Canada's most notorious serial killer has reportedly convinced an Ontario woman to marry him, through correspondence that urged her to keep the relationship secret from her family.

Paul Bernardo is serving life in prison and not eligible for parole until 2018 after being found guilty of the rape and murder of several young girls in the Toronto area in the 1990s. He was deemed a dangerous offender, making the likelihood of parole slim to negligible.

It is believed that Bernardo will spend the entirety of his sentence in prison and out of the public eye. Until this week, that is, when the Toronto Sun reported Bernardo had "charmed and manipulated an attractive, university-educated woman into planning to marry him."

The Sun, which decided not to publicly identify the woman, writes:

The 30-year-old London, Ont., woman admitted she has been writing letters to the Scarborough Rapist, telling friends the schoolgirl killer is “innocent” and was a bystander to the rapes and torture slayings of Kristen French and Leslie Mahaffy.

Bernardo is serving life in prison while his accomplice in the killings, former wife Karla Homolka, received a 12-year sentence. She has kept a low profile since her release in 2005. At last report, Homolka was living in Guadeloupe with her new husband and their three children.

It seems Bernardo is searching for his own happy ending, reportedly engaging this London woman through a series of letters powerful enough to make her fall in love.

The Sun reports that the woman has an ankle tattoo that reads "Paul's girl" and considers Bernardo a nice, kind man. According to interviews with her friends and relatives, the woman has said she is already arranging the wedding.

Her father, who has tried to talk her out of the relationship, told the newspaper, “She has had a number of bad relationships that undermined her self-esteem despite her brilliance. She is looking for someone who will love her unconditionally.”

According to the Sun, the relationship began when the woman wrote to Bernardo as part of research for a book and the pair struck up a relationship.

As odd as that beginning may sound, it isn't entirely unheard of.

Correctional Services Canada allows inmates to receive letters and phone calls "to encourage inmates to maintain and develop family and community ties through written correspondence and telephone communication, consistent with the principle of protection of the public, staff members and offenders."

Infamous murder suspect Luka Magnotta reportedly received dozens of letters from "fans" while being held in Quebec's Rivière-des-Prairies Detention Center last year. One blogger, who broke off ties long ago, once said Magnotta gave her "warm, fuzzy feelings."

There have been plenty of previous instances of prisoners finding love and marrying behind bars. So many, in fact, that Oprah once hosted a show dedicated to them. There is a dating website exclusively for Canadian inmates, that connects men and women serving time for doing terrible things with men and women who don't judge a book by its cover – or its rap sheet.

Still, Bernardo is a singular type of character. Notorious for his cunning and charisma, vilified for his cruelty and violence, there is little confusion why his bride-to-be's family would be so concerned about these impending nuptials.

The news report suggests the woman is on the verge of a change of heart. All of Canada hopes that is the case.

To our lovelorn protagonist, I suggest you remain anonymous as you’re going through this phase. And stay single for now. Someone better will come along. Almost anyone would be an improvement.

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