The Smirnis brothers were childhood friends of Paul Bernardo who lived across the street, and later became an integral part of his eventual capture. It is widely known that Van Smirnis introduced Bernardo to the easy money lifestyle of smuggling alcohol and cigarettes across the U.S./Canadian border.
In the summer of 1990, Alex Smirnis and his wife provided information to police about their suspicions that Paul may have been the Scarborough rapist. However, their tip was ultimately dismissed by police after interviewing Bernardo.
Two years later, Van Smirnis contacted police about Bernardo much in the same way that his brother had, suspecting that he may be the Scarborough rapist. Paul was again questioned by police, who decided (again) that the bright, professional young man before them couldn't possibly be the monster they were looking for. Paul wasn't arrested until February 17, 1993, after forensic testing had confirmed his involvement in several of the rapes in Scarborough.
Van Smirnis appeared on the Maury Povich Show after Paul was sentenced, along with a number of other folks associated with the case, including Karla Homolka's aunt, Patti Seger; the first person that Karla spoke to about the murders. The transcript of this interview is available through WKH2012.
At present, the Smirnis brothers are all alive and well, and can be found on Facebook.
