Pardo and Sylvia married in January 2006, but not long after grew apart when Pardo refused to open a joint account with his newly wedded wife along with Pardo expecting his wife to take care of her own three children with her own finances. After putting out an APB on the car, police started sifting through the Ortegas scorched home. But first, True Crime Headlines.Support the show and get Christmas Eve, 2008. Get all your true crime news from Oxygen. COVINA - It was a Christmas Eve massacre, a mass murder so chilling that it was unimaginable even to a 30-year veteran of the Covina Police Department. I always used to tease them that I have five sets of parents everyone telling me what to do and how to do it. Actress Sharon Tate, her three friends, and a friend of the groundskeeper ended up dead following an attack by the murderous cult members. They found bodies burned beyond recognition, which were later identified as the missing Ortega family members. The car had also been booby-trapped to explode once the Santa suit was removed, and though the vehicle exploded, no one was injured. The owners of the home at 1129 Knollcrest Drive, and their daughter, were believed to be among the victims, police said. Our interactive experience takes you through the victims' stories, providing clarity to deepen your knowledge about what happened and why. It's allowed because securing a scene is what . When the photo was taken, cameras were a pretty new form of technology. dispenser which Bruce Jeffrey Pardo used inside the Knollcrest house Can You Tell Why This Weird Picture Of A Family Sitting On A Bench Is Going Viral? 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Bruce Jeffrey Pardo dressed up as Santa and unexpectedly arrived at the Ortega home of his ex in-laws house at around 11:30pm and immediately shot an 8 year old girl who opened the door. Thanks for all the support. Bailey killed two people between 1972 and 1985 through strangulation. But she was far from alone in her losses. I dont want to do anything to disrespect the family in any way, he said. Bruce Jeffrey Pardo, the gunman. 'My mom's house is on fire!' Last year, when a gunman killed 20 children and six adults at a Newtown school, they again wrote letters. where a man dressed as Santa opened fire at a This photo shows a chair found in Ed Gein's house, whose base was made of human skin. Sign up forOxygen Insiderfor all the best true crime content. Investigators found nine bodies in the charred ruins of a home on a quiet suburban street Thursday and Friday. Coroners officials are still sorting out the identities of the victims because they were burned beyond recognition. Casting two good looking and athletic actors definitely didn't help. File - The damaged backyard from a fire at a home where a man dressed in Santa suit opened fire at a Christmas Eve party Dec. 25, 2008. Here are some of the most famous serial killer crime scene photos ever. at a Christmas Eve party as she opened The nature of injuries have not been determined; their bodies are severely burned and charred, Winter said. But in the middle of their holiday celebration, the doorbell rang, and what unfolded next was incredibly gruesome. Nine people were killed at a Christmas Eve party. Police dug deeper into their divorce to find out if it had anything to do with Bruces death, and they realized Sylvias maiden name was Ortega, which meant she was one of the Ortega siblings who had been killed on Christmas Eve. Nine people died that night, either from the shooting or the fire. The photo above shows the tools the authorities found at the back of his VW Beetle in August 1975. We are assuming that he did.. (background) are in use to process the crime scene. COVINA - A gunman dressed as Santa planned on fleeing to Canada with $17,000 after committing a Christmas Eve massacre that took nine lives at the home of his former in-laws. when their ex son-in-law Bruce Pardo, 45, dressed as Santa Claus carried out a brutal attack killing nine people gathered at his ex-wifes parents home. On Aug. 8, 1969, he orders a pack of his followers to go to Terry Melcher's old house -- and kill everyone inside. Different type of magazine from a different gun, photographed from outside the building. The killer, Bruce Jeffrey Pardo, showed up at a holiday party wearing a festive Santa Claus costume. He obviously just went psycho after the divorce! Create your free profile and get access to exclusive content. destruction encountered by authorities after Pardo had killed A fund was established Monday by Glendale attorney Scott Nord, who is representing the survivors. #16. Police believed Bruce might have planning on also murdering Scott, who resided over their , In June 2008, Bruce Pardo was ordered to pay $1,785 a month in spousal support. Her then-8-year-old daughter, Katrina, was wounded by a gunshot to the cheek after Santa figure came to the door. Most of the bodies were found in the living room area but other areas of the home still need to be searched, Winter said. Christmas will always be there, and we continue to celebrate it.. She and her husband had seen a car leaving their cul-de-sac at around 11:45 PM. He killed 4 to 5 people between 1997 to 1999. Los Angeles County firefighters at the home in Covina, Sutcliffe killed at least 13 people using a hammer and a knife. . Due to his Let's get completely out of any kind of holiday spirit by diving into a senseless and tragic On December 24, 2008 a man showed up at a Christmas party in Covina, CA, wearing a Santa suit On the night of December 24th, 2008, a large family Christmas party was winding down. Dont give up, Yuzefpolsky said. Ten children are now orphaned as a result of the massacre, according to family friends. While investigators in Ohio struggled for a fifth day to find a motive and the person or people responsible for the massacre of eight members of the same family, officials . In this 1985 photo, deputy sheriffs from Washington County are searching for victims of Gary Ridgway. The picture above shows the bodies of the cult members after they killed themselves. Southern California Private investigator, private investigations, The Covina. He is famous for asking, "You can't rape a prostitute, can you?". than three people dead, and (inset) In this photo, the body of Wanda Skala, a 17-year-old, is being recovered from a construction site. Covina massacre victims. Get an all-access pass to never-before-seen content, free digital evidence kits, and much more! Among those paying a visit to the home in the hours after the tragedy was West Covina Councilman Mike Touhey. Pardo left the house after the attack and put on his street clothes and drove his rental car to his brothers house in Sylmar, roughly 30 miles away from the home hed just massacred, in his brothers house he was later found dead from a self-inflicted gunshot wound. Carol Sanchez, who claims to be Pardos ex-girlfriend , pulled up to the front of the crime scene Friday. After the heinous crime, Pardo drove to his brother Garys home in Sylmar with third degree burns on his arms and parts of the Santa suit melted to his skin, Raney said. I know this is a super short case, but I wanted to do a post today! He then returned to the front porch to grab a fuel-spraying device that was wrapped as a Christmas gift. It is so strong, and when people come together with a lot of love, you can't really break that," she says. Covina police Lt. Pat Buchanan said that in his investigation, he's found that most people who knew Pardo agree that this attack was completely unexpected and out of character. (Her daughter survived.) Pardo began shooting at fleeing members of the party (it was said there was around 25 people at the party). When police were told what had happened, they were shocked: Someone dressed as Santa had unexpectedly arrived at the Ortega home and began shooting. The Ortegas were killed on Dec. 24, 2008, in Covina, Ca. Pardos resume was found at the location as well, Raney said. This photo was taken on May 5, 1903. Firefighters and police Friday continued to sift through the rubble of the site of a mass murder and fire. In the wake of mass shootings like that in Orlando, Leticia encourages those affected to move forward as she has: with love. Pardo was armed with four handguns, Raney said, and added that all four were emptied of ammunition when found. Murderpedia has thousands of hours of work behind it. In a final act of destruction encountered by authorities after Pardo Pardo then walked into the residence and opened fire on the 25 guests with a semi-automatic handgun, officials said. During his Christmas Eve killing spree, Bruce pulled out a homemade flamethrower to spray 18 gallons of gasoline into the house once he ran out of bullets. He disguised himself as a family man and a church leader, and he would taunt the police with details of his brutal crimes before he was finally arrested. This picture shows the bloodstained wall after one of Ramirez's 13 murders, and it stands as one of the most brutal serial killer crime scene photos today. Residents of about a half-dozen homes adjacent to the crime scene were evacuated while police continued the investigation. "If we teach them that it's OK to hate and it's OK to be violent [and] it's OK to put people down and make people feel less than, then what hope do we have?". And when they performed autopsies on the bodies from the Ortega house, they found all of the victims had been shot at least once with a 9mm handgun. Wow that dude did not like getting a divorce! They said SWAT officers ordered them to stay in their homes Wednesday night as they canvassed the neighborhood, unsure if the gunman was still in the area. And to Celebrate The Macabre is gifting out podcast treats. Instead driving to kill Sylvias attorney, Bruce then went to his brothers, where he killed himself because of how badly he was burned. He suggested taking pictures of everything on a crime scene, including broken doorways, bloodstains, and broken furniture, among other things. I think that he decided that he wasnt just gonna kill her, but he was gonna kill everything that she loved and take it, wipe it off the face of the earth.. a friend This divorce shattered Bruce Pardo. It was speculated that Pardo had planned to flee to Canada as he had prior to the attack purchased flight tickets to Canada. This video and photos are taken by HI-CALIBER Investigations (State lic 23443.) The home was later bulldozed and Doonan expected the investigation to be wrapped up by Friday night. Shortly after the doorbell sounded, police received 911 calls from the Ortegas neighbor. In a matter of minutes, Yuzefpolsky lost nearly everyone shed looked up to: her parents, two brothers and two sisters. The victims who died from the massacre were: The survivor of this attack was Leticia Yuzefpolsky, mother of the 8 year old girl who was shot and the sister of Sylvia, shes now a supporter of ending gun violence. During their murdering spree, they left behind some of the most unforgettable serial killer crime scene photos in history. At least 58 people were killed and more than 515 injured in Sunday's mass murder at the Route 91 Harvest Music Festival. Eve party #15. 2008. Officials said $17,000 and a plane ticket to Canada were found with Pardos body. Bruce Jeffrey Five days after the massacre of nine members of a Covina family on East Knollcrest Drive, their home has become a sort of attraction for the curious. A woman broke her leg after jumping out of the second-story window, officials said. A woman who claimed to be an ex-girlfriend of Pardos said he attended Cal State Northridge and was a straight-A student. When a Connecticut woman lost her three daughters and parents in a house fire two years ago, Yuzefpolsky encouraged her daughters to write letters to the woman. According to public records, the Knollcrest Drive home is owned by Joseph Ortega. Our groundbreaking Augmented Reality technology accurately recreates crime scenes and allows users to experience and investigate them just as detectives at the actual crime scenes did. The Columbine episode came out only 5 years after the massacre and made E&D look like these charismatic bad boy villains. Hes still shooting out there, a woman sobbed, to the dispatcher. Video: Covina police chief describes massacre Audio: 911 calls from the scene Download: Pardo divorce records Related story: Update: Suspects car burst into flames Related story: Accused killer was a nice guy, usher at Montrose church Related story: Christmas for quiet Covina neighborhood will never be the same. 7:45 pm. The bodies were found in his crawl space, helping create some of the most sickening serial killer crime scene photos we have today. Enter your email address to subscribe to this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email. In more typical years than what we all experienced in 2020, the holiday seasons mean families On Christmas Eve in 2008, 9 members of a family were slaughtered in cold blood by a man dressed CrimeDoor is a trusted news resource for those seeking the freshest perspective on cases worldwide. Quick Description: This house was the scene of a 2008 massacre. "Our kids are our future, and we have to be the example for them," she says. They were borrowed from the Farmers Market. We have many The Holiday season is here. Yuzefpolsky worked to save Christmas for her kids telling them that wasnt the real Santa and calling friends from the hospital to make sure gifts were put under their tree. Investigators found nine bodies in the . Despite the rumors, he acted alone, so he and his wife Sonya were never part of the scariest serial killer couples. A hearing in the case was held Dec. 18, in Superior Court. Divorce records indicate Pardo had been required to pay his ex-wife $10,000 on Dec. 19. A Bomb Squad and L.A. County sheriff's office official For Yuzefpolsky, now 41, years of therapy have helped, though she still suffers from some anxiety and nightmares. Im glad at least the little girl and her mum survived. You also receive detailed insights into each investigation with our cutting-edge tools, while our 3D re-creation of profiles elevates your access and knowledge of each story. with the remnants of the Santa suit rigged to a homemade fire bomb. Authorities say Pardos Santa suit actually melted onto his body before he fled. the front door to a man dressed in a Santa suit. It was said that he had planned to kill his own mother after the massacre at Sylvias home due to her apparent sympathy for Sylvia during the divorce proceedings. Officers parked at a cross street and worked their way down the street and saw the house engulfed in flames, Buchanan said. If there was ever a sign that Covina is a small town not used to mass tragedy, perhaps it was the barricades used to string crime scene tape outside the demolished Ortega home. Enough. Prado from a house in Sylmar. Ill be exploring unsolved cases, mysterious cases, serial killers, mass murder and all things true crime. The victims ages range from 18 to 80. Some neighbors said the flames shot as high as 50 to 70 feet and said they could hear explosions inside the home. PHOTO GALLERY Covina Christmas massacre evidence. The fact that these shocking serial killer crime scene photos are so familiar to many of us more than proves this fact. Covina Police Chief Kim Raney tells media members about the 8-year-old It was an event so horrific that it could send someone into a lifetime of despair, but as Leticia tells "Oprah: Where Are They Now -- Extra," she chose not to follow a path of anger and hate. You dont want that anger to live within you day to day and grow, just like it did with this monster.. He ate part of the remains and disposed of the rest of the remains using a vat of acid in his house. The motive behind the attack was believed to be related to Pardos marital problems. trey parker house kauai; mccormick and schmick's prosecco sangria recipe; katherine bouris wife; Payroll Services Bruce Jeffery Pardo, 45, plotted to kill his ex-wife Sylvia Ortega, 43, and her family at their Knollcrest Drive home after reaching a settlement in a bitter divorce Dec. 18, according to Police Chief Kim Raney. On December 24, 2008, the Ortega family invited all five of their adult children and their families to their home in Covina, California, a quiet, low-crime community about 22 miles east of Los Angeles. eight people dead in Covina, California December 26, 2008. In this photo, the police were photographed searching behind his home. The day after Bettmann/Getty Images On Aug. 9, 1969, housekeeper Winifred Chapman. Katrina usually writes: Itll be hard, but just have hope. As the fire was severe and burned for a long time, identify the victims had to be done by dental and medical records. . Police discovered the body of the gunman, Bruce Jeffrey Pardo, 45, of Montrose, at his brothers home in the 15800 block of Joseph Court in Sylmar early Thursday. All divorces are bad, said Lt. Tim Doonan. Its been said that Pardo suffered from severe third-degree burns on his arms which had occurred from the fire this makes police believe he didnt follow through with his Canadian escape route due to his injuries.Police searched Pardos house in Montrose, they recovered five empty boxes for semi-automatic handguns, two shotguns, and a container for high octane fuel tank gasoline. ABOUT CRIMEDOOR. Im not going to allow you to continue to consume us with your evilness. Leticias daughter, however, had been shot, so the family had already made their way to the hospital. They were met with a scene that was just indescribable, Covina police Chief Kim Raney said. Covina, California, The fact that he showed up at the party with a Santa outfit puts a sick twist on it, said neighbor Dave Ritchie. plans and enthusiasm home where Pardo killed himself with a gun. Doonan said it is unclear if Pardo was visiting family. The number of victims was uncertain because the remains were burned, and only ashes were left in the woods close to the residence. Pardo, a longtime usher at Holy Redeemer Catholic Church in Montrose, was married for about one year. shooting and fire at a In the above photo, the police are doing an extensive search of Pickton's farm. He infamously said he had killed the nurses because "It just wasn't their night.". In June 2008, Bruce Pardo was ordered to pay $1,785 a month in spousal support. Several onlookers used in-car GPS devices and printed MapQuest directions to locate the site.
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