Police speculate that the motive of the attack was related to marital problems. Pardo's wife of one year had settled for divorce in the prior week. However, Pardo held no criminal record and had no history of violence. He had been fired from his job as an electrical engineer at ITT Electronic Systems Radar Systems in July. There is some speculation that the divorce may have been caused by Pardo concealing a child from a previous relationship. This child was severely injured in a swimming pool accident several years previous.

The couple wed on January 2006, but soon grew apart after their marriage, when Mr. Pardo refused to open a joint account with Mrs. Pardo; he also expected Mrs. Pardo to take care of her own three children with her own finances.

In June 2008, divorce court had ordered Bruce Pardo to pay $1,785 a month in spousal support. During the divorce proceeding, Bruce had confided to a friend his wife was "taking him to the cleaners." In July, Mr. Pardo was fired for billing false hours and the court suspended the payments due to job hardship.

It was revealed that he had planned to kill his own mother after the massacre at Sylvia's home due to her apparent sympathy for Sylvia during the divorce proceedings.

By Solomon Moore and Anahad O'Connor - The New York Times

December 26, 2008

COVINA, Calif. — A man dressed in a Santa Claus suit who opened fire at a Christmas Eve gathering of his former in-laws here and then set the house ablaze, killing nine people before fleeing, was found with $17,000 in cash and a plane ticket to Canada, the police said Friday.

At an afternoon news conference, the police chief said the gunman, Bruce Jeffrey Pardo, 45, instead drove to his brother’s house in Sylmar, about 40 miles from here, after suffering third-degree burns to both arms in the inferno and took his own life with a single gunshot to the head.

Hours earlier on Friday, the ninth body was discovered in the rubble of the home in Covina, a small town about 20 miles east of Los Angeles, where people were stunned by what had unfolded in their suburban town.

At the news conference, Police Chief Kim Raney said that when Mr. Pardo’s body was discovered, part of the Santa costume was melted to his skin.

The chief said investigators had discovered a résumé for Mr. Pardo, and though he could not vouch for its accuracy, it indicated that Mr. Pardo, who was unemployed, had a master’s degree in electrical engineering.

Chief Raney said Mr. Pardo and his wife had finalized a contentious divorce last week.

Among the total of dead or missing were the couple who owned the home and their daughter, the former wife of the gunman, the police said.

Investigators continued to search the charred structure Friday, and at the news conference Ed Winter, assistant chief coroner of Los Angeles County, said dental records would be needed to identify the remains.

The frenzied shooting occurred just before midnight Wednesday at the two-story house, set on a cul-de-sac in this middle-class town. Lt. Pat Buchanan of the Covina Police Department said on Thursday that Mr. Pardo, armed with handguns and material to burn down the house, had gone to the house looking for his former wife, Sylvia, to whom he had been married about two years.

People who escaped the house got out by smashing through glass and jumping. One woman broke an ankle when she leapt from a second-floor window.

The house was owned by James and Alicia Ortega, an elderly couple who were retired from their spray-painting business and who often invited their large extended family over for parties, particularly around Christmas.

Relatives said about 25 people, among them many children, were inside the home celebrating when Mr. Pardo knocked on the door around 11:30 p.m. He had apparently disguised himself as a hired entertainer for the children to gain access.

When a guest opened the door, Lieutenant Buchanan said, Mr. Pardo stepped inside the house, drew a semiautomatic handgun and immediately started shooting, beginning with an 8-year-old girl who was hit in the face but who survived, as did an older girl who was shot in the back.

As Mr. Pardo unleashed a barrage of gunfire in the living room, relatives smashed through windows, hid behind furniture or bounded upstairs. Then he sprayed the room with the jet fuel, using a device made of two pressurized tanks, one of which held pressurized gas. Within seconds, the house was ablaze.

Joshua Chavez of Seattle was visiting his mother’s house, which sits behind the Ortegas’, when he heard a loud explosion. “Then I saw black smoke and this large flame,” he said.

Mr. Chavez ran out to the backyard and heard three girls, including the one who had been shot in the back, trying to climb over his mother’s wall. “There’s some guy shooting in there,” he said one of the girls told him.

“About 20 seconds after that,” he continued, “the house was totally on fire. One girl said that a guy dressed as Santa started shooting.”

Another neighbor, Jeannie Goltz, 51, saw three more partygoers fleeing the burning home. One of them, a young woman, had escaped upstairs from the living room but broke her ankle when she jumped out a second-story window.

SWAT teams arrived shortly after Ms. Goltz had shepherded these three survivors into another neighbor’s house, but by that time Mr. Pardo was on his way back to Los Angeles.

Police officers said they could not recall so horrific a crime in Covina, and neighbors said they would never have imagined anything so grisly on their quiet block.

The Ortegas had lived in the house for more than two decades and were known for their family spirit, their generosity and their dog, which frequently escaped their yard.

“I would generally play Santa for the family every year,” said Pat Bower, a neighbor of the Ortegas for 25 years. “The family was always together. Brothers and sisters, aunts and uncles were always in the house. They were a gigantic family. We all envied them, actually.”

Robert and Gloria Magcalas lived next door to the Ortegas for 11 years but were celebrating Christmas Eve with relatives in Los Angeles. Their own home was barely spared the flames.

“They were a big, loving family,” Mrs. Magcalas said. “We usually exchanged gifts with them today. They gave us tamales and cookies every Christmas.”

By Chris Ayres - TimesOnline.co.uk

December 27, 2008

The man was dressed as Santa Claus when he knocked on the door of a well-to-do house in Covina, California, just before 11.30pm on Christmas Eve. A party with about two dozen guests was going on inside.

From the doorstep, he could hear laughter, glasses clinking, Christmas music playing. A girl aged 8 heard the knocking and ran up the hallway to see who was there. No doubt she was surprised and delighted to see Father Christmas, holding what looked like a large, wrapped present.

That was when Santa shot her in the face at almost point-blank range with a semi-automatic handgun before pushing his way into the house and turning his weapon indiscriminately on the other party guests. He then incinerated them with a homemade form of napalm.

Screaming guests dived for cover or tried to flee the furnace of the living room. One girl leapt from a second-floor window, breaking her ankle when she smashed into the concrete below. Jan Gregory, a neighbour, said she saw a teenage boy run from the house screaming: “They shot my family.”

Astonishingly, the eight-year-old girl survived, as did another aged 16 who was shot in the back.

But at least nine others perished in the worst mass shooting this year in the United States and possibly the most horrific domestic attack in California since associates of Charles Manson repeatedly stabbed the pregnant model Sharon Tate to death at her Beverly Hills home in 1969.

The killer was identified yesterday as Bruce Jeffrey Pardo, and the house he attacked belonged to his former inlaws, Joseph Ortega, 80, and Alicia Ortega, 70. It is believed that they died in the gunfire, along with Pardo’s former wife Sylvia, 43.

The couple’s acrimonious divorce had been finalised last week, and under its terms Pardo had been ordered to hand over $10,000 and the family dog.

Pardo had lost his job at ITT Electronic Systems, a military defence supplier, in July and was “desperately seeking” work. He had complained that his wife, who filed for divorce in March, was living with her parents, not paying rent, while he struggled to pay support.

Last night police said that Pardo had been planning to flee but had killed himself instead after his Santa suit melted onto his body. He was discovered dead with $17,000 and an aeroplane ticket to Canada, they told a press conference.

Emergency crews were still trawling the blackened wreckage of the house yesterday, having worked at the crime scene throughout Christmas Day.

“We have multiple bodies inside,” said Ed Winter, of the Los Angeles Coroner’s Office. “They’re extremely charred and burnt.”

The body of Pardo – who had volunteered to serve as an usher at Midnight Mass at the Holy Redeemer Catholic Church in his home town of Montrose before deciding instead to put on a Santa suit and drive a rental car to the home of his former inlaws – was discovered on Thursday at his brother’s house in Slymar, about 40 miles away from the Ortegas’ property. He had died of a single gunshot wound to the head. Police said that a pipe bomb exploded early yesterday in the hire car parked outside his brother’s home.

Friends of the Ortegas yesterday expressed their shock at the slaughter. “To know that one individual, one coward, could bring so much devastation and heartache to a family,” said Rosa Ordaz.

Police said that they received several emergency calls regarding gunshots fired in Covina at 11.30pm on Christmas Eve and were still hearing the gunshots after they arrived and found the house in flames. At first, firefighters were told not to approach the property because of the gunfire, although it was probably burning ammunition. The flames were finally put out at about 1.30am on Christmas Day.

Neighbours remained in shock yesterday. “This neighbourhood is really quiet,” said Jeffrey Barrientos, who lives half a block from the Ortegas’ house. At Pardo’s homepolice found a wreath hung on the front door and children’s sweets hanging from the fence. An SUV and a military-style Hummer were parked in the driveway. After searching the property, detectives said it appeared that the shooting and the napalm attack had been planned.

They said that his ability to construct a homemade napalm gun had probably been a result of his training in the aerospace industry.

When told of the killings, friends of Pardo struggled to believe what had taken place.

By Gilliam Flaccus - HuffingtonPost.com

December 27, 2008

MONTROSE, Calif. — Bruce and Sylvia Pardo started the new year in 2006 with all signs pointing to a bright future _ an upcoming marriage, a combined income of about $150,000, half-million-dollar home on a quiet cul-de-sac and a beloved dog, Saki.

But things quickly turned sour and divorce documents paint a bitter picture of Bruce Pardo's increasing desperation as he lost first his wife, then his job and finally the dog. By fall 2008, Pardo was asking a judge to have his ex-wife pay him support and cover his attorney's fees.

Pardo's downward slide ended Christmas Eve, when the 45-year-old electrical engineer donned a Santa suit and massacred nine people at his former in-laws' house in Covina, where a family Christmas party was under way. He then used a homemade device disguised as a present to spray racing fuel that quickly sent the home up in flames.

Pardo had planned to flee to Canada following the killing spree but suffered third-degree burns in the fire _ which melted part of the Santa suit to him _ and decided to kill himself instead, investigators said. His body, with a bullet wound to the head, was found at his brother's home about 40 miles away.

Police said Saturday that they are seeking a second, possibly boobytrapped car rented by Pardo. The rented compact car he had driven to his former in-laws house was rigged to set off 500 rounds of ammunition and later exploded outside his brother's home. No one was injured.

The slaughter came six days after Pardo and his ex-wife appeared in court to finalize their divorce. Police believe the dead included Sylvia Pardo, 43, and her parents, Joseph Ortega, 80, and his 70-year-old wife, Alicia. Other suspected victims were Sylvia Pardo's two brothers and their wives, her sister and a 17-year-old nephew.

Police listed the victims as unaccounted for because coroner's officials said the nine bodies were too badly charred for immediate identification.

Shocked friends said nothing indicated he was on the verge of a murderous rampage. Pardo had told one friend he planned to usher at the Christmas Eve midnight Mass at his church and told another to expect him for a visit in Iowa around the holidays. He had no previous criminal record.

"I can't believe I'm seeing my old boyfriend on TV and all the people he destroyed," said Carol Sanchez, who dated Pardo for four years, when both were 18-year-old high school students. "It's very heartbreaking."

"He was a very easygoing person, a very friendly guy," she said. "I would never in my right mind think that he would ever do anything like this."

Pardo had a 9-year-old son, Matthew, by another former girlfriend, Elena Lucano. He had not seen the child for years, but apparently was claiming him as a dependent for tax purposes. Lucano told the Los Angeles Times that she didn't know Pardo was claiming their son as a dependent.

The boy was left severely brain damaged as a toddler when he fell into a backyard swimming pool on Jan. 6, 2001 while Pardo was alone with him at his former home in Woodland Hills, according to attorney Jeffrey Alvirez, who represented Lucano in the resulting court case.

Medical costs reached $340,000. Lucano sued Pardo to obtain money from his $100,000 homeowner's insurance policy and about $36,000 was put into a trust fund for the boy, who requires constant care. Pardo never contributed any more money to the boy's care.

"He never spent a dime on his son," Alvirez said.

Alvirez said he would not be surprised if Pardo kept that part of his life a secret from his wife.

Court documents from the Pardos' nearly yearlong divorce proceeding reveal a marriage that faltered early and then descended into a bitter feud.

The couple married on Jan. 29, 2006, and moved into a home Pardo already owned in Montrose, about 15 miles north of Los Angeles. The house sits up the hill from the Holy Redeemer Catholic Church, where he volunteered as an usher at the children's Mass.

Two days after the shootings, Christmas lights still twinkled from the fence and the roof line and blue-green lights sparkled in an orange tree as two police officers searched the house.

Sylvia Pardo didn't bring much money to the marriage _ just $31,000 a year from a job at a flower-breeding company in El Monte _ but she brought a 5-year-old daughter from a previous relationship and almost all the furniture. By all accounts, Pardo was close to his wife's daughter.

Sylvia Pardo also had two other children from a previous marriage.

Bruce Pardo was making $122,000 a year as an electrical engineer at ITT Electronic Systems Radar Systems in Van Nuys, and together the couple built a nest egg of $88,500 in two years. He often puttered around the house or walked Saki, the couple's big, brown Akita, in a local park.

But by December 2007, Sylvia Pardo was sleeping in another room and spending weekends with her parents, according to court papers. Two months later she told him she wanted a divorce.

She filed court papers asking for attorney's fees and $3,166 in monthly spousal support. She claimed her husband had drawn down their $88,500 savings to $17,000 in two months and was transferring funds to a private account.

"The situation has become untenable, and continuing the marriage was not an option," she said in court documents.

In July, Pardo lost his job at ITT and soon was drowning in debt while scrambling to find work. He begged the court to grant him spousal support until he could find employment. He complained in a filing that he had monthly expenses of $8,900 and ran a monthly deficit of $2,678. He also had $31,000 in credit card debt and a $2,700 monthly mortgage payment.

"I was not given a severance package from my last employer at termination and I am not receiving any other income," wrote Pardo, who also was denied unemployment benefits. "I am desperately seeking work."

Instead, the court ordered Pardo to pay his ex-wife $1,785 a month in spousal support, plus $3,570 for past payments. When the divorce was settled, the court waived those payments and Bruce Pardo got the house _ but he also had to pay his ex-wife $10,000, return her valuable diamond wedding ring and give her custody of the dog.

Two days before the killings, he told his attorney he still was trying to come up with the money.

When Pardo's body was found, $17,000 was strapped to it, money he apparently planned to use to fund his escape to Canada. His mother, Nancy Windsor, told the Los Angeles Times that she wanted that money and any in her son's estate to be placed in a fund for the children of her former daughter-in-law.

NYDailyNews.com

Tuesday, December 30th 2008

COVINA, Calif. - The man who killed nine people at his former in-law's Christmas party while dressed as Santa Claus had plotted the attack several months ago and his hit list was longer than first thought.

Police said Monday that Bruce Pardo planned to also kill his mother and his ex-wife's divorce attorney but committed suicide before he could complete the task.

Authorities said his plan was thorough and detailed. Pardo had a getaway car, an airplane ticket to the Midwest, several guns, and high-powered ammunition only sold outside the state.

He launched the attack on Christmas Eve, putting on his Santa Claus suit, arming himself with four guns and barging into a party at his ex-relatives' home. He then killed nine people and torched the home.

Police Lt. Pat Buchanan said Pardo knew his mother had been invited to the party and intended to kill her because he felt she sided with his ex-wife in their divorce. Lucky for her, Buchanan said, she felt ill and opted to stay home.

His ex-wife's attorney also was apparently a target. Police Chief Kim Raney said Pardo left a rented vehicle near the attorney's Glendale home the day of the shooting and filled it with maps, clothes and a fuel tank.

But Pardo never made it to the vehicle. He was burned while torching the in-law's house and later killed himself at his brother's home.

If Pardo had lived, "his next destination was Glendale," Raney told hundreds of mourners who gathered at a local school Monday to offer each other comfort.

The residents, many wearing orange ribbons to remember the victims, gasped as Raney explained the latest details of the investigation. Raney pledged he would "try to bring sense to what was a senseless act."

The quiet community of backyard pools and wide boulevards was still coping with the bizarre and violent crime. Elderly women took notes on city officials' remarks from the meeting and women wiped tears from their eyes during a prayer.

Mayor Kevin Stapleton asked residents to respect the privacy of the surviving family members and their neighbors.

"I know people want to go by and see the location. But keep in mind that people live there and we need to get them some return to normalcy," Stapleton said.

County mental health counselors and trauma specialists distributed pamphlets and referrals, while neighbors hugged and shook their heads in grief and confusion.

David Singer, a psychiatrist and volunteer trauma therapist, advised parents on how to talk to children who might be confused and frightened by the idea of Santa Claus committing such a horrible crime

"He was so full of hate that he had to disguise his hate by dressing up as someone full of love — Santa Claus," Singer said.

Pardo had planned to eventually flee to Canada following the killing spree but suffered third-degree burns in the fire — which melted part of the Santa suit to him — and decided to kill himself instead, investigators said. His body, with a bullet wound to the head, was found at his brother's home about 40 miles away.

The rented compact car he had driven to his former in-laws' house was rigged to set off 500 rounds of ammunition and later exploded outside his brother's home. No one was injured.

Police found a second car rented by Pardo late Saturday, but Buchanan said the bomb squad did not find any explosives in that vehicle.

Not far from the school, the charred remnants of the destroyed home still smelled of smoke. A pile of votive candles, flower and stuffed animals lay outside a chain-link fence protecting the site.

Jill Amparan placed a bouquet of flowers on the curb and said a prayer with her friend, Elizabeth Chavez. Still dressed in their scrubs after leaving their jobs at a medical clinic, the women expressed anger at Pardo's actions.

"People die every day but the way this happened is awful," Amparan said.

Chavez said her 9-year-old daughter has been riveted by the story of a man dressed as Santa Claus committing such a horrible crime.

"She brought a newspaper article to day care to show her teacher," she said.

The whole incident left both women wondering what made Pardo so desperate to get back at his ex-wife by hurting the ones she loved.