigger Happy"
Read the actual note that troubled teenager McClintic sent to one of her friends while she was being held in a youth detention centre.

"I basically taught myself not to feel certain things."
Read a portion of the actual letter that Terri-Lynne McClintic sent to her (then) lover Michael Rafferty.

McClintic Covers Up: Scenario 1
Read Terri-Lynne McClintic's handwritten notes composed shortly after Tori was killed.

Terri-Lynne McClintic: Facebook Diagnosis
View screen captures from McClintic's Facebook account, before it was suspended.

"I don't know Tori Stafford."
View more of Terri-Lynne McClintic's handwritten scripted denials regarding her knowledge of Tori's disappearance.

Rafferty Trial Evidence Released
View photos of evidence released at the trial of McClintic's ex-lover, Michael Rafferty.

McClintic Fails Again
Details about new assault charges Terri-Lynne McClintic is facing after engaging in a fight with a fellow inmate at the Grand Valley Institution for Women.

Deviance, Perversion Inadmissible
Details concerning the child-porn evidence the jury in the Michael Rafferty case didn't get to hear.

From Homolka to McClintic: Explaining the Inexplicable
Discussion of popular science surrounding sexually violent female offenders

Judge to Rafferty: "You, sir, are a monster."
Read Justice Thomas A. Heeney's comments to Michael Rafferty during sentencing hearing

Tuesday, March 27, 2012

"I basically taught myself not to feel certain things"


Convicted child-killer Terri-Lynne McClintic wrote the following (undated) letter to ex-boyfriend Michael Rafferty, who is currently on trial for his part in the abduction, rape, and murder of 8 year old Ontario girl Tori Stafford:



Monday, March 26, 2012

Terri-Lynne was "Trigger Happy"


Terri-Lynne McClintic wrote the following note to one of her "homies" while incarcerated as a juvenile offender:



Wednesday, March 21, 2012

Fireside Chat (Transcript)

This summary is not available. Please click here to view the post.

Tuesday, March 20, 2012

Karla Homolka's Plea Agreement


Karla Homolka in "prison"
Joliette, Quebec


For your reading (dis)pleasure, Mascara and Murder presents the Plea Agreement signed by "Karla Leanne Bernardo" in 1993, as well as her authorization for her legal counsel to enter into a Plea Agreement with the Crown.

The first of these two documents (written by Homolka herself) is especially telling; for a battered woman who was apparently suffering levels of post-traumatic stress comparable to a holocaust survivor, she did a commendable job articulating precisely what she expected of the justice system in exchange for testimony against estranged husband Paul Bernardo.


Karla Homolka: Plea Agreement Authorization (PDF)

Karla Homolka: Plea Agreement (PDF)

Monday, March 19, 2012

Lawyer Tim Danson: "I feel incredibly protective of these children"


Although not representing the family of slain Ontario schoolgirl Tori Stafford, lawyer Tim Danson has had much to say about the trial of accused child killer Michael Rafferty, as ongoing testimony from his ex-girlfriend, Terri-Lynne McClintic, paints a vile picture of depravity not unlike the Bernardo/Homolka affair which made him famous.

Danson represented the families of murdered teenagers Leslie Mahaffy and Kristen French, and spent the next twenty years working alongside those families in their numerous legal battles.


Tori Stafford's parents show solidarity with slain girl
[Excerpt]
The parents experience a “unique dichotomy,” Danson said. On one hand, they do not want to hear about the terror and anguish of their child’s final moments. On the other hand, they feel they must.
“They were not able to be with their child when it was important to protect them, so not being in the courtroom in solidarity with them is unthinkable. If they're not there, they feel like they've abandoned their child.”
Sitting through the trial also helps bring a degree of closure, he added.
“They need to know the truth because without having answers to their questions, they cannot move forward.”
But there is some evidence that families do not need to see or hear, and Danson has acted as a buffer, protecting them against the worst of it, such as gruesome autopsy and crime scene photos or videotapes of the deaths.
In the Bernardo case, for example, Danson watched the videotapes of the sexual attacks and deaths, the crime scene photos and certain other hard evidence, not just for the French and Mahaffy families but for Jane Doe who survived.
He persuaded the families not to be in court when the tapes were played and successfully fought to have the images on the tapes shown only to the judge, jury and court stenographers. The news media and others in the public gallery were limited to hearing the soundtrack.
“I feel incredibly protective of these children and when I see the extent of their violation on videotape, why should anyone else want to see this degradation and humiliation?” Danson asked.
After the appeals process ran its course, he successfully fought on behalf of the families to have the tapes destroyed.
Danson also pushed to have Homolka’s plea bargain nullified on the grounds that she lied to the Crown about her involvement in the deaths. This effort failed, but he was successful in blocking Homolka’s parole to ensure she served her full 12-year sentence for manslaughter. She was released in 2005, while Bernardo is serving a life sentence.

Sunday, March 18, 2012

Exhibit 500



One of the key elements to the case against Damien Echols and Jason Baldwin was the lengthy collection of documents regarding Damien's mental health and arrest record. His troubled history became one of the main tenets of the trial; the psychiatric reports were used to prove that Echols was a homicidal Satanist with vampiristic tendencies.

Why is Mascara and Murder hosting this document?

Although the subject, Damien Echols, is currently classified as a convicted murderer (pending exoneration), after reading through the stack of documentation it becomes clear that the only thing the boy was ever truly guilty of was having sex with his girlfriend in an abandoned house.

The justice system, in its infinite wisdom, continues to perpetuate the myth that women are incapable of deciding anything for themselves, including at which time they feel they are ready to become sexually active. In the case of Damien Echols and his young lover, both parties were obviously consenting; they were, after all, in a committed relationship -- insofar as puppy love goes.

The fact that Echols was 17 and his girlfriend was only 15 proved to be enough prior evidence of criminality that an Arkansas jury convicted him of murdering three local boys, and ultimately sentenced him to death.

Exhibit 500 is available from a number of online sources, however, I was unable to find it in one complete file. I took the liberty of compiling all pages of the exhibit (510 to be precise) into one PDF document for easier reading:

Exhibit 500 (PDF)

Friday, March 16, 2012

The Many Faces of Terri-Lynne McClintic




Convicted child killer Terri-Lynne McClintic painted a grim portrait of her own childhood years while testifying against Michael Rafferty, her ex-lover and partner in the murder of Victoria Elizabeth Stafford.

McClintic told the packed court that her birth mother was a stripper who gave her away to another woman -- also a stripper -- to be raised. She claimed that she suffered a separated shoulder resulting from abuse when she was just a baby. At the tender age of eight, Terri-Lynne began experimenting with a variety of drugs; ironically, the same age that Tori Stafford was when she was brutally murdered by McClintic and Rafferty.

McClintic amassed a lengthy criminal record, with numerous assault and robbery convictions. She admitted that she had been using and dealing drugs -- OxyContin, mostly -- at the time Stafford was killed.

If all of this is true, it stands in stark contrast with the background story presented by perhaps the most notorious woman in serial killer history: Karla Homolka. McClintic has often been compared to Homolka with respect to the fact that she has admitted to luring an underage victim on behalf of her paedophile lover, but in this author's estimation, the similarities end there.

The only real darkness radiating from the Homolka household emanated from Karla herself. She was raised in a stable, supportive family, and rose to considerable popularity among her contemporaries. The eldest of three beautiful, blonde daughters, Karla was smart as a whip and an excellent student. She could have aspired to anything she desired; she desired Paul Kenneth Bernardo.

In the case of Terri-Lynne McClintic: born of a stripper, raised by a stripper, and lost to drug addiction before she had even reached puberty. By no means am I suggesting that her back story excuses what she did to little Tori Stafford, but I feel that it at least offers some explanation as to why.

After the murder, McClintic's opinion of herself was so low that she actually offered to take 100% of the blame for the horrific things that she and Rafferty had done together:

"I told him that I would take the fall for everything, that I would say it is all me, that he had more to lose than I did, because I was just an 18-year-old junkie anyways."


Terri-Lynne McClintic with her adoptive mother, Carol

Thursday, March 15, 2012

"Coverage begins to verge on pornography"


The following editorial appeared in the Wingham Advance Times, and deals with the appropriateness of media coverage of particularly heinous crimes.

In the interest of forming logical impressions and making informed decisions, I do not accept that the documentation streaming forth from our court system should be sanitized or censored in any way before it reaches my ears/eyes.

Those who aren't able to endure the uncensored truth should stick to Reader's Digest, and leave the rest of us to sift through the raw information; unpleasant though it may be.

"I told her I was sorry"




I can't imagine how Christie Blachford must feel, sitting through McClintic's testimony which stands in sickening parallel with that of Karla Homolka nearly two decades ago.

Each of these women admitted to feeding the unspeakably sick desires of their lovers without so much as a thought about anyone but themselves. Each of these women, these utter wastes of human skin, were somehow able to rationalize the kidnap, rape, and murder of children to themselves because they believed it would win them favour with their respective partners.


Wednesday, March 14, 2012

Bernardo Victims' Lawyer on "Sanitizing the Facts"



Tim Danson speaks to a crowd of reporters in Joliette, Quebec
just prior to Karla Homolka's release from prison


With the Tori Stafford murder trial now underway, one can't help but wonder: how much does the general public need to know?

Toronto area lawyer Tim Danson, who became famous for representing the families of slain teenagers Leslie Mahaffy and Kristen French at the trial of serial rapist and murderer Paul Bernardo, weighed in during an interview with CBC's Metro Morning:

"If you start setting up a rule of sanitizing the facts so that the public doesn't really know exactly what happened then you're not in a position to evaluate the administration of justice," 

The full interview can be accessed here:
http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/story/2012/03/14/audio-stafford-trial-hanson-bernardo.html

Terri-Lynne McClintic Confesses Gory Details




Convicted child killer Terri-Lynne McClintic shocked a packed court room yesterday when she admitted that it had been she -- Michael Rafferty -- who delivered the fatal blows that ended the beautiful little girl's life.

McClintic took the stand this week to begin her testimony against her ex-boyfriend, who is currently on trial for the murder of Tori Stafford. Rafferty has pleaded not-guilty to charges of first-degree murder, kidnapping, and sexual assault causing bodily harm.

McClintic and Rafferty met at a pizza joint in Woodstock, Ontario in February 2009. Less than two months later, the pair snatched the Grade 3 student shortly after school was let out for the day on April 8.

“He knew what to say. He made me feel good,” 

Tuesday, March 13, 2012

Bill C-10 = No Pardon for Killers Like Karla



Demonstration against Bill C-10, which passed yesterday in Parliament.
Photo: Pat McGrath, Ottawa Citizen


In spite of the fact that many Canadians are opposed to the Harper government's "tough on crime" Bill C-10, I am willing to go out on a limb and suggest that no tears will be shed over the fact that it will now be more difficult for repeat offenders against children like Graham James and Karla Homolka to obtain pardons for their crimes.

Although I think that the process for granting pardons to violent offenders has been in need of a serious tightening for some time, it's unfortunate that it took a campaign led by two former NHL stars who had been victimized by James to awaken our nation's level of consciousness to the fact that our system is broken in many aspects. Where were our voices when Homolka, killer of 3 ordinary young girls, was well on her way to a brand new life and rubber stamp-style forgiveness from the government?

I digress; regardless of how it came about, or what nasty Bill it is contained within, I consider it a personal victory of sorts that Karly Curls won't ever have the opportunity to escape what she's done, at least on paper. On paper, she will always be a murderer. On paper, she won't ever be forgiven for obliterating Tammy, Kristen, and Leslie.



More Information...

Bill C-10: An Act to enact the Justice for Victims of Terrorism Act and to amend the State Immunity Act, the Criminal Code, the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act, the Corrections and Conditional Release Act, the Youth Criminal Justice Act, the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act and other Acts
Can be viewed in its entirety on the Government of Canada website

10 Reasons to Oppose Bill C-10
Canadian Bar Association

Monday, March 12, 2012

"I feel bad for Karla Homolka..."




I found this image on a Tumblr blog, Serial Killer Confessions.  Followers of this blog submit "confessions" related to notorious murderers; the author posts a selection of these submissions along with an accompanying image.

To whoever submitted this, I wouldn't worry too much about Karla's big confession. If she ever tells her children (she has 3, two boys and a girl) what happened, you can rest assured that it will be the version in which she is absolved of any and all wrongdoing by counting herself as one of Bernardo's victims.

If anyone deserves the sympathy of random onlookers, I should think it would be the families of Leslie Mahaffy, Kristen French, and the two girls (Jane & Steph Doe) who survived Paul and Karla's attacks.

Cold North Killers




No doubt, I will be showing up at my local booksellers to pester them for this title!

Saturday, March 10, 2012

"Weeping women just as capable of evil as men"


Clockwise from top left:
Tooba Mohammad Yahya, Lorena Bobbitt, Melissa Lewis, Karla Homolka


Weeping women just as capable of evil as men 
By: Christie Blatchford
November 14, 2011
The National Post
It was during a break one day in court in Kingston this week, after accused killer Tooba Mohammad Yahya had been sobbing up a storm, that I grunted to a colleague that I was weary of weeping women. 

Guilty!


More than two years after the bodies of Rona, Zainab, Sahar, and Geeti Shafia were discovered, the four women won the justice they were deprived of while they were alive. On January 29, 2012, Mohammad Shafia, his wife Tooba, and their son Hamed were found guilty of murder before a packed courtroom in Kingston, Ontario. News media from across the globe were on hand to hear the verdict, as the trial attracted widespread interest due to the fact that the case against the Shafia family centered around the cultural practice of honour killings; something rarely experienced in contemporary North American society.

Mohammad, Tooba, and Hamed Shafia were each convicted of four counts of first-degree murder, punishable by automatic life sentences with no change of parole for 25 years.

"It is difficult to conceive of a more heinous, more despicable, more honourless crime … The apparent reason behind these cold-blooded, shameful murders was that the four completely innocent victims offended your completely twisted concept of honour … that has absolutely no place in any civilized society."

Ontario Superior Court Judge Robert Maranger
"This jury found that four strong, vivacious and freedom-loving women were murdered by their own family in the most troubling of circumstances. We all think of these four, wonderful women now who died needless deaths. This verdict sends a very clear message about our Canadian values and the core principles in a free and democratic society that all Canadians enjoy and even visitors to Canada enjoy."

Crown prosecutor Gerard Larrhuis
“While I am pleased to see the verdict finding Mohammad Shafia, Hamed Shafia, Tooba Mohammad Yahya guilty of murder, we need also to be reminded of the four innocent lives that were taken, needlessly and senselessly, by their own family members. There is no place in our Canadian society, or anywhere around our world, where a horrendous murder such as this should not be completely and thoroughly investigated and prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.”

Kingston police Chief Stephen Tanner
“To say I am satisfied seems to fail to address this horrible tragedy — the fact that Rona, Zainab, Sahar and Geeti had their lives so violently taken from them; the fact that a family was ripped apart and a community shocked.”

Kingston police Insp. Brian Begbie

Mohammad, Tooba, and Hamed Shafia have all begun the process of appealing their convictions.

Frontenac County Court House

I recently got a new camera, and am fortunate enough to have easy access to a lot of heart-stopping architecture to shoot.

Also, every once in a while, my hometown architecture happens to be of international relevance.

















Friday, March 9, 2012

Fairy Tales, News Stories & the Monstrous Karla Homolka

"Fairy tales and news stories are not often linked; however, in many news stories, Canadian media depicted Karla Homolka as both passive princess and evil witch. This paper argues journalists used aspects of popularized fairy tales to shape and give meaning to Homolka's life, personality and crimes, and these constructs created a discourse that limited, liberated and ultimately problematised the public's conception of Homolka."

Representing the Reprehensible: Fairy Tales, News Stories & the Monstrous Karla Homolka
By Romaine Smith Fullerton, Atlantis: A Women's Studies Journal Vol. 31, No. 1 (2006)

Thursday, March 8, 2012

The Galligan Report on Certain Matters Relating to Karla Homolka (1996)




Hon. Patrick T. Galligan's Report on Certain Matters Relating to Karla Homolka is the most frequently discussed document regarding the "Deal with the Devil" that was cut between Karla Homolka and the Crown Prosecutors in order to secure her testimony against then-husband Paul Bernardo.

In response to an unfavourable public response for the reduced sentence given to Homolka for her role in the crimes, Galligan was appointed by the Attorney General of Ontario to investigate and report on the following  (taken directly from the report):


  1. Whether the plea arrangement entered into by Crown counsel with Karla Homolka on May 14, 1993, was appropriate in all the circumstances.
  2. Whether the advice given by Crown counsel to the Green Ribbon Task Force in connection with possible charges against Karla Homolka arising out of a sexual assault on Jane Doe was appropriate in all the circumstances.
  3. Whether in all the circumstances, is it appropriate or feasible to take further proceedings against Karla Homolka for her part in the deaths of Kristen French and Leslie Mahaffy and sexual assault on Jane Doe.
  4. To inquire into such related matters, if any, which the Attorney General may, from time to time, direct.

In the interest of access to information, I strongly believe that folks who are interested in delving into the criminological, psychological, and legal aspects of this case should be able to view this important document in its entirety.

Open Letter to The Fifth Estate: Release the Karla Homolka Broadcast



Update: August 17, 2012 --> The Karla Homolka broadcast has been made available for download -- please see this page for more details.


Open Letter to The Fifth Estate:

Greetings! 
First and foremost, I grew up watching The Fifth Estate, and I think that your program is by far the best documentary series out there. Your entire crew is thoughtful, diligent, and the great amount of work they put into each and every episode is appreciated.
Now, on to my question... Why is perhaps the most well-known and revealing documentaries you have ever produced -- The Karla Homolka Episode -- not currently available for viewing online?
I couldn't help but notice that the video timeline seems to stop just short of the Homolka broadcast. There are conspiracy theoriests out there who would suggest there's a reason it's not on the menu :)
Archive: http://www.cbc.ca/fifth/archives05-06.html
Thanks for the great shows!


If you feel that this important broadcast should be made available, please take a moment to sign the petition:




Wednesday, March 7, 2012

The Campbell Report: Bernardo Investigation Review (1996)




The Bernardo Investigation Review is one of the most factual documents in existence regarding the Bernardo/Homolka case. 



Paul Bernardo Police Interview (June 2007)



Karla Homolka's ex-husband, convicted serial rapist and murderer Paul Bernardo sat down for an interview with Toronto Police Services Sex Crimes Unit in June, 2007.

The purpose of the interview was to shed light a number of unsolved crimes that took place during the time Bernardo was operating as the Scarborough Rapist. In particular, the police were hoping to extract some information on the disappearance of Elizabeth Bain (Bernardo denies any involvement).

The interview offers a rare glimpse into the fractured mind of a Dangerous Offender:

Paul Bernardo Interview withToronto Police Service
Sex Crimes Unit, June 2007
 (PDF)

Paul Bernardo Interview with Toronto Police Service
Sex Crimes Unit, June 2007
 (YouTube Video)


Friday, March 2, 2012

Karla Homolka and the Absence of Feminist Criticism



Due to her well-documented history of depravity and violence, Canada's most hated woman secured her very own chapter in Killing Women: The Visual Culture of Gender and Violence.

Dealing with the Devil: Karla Homolka and the Absence of Feminist Criticism
Belinda Morrissey
In: Killing Women - The Visual Culture of Gender and Violence
Edited by Annette Burfoot and Susan Lord
Wilfrid Laurier University Press, 2006
xxii + 332 pp. / isbn-13: 978-0-88920-497-3 / isbn-10: 0-88920-497-7

Thursday, March 1, 2012

"My one goal in life is to kill Karla. She tore my family apart."



I found this image on a Tumblr blog, Serial Killer Confessions.  Followers of this blog submit "confessions" related to notorious murderers; the author posts a selection of these submissions along with an accompanying image.

I wonder if the story behind this "confession" is for real?

If so, the vicious web has claimed yet another unsuspecting passerby.