Plot Synopsis

KEN AND BARBIE KILLERS: THE LOST MURDER TAPES is a four-part documentary series that follows Paul Bernardo and Karla Homolka on their crime spree. From the outside, Bernardo and Homolka painted a picture-perfect relationship of a beautiful young couple in love. Neither shied away from attention, and they captured their entire relationship on their video camera. But behind those blonde locks and pearly whites was a much more sinister side: the two were orchestrating a horrific crime spree across Canadian suburbs and recording their evil brutality on tape. When a distressed Karla turns Paul over to the police, she pleads that she was forced to help her husband. But after six tapes of evidence surface that reveal the reality of the crimes, it begs the question: was Karla another victim, or was she the puppet master behind it all? Now with exclusive footage, unseen evidence, and intimate interviews, KEN AND BARBIE KILLERS: THE LOST MURDER TAPES reveals an inside look at Paul and Karla's twisted relationship from behind the lens. The murders led to a transformative trial -- with a controversial outcome -- that left an indelible mark on Canada's justice system, and one that questions whether a cold-blooded killer walks free to this day. Investigation Discovery debuted story over back-to-back nights on Sunday, December 12 and Monday, December 13, 2021 from 9-11pm ET/PT each night:

"The Murders" (Sunday, December 12, 2021 at 9pm): Paul Bernardo and Karla Homolka embark on a passionate love affair and marry in 1991. By 1992, missing schoolgirls Leslie Mahaffy and Kristen French are both found dead. Then in 1993, a battered and bruised Karla tells police that her husband, Paul, is the killer of both girls and that home videos depicting his assaults on the girls are hidden somewhere in their marital home.

"The Tapes" (Sunday, December 12, 2021 at 10pm): In 1993, a distressed Karla Homolka reveals to police that her husband Paul Bernardo videotaped his assaults of two schoolgirls and that he is the serial sex attacker who terrorized Toronto, known as the "Scarborough Rapist." When police fail to find the tapes after an exhaustive search, they offer Karla a deal to be their star witness in the prosecution of her husband. When Paul's legal team is sent into the house with instructions for finding the tapes, what they find changes everything.

"The Deal" (Monday, December 13, 2021 at 9pm): Paul Bernardo's lawyers find six videotapes that confirm Karla Homolka's complicity in the assaults of Leslie Mahaffy and Kristen French. The tapes also reveal new information on the mysterious death of Karla's 15-year-old sister, Tammy. Unaware of the tapes, prosecutors strike a controversial deal with Karla. In return for testifying against her husband, she'll be sentenced to just 12 years for her role in the crimes.

"The Trial" (Monday, December 13, 2021 at 10pm): Canada is gripped by the extraordinary testimonies at its "trial of the century" and the revelations revealed in the six tapes. Paul Bernardo is convicted for the murders of Leslie Mahaffy and Kristen French and sentenced to life in prison. A nation is horrified to learn that Karla's deal remains intact after her involvement in the murders comes to light and she is released after serving just 12 years. Today, she is a free citizen.