'Santa Suit' Killer's Rampage Leaves Nine Dead in California

December 29, 2008

Due to the actions of a single individual, at least 13 young people have been orphaned following a brutal massacre that occurred in Covina, California, on Christmas Eve.

Last Wednesday, Bruce Jeffrey Pardo, 45, donned a Santa costume and armed himself with four handguns and a flamethrower before knocking on the front door of a home owned by his ex-wife's parents.

According to police, an eight-year-old girl answered the door, at which time Pardo shot her in the face. Pardo then burst inside, interrupting a Christmas Eve party with a hail of gunfire. Sixteen of the 25 guests managed to make it outside, while the others, who never had a chance to react, were shot execution-style.

Once he was satisfied with the carnage he had inflicted on the unsuspecting family, Pardo took out a homemade pressurized device that he had disguised as a present and doused the interior of the house with a flammable cocktail made up of high-octane racing fuel and compressed air. Unfortunately for Pardo, his plan hit a snag when the vapor suddenly ignited. It remains unclear whether a pilot light or candle was the cause; however, the ensuing fire caused Pardo to suffer third-degree burns to his arms and legs. The heat was so intense that portions of the Santa costume melted onto Pardo's flesh.

Partygoers who had managed to escape, some with serious injury, immediately called 911 to report the shootings and fire.

"He's shooting my whole family. My mum's house is on fire," Pardo's ex-sister-in-law, Leticia, told the emergency dispatcher. "We need someone immediately. My daughter's been shot. She was shot in the face."

Listen to the 911 callOpen Audio in New Window

Unbeknownst to police and firefighters who arrived on the scene, a severely injured Pardo had already fled the area and was en route to his brother's house in Sylmar, roughly 25 miles from the scene of the shooting.

It took nearly 100 firefighters an hour and a half to finally get the blaze under control. During a walkthrough of the interior, investigators found the charred remains of three victims in the living room area. Not long thereafter, authorities found the remains of five additional victims.

At about 3:30 a.m., authorities were summoned to Pardo's brother's home. When officers arrived on the scene, they found Pardo dead from a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head. Strapped to his body with plastic wrap and a girdle, police found $17,000 in cash and a plane ticket for a flight to Canada that was scheduled to leave on December 25.

Parked outside of his brother's house, police found the vehicle Pardo recently rented. Inside the vehicle, police found roughly 300 rounds of ammunition, a pipe bomb, a booby-trap that was rigged up to flare, and black powder. A bomb squad attempted to disarm the device; however, they were unsuccessful, and the car exploded. Luckily, no one was hurt during the incident. 

A second rental car, a gray 1999 Toyota RAV 4, was later found in Glendale. No explosives were found inside the second car; however, investigators did find a gas can, two computers, and a map of Mexico.

During a search of Pardo's house in Montrose, investigators found two shotguns, a canister of racing fuel, and five empty boxes of semi-automatic handgun ammunition.

On Friday, authorities searching the burned-out structure where Pardo's ex-in-laws lived found the charred remains of a ninth victim. The following day, the county coroner identified five of the victims as Pardo's ex-wife, Sylvia Pardo, 43; Sylvia's parents, Joseph Ortega, 80, and Alicia Ortega, 70; Sylvia's sister, Alicia Ortiz, 46; and her sister's son, Michael Ortiz, 17. The other victims, who have not yet been positively identified, are believed to be Sylvia's brother, Charles Ortega, 50; his wife, Cheri, 45; another brother, James, 52; and his wife, Teresa, 51.

Investigators believe Pardo killed his wife and her family because of a divorce settlement, which was finalized on December 18. In it, Pardo, who has been out of work since July, was ordered to pay his wife $10,000. He was also ordered to turn over the family pet and a valuable wedding ring. Pardo was granted ownership of the couple's $250,000 home; however, the equity in the home equaled only $106,000, leaving an unemployed Pardo with a mortgage of $2,700 a month. According to court documents, Pardo's monthly expenses totaled $8,900.

Pardo's friends have described him as a kind and gentle man who enjoyed his role as head usher at the Holy Redeemer Catholic Church in Montrose. None of the people who knew him considered him capable of violence, and they would not have expected him to commit such acts as he did last week. Those who have chosen to speak to the media have speculated that his divorce, the loss of his job, and mounting debt pushed him over the edge.

Whatever the reason, nine innocent lives were taken, and 13 young people are now parentless because of Pardo's actions.

Amazingly, Pardo's first victim was not among the dead. Sylvia Pardo's eight-year-old niece survived her gunshot wound to the face and has since been released from the hospital. Unfortunately, her emotional wounds are not likely to heal quite as easily.

Photo Credits: Covina Police Department

This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission from Discovery Communications. All quotes must include a link back.

Comments

[Jessi]

This story absolutely breaks my heart. The 911 call made me cry! I can't imagine being in their shoes and having to go through such a tragedy. And I say my prayers that my ex-husband never retaliated in an awful manner. I pray for this family and any of the orphaned children, and hope they can put their lives back together. Please take care! :*(

[Kim Winter]

This is such an incredibly sad story. He must have had so much hate in his heart to do this horrible act.

[Terri Diane]

It just Keeps Getting worst. People are getting sicker & sicker

[stacey c]

Over the holidays I usually don't have time to watch tv or get online so I didn't really hear about this until satuday. Unbelievable is all i can say and everyday something new comes out about this case... now they are saying he planned to kill his own mom and the ex wifes divorce lawyer - I think the one car in glendale was parked by the lawyers house. Then there's the whole 13month old son found in the swimming pool and who's now in a wheelchair for life ...

I just can't wrap my head around the devastation this one man caused... that poor family and those children that are now orphaned...

thanks for the coverage as always David.

[Jim S]

I can only imagine what Heaven must be like on Christmas, and a part of me finds hope for these beloved family members who were united in Heaven on Christmas Eve.

The last place I would want to be for Christmas is Hell, which unfortunately is where I believe the head usher has found himself.

I figure the fires are just a little hotter during Christmas Eve and Day to drive the point home.

Maybe had he paid a little more attention in Church he would have realized what God meant by that whole "thou shall not kill" commandment.

Well, he'll have plenty of time to think about it now. God Bless the family, I hope some day they'll find peace.

[AriT]

I feel so badly for the 8 year old that opened the door. Imagine, you let Santa into the house and he turns out to be a monster. The horror and the unreasonable guilt that poor child might be feeling breaks my heart.

[William Davis]

Please stop reporting that Pardo used a "flamethrower" and then say in the same paragraph he sprayed "high octane racing fuel" in the house.

First off, if he was spraying flame, he wouldn't be spraying fuel and secondly, it is meaningless to say high octane racing fuel. First off, all racing fuel is high octane and secondly, the octane rating of a fuel will have absolutely no bearing on how it burns when ignited with a flame (it only has bearing under controlled conditions in internal combustion engines).

You're only proving your ignorance by saying this, over and over again, in the news, as if it has meaning but your words, which are your only tool, have absolutely no meaning.

It upsets me your ignorance.

[Buzz]

Burns are very, very painful. Debriding a burn is a very painful and long process. With the Santa suit melted into his burns, his murderer would have had a very long and painful recovery. Too bad this coward didn't have the guts to face what he did to his victims and to himself.

May his victims rest in peace.

[helenhudson]

God bless the victims and families of this man's carnage.

To William Davis: Many of us accept David Lohr's research and resources without question due to his track record and solid reputation. There is so much to upset us these days, I find your choice odd. Especially expressed on this particular page.

[Yelinda Burman]

Guys, words are the tools of your profession, right? Why do you insist on using the imbecilic words "high octane racing fuel" when that's the same thing as "gasoline". I mean, I guess it makes your story sound exotic or something, when it's not. By why embellish the story with such lies. All racing fuel is high octane. And, the higher the octane, the slower it burns. That's why it's used in high compression racing engines. But, the octane rating of a fuel has absolutely nothing to do with how it acts outside an internal combustine engine. The fact that you don't know that yet you insist on using those idiotic words tells me you've done absolutely no research and don't even know what it is you are writing. I must discount everything you say based on your idiocy.

[David Lohr]

You have the same IP address as the other person who complained about the way I used the term, thus indicating that both comments were posted from the same computer, albeit under different poster names.

Please note that further complaints about that subject from that same IP address will not be approved, as you have already made your point.

[Unamused]

Trolling troll is trolling. Yelinda/William, kindly go back underneath your bridge. Thanks EVER so much.

[Brooksie]

Um Yolinda and William, I believe you just got punked!!!

[Melissa]

I find it very hard to believe after reading this article that users would comment on the stupid "high octane fuel." Who cares? This man massacred an entire family, and people are worried that David said "high octane fuel?" I could only imagine that William/Yelinda are uncompassionate and lonely beings who have nothing better to do than stir up controversy at the expense of lost lives. Disgusting.

[Gerry]

You have some very interesting articles and view points, look forward to coming back again soon. Have bookmarked you for future reference.