Timeline

Oct. 17, 1987: Karla Homolka, 17, meets Paul Bernardo, 23, at a hotel in Scarborough, Ont.

Dec. 24, 1990: Bernardo and Homolka drug and sexually assault Tammy Homolka, who later dies. The death is ruled an accident.

June 15, 1991: Bernardo and Homolka stalk, rape, torture and murder Leslie Mahaffy, 14.

June 29, 1991: Bernardo and Homolka wed in a lavish ceremony. That evening, a couple canoeing on Lake Gibson discover Mahaffy's remains.

Karla Homolka and Paul Bernardo in 1987

April 16, 1992: Bernardo and wife Karla abduct Kristen French, 15.

April 19, 1992: French is killed and her body dumped outside Burlington.

Feb. 17, 1993: Bernardo is arrested at his St. Catharines home for beating Homolka.

Feb. 19, 1993: Police begin two-month search of the Bernardo-Homolka home but fail to locate incriminating videotapes.

May 6, 1993: Bernardo's lawyer, Ken Murray, retrieves the videotapes from above a ceiling light fixture in the upstairs bathroom.

May 18, 1993: Homolka is charged with two counts of manslaughter in the French and Mahaffy slayings after striking deal with Crown. She is freed on bail.

May 19, 1993: Bernardo is charged with two counts each of first-degree murder, kidnapping, forcible confinement and aggravated sexual assault, and one count of committing an indignity to a body.

July 6, 1993: Homolka pleads guilty to manslaughter and sentenced to 12 years in prison.

Karla Homolka leaves the family home in St. Catharines, Ont., July 6, 1993.(CP Photo)

May 4, 1994: Bernardo pleads not guilty.

Sept. 12, 1994: Murray quits as Bernardo's lawyer and hands videotapes over to new lawyer, John Rosen. Days later, Rosen presents the tapes to the Crown.

May 18, 1995: Trial begins with Bernardo blaming Homolka for the killings and Homolka blaming Bernardo.

Sept. 1, 1995: Bernardo is convicted on all counts; later sentenced to life in prison.

Courtroom sketch of Homolka testifying in Bernardo's trial

November 5, 1995: Bernardo declared a dangerous offender; he will likely spend the rest of his life in jail.

December 1995: Police demolish Bernardo's home. Four years later, a new home is built on the site by a couple.

April 1997: Homolka is moved from the Kingston Prison for Women to a low-and-medium security prison in Joliette, Que., dubbed by critics "Club Fed."

March 27, 2000: Murray goes to trial on charges of obstruction of justice and possession of child pornography.

June 13, 2000: Murray acquitted. He is later cleared of charges from the Law Society of Upper Canada.

Sept. 21, 2000: Supreme Court of Canada refuses to hear an appeal by Bernardo.

Sept. 22, 2000: Photos are published showing Homolka at a 1998 birthday party at Joliette Institution, dressed in evening wear.

Oct. 2000: Homolka is transferred to the Regional Psychiatric Centre in Saskatoon for evaluation ahead of a parole hearing.

Former Bernardo lawyer Ken Murray (CP Photo)

March 8, 2001: The National Parole Board denies Homolka's application for early release, saying she is a risk to kill again.

December 2001: The six videotapes of the rape and torture of Bernardo and Homolka's victims are destroyed on an undisclosed date.

May 2003: Homolka returns to Joliette prison for women.

Dec. 16, 2004: National Parole Board rules again that Homolka must stay in prison for her full term. Once again, Homolka refuses to participate in the hearing.

Dec 17, 2004: Ontario Attorney General Michael Bryant announces plans to keep Homolka on a tight leash when she is released, including imposing a curfew and restrictions on her movements.

Dec 17, 2004: Ontario Attorney General Michael Bryant announces plans to keep Homolka on a tight leash when she is released, including imposing a curfew and restrictions on her movements.

An artist's sketch depiciting Karla Homolka appearance at a Joliette, Que. courtroom, June 2, 2005. (CP PHOTO/Francois "Atalante" Hudon)

June 3, 2005: A Quebec judge agrees that Karla Homolka is a risk to reoffend when she's released from prison. He grants the Ontario Crown the Section 810 order it had been seeking to put some restrictions on Homolka for a year after her release.

July 5, 2005: Homolka scheduled for release -- though it could happen several days earlier.