Convicted killer and serial rapist Paul Bernardo’s upcoming parole hearing has been delayed, CTV News has learned.
Bernardo, who is currently serving a life sentence for the murders of 14-year-old Leslie Mahaffy and 15-year-old Kristen French in the early 1990s, was set to appear before the Parole Board of Canada on Oct. 20 in what would have been his fourth hearing in eight years.
However, on Monday the lawyer for the victims’ families, Tim Danson, confirmed that the hearing has been postponed to January 2027.
The reasons behind the postponement are unclear. In a statement to CP24, however, a spokesperson for the parole board said “only an offender may request a postponement at any time prior to the review or during the hearing.” Without commenting directly on Bernardo’s case, the spokesperson said an offender may request a postponement if their assistant is not available for the scheduled hearing date or if they want to complete an assessment or treatment beforehand.
Bernardo’s January hearing marks the fourth time in eight years that he is up for parole, as per the Criminal Code. Last week, Danson told CTV News that the victims’ families believe that parole hearings for “people like Paul Bernardo” should only be held every seven years.
“If somehow there is a medical breakthrough or something significant, the offender could apply to the parole board for an earlier hearing, but otherwise it should be seven years,” he said at the time.
Bernardo was convicted of the first-degree murder of Mahaffy and French, and multiple sexual assaults. He was also convicted of manslaughter in the 1990 death of his ex-wife Karla Homolka’s 15-year-old sister, Tammy, who was drugged and sexually assaulted by the couple. He has admitted to sexually assaulting at least 14 other women.
With files from CTV News’ Adrian Ghobrial and CP24’s Bryann Aguilar
