Karla Homolka in 1993. (CP PICTURE ARCHIVE/Frank Gunn)

TORONTO (CP) - The explosion of Karla Homolka-related chatter on the Internet has police and corrections officials beefing up security as the schoolgirl killer's prison term draws to a close. A much publicized online death pool may be gone, but speculation on vigilante action against Homolka has found its way onto the most unlikely of cyber places - websites ostensibly dedicated to weddings, rock bands and babies.

"I give it max six mth's (sic) before someone puts a bullet between her eyes," reads chat forum participant Margherita's offering to the ongoing discussion of Homolka at WeddingBells.ca.

"If I saw her walking down the street, I would pitch whatever is near right at her head."

Surf to babynamesworld.com for an equally vengeful take on Homolka's release.

"Hopefully she will have a little 'accident' upon her release," reads a posting by Bunnie.

Web chatters who frequent a site dedicated to Canadian rock band Blue Rodeo are equally pessimistic about Homolka's chances once released.

"People like her get their just desserts sooner or later, if you know what I mean," reads Bluegirl's posting.

Homolka's release from prison, which could come anytime between June 30 and July 4, follows a 12-year manslaughter sentence for the rape and torture deaths of two Ontario teens. The crush of attention Homolka has received prompted Corrections Canada to request police assist in her release.

"All the media attention and the public attention on the Internet, those two things together are certainly taken into consideration in our decision to request police assistance," said spokeswoman Michele Pilon-Santilli.

Security has already been tightened at Saint-Anne-des-Plaines, the prison just north of Montreal where she was recently moved. Tensions will undoubtedly run high the day Homolka is set free.

"Police assistance is for anyone who is in the area, our staff and the offender. For the protection of all," said Pilon-Santilli.

That protection is welcome given that threats against Homolka's life continue to come to the attention of Corrections Canada, said her lawyer Sylvie Bordelais.

"I'm really happy that they're doing so," Bordelais said of the security measures.

"As (would) anyone else, I would be concerned if I was receiving threats."

One website that no longer harbours messages of ill-will toward Homolka is geocities.com/byebyekarla.com. Collecting bets for several years on when Homolka would be murdered, the site recently closed after its creator left Canada to study abroad.

The death pool's demise hasn't extinguished the desire to make public the palpable fear and loathing felt toward Canada's most notorious female offender.

"I have no doubt whatsoever that she'll be dead at the hands of some vigilante," Nancy C. of Brockville, Ont., writes in her web log. "Hell, if I didn't have to stick around to protect my own daughter . . . I'd be more than happy to do her in myself."

While online threats like that can't be ignored, police say the real danger to Homolka will likely come from those who aren't making public declarations of hatred.

"You can't ignore those, I'm certainly not saying that," Insp. Brian Eckhardt of the Niagara Regional Police Service said of the web chatter. Still, a tip that someone was quietly planning Homolka's death would garner more police attention than threats made on the Internet.

"Do we need to look at both of them? Absolutely. Which one scares me more? The information I'm getting on the side."

Angry talk directed at Homolka in cyberspace should be given the same weight as conversations one might overhear in public, said Mark Federman of the media studies McLuhan Program at the University of Toronto.

"People are chattering on the net just the same way that they'd chatter in their neighbourhood," he said.

"All of this chatter where people might say, 'Oh I'm just kidding,' it's the same sort of chatter that you might say to your buddy in the bar, or in the park, or around the office cooler."

Chat groups that have been home to messages of devotion for Homolka are finding fewer supporters as her release approaches. One exception was a recent invitation from a man bidding Homolka to visit him. The sincere sounding posting even included a phone number.

When reached for comment, the Hamilton, Ont., man sheepishly admitted he was a little drunk when he made the proposal, and was adamant he harbours no affection for Homolka.

Source

www.OttawaMensCentre.com

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