In a terrifying Christmas crime from 2008, a man put on a Santa Claus suit, got into his rental car, and drove to his former wife's house, where he killed nine people in cold blood during a Christmas party.
15:01, 10 Dec 2025
As far as terrifying Christmas nightmares go, there’s a good chance this one tops the list. A man put on a Santa Claus suit, got into his rental car, and drove to his former in-laws’ house where his ex-wife resided and killed nine people in cold blood by either shooting them or by arson from the fire he ignited.
Famously dubbed the Covina massacre, a disgruntled ex-husband, Bruce Jeffrey Pardo, carried out a chilling mass murder on Christmas Eve in Los Angeles County, California, in 2008.
At approximately 11.30pm on Christmas Eve, Bruce, 45, drove 20 miles to Covina — where his ex-wife Sylvia and her family were having a Christmas party — and opened fire at the 25 partygoers.
Upon ringing the doorbell, Bruce’s eight-year-old niece, disarmed and excited by the Santa costume, opened the door, only to be shot in the face by him. Usually a neighbour would dress up as Santa for the annual Christmas gathering at the Ortega’s, however that year the neighbour had moved away and no Santa arrived till Bruce showed up.
Armed with a large present, multiple 9mm SIG Sauer handguns, and a meticulously built fuel-spraying device, Bruce unleashed deadly hellfire upon the partygoers.
Among his nine victims were his ex-wife, Sylvia Ortega, 43; his in-laws, Alicia Sotomayor, 70, and Joseph S. Ortega, 79; Sylvia’s two brothers, Charles, 50, and James, 52; their wives, Cheri Lynn, 45, and Alicia, 46; as well as Bruce’s 17-year-old nephew, Michael Andre Ortiz, as per NBC News. Apart from the nine deceased, Bruce managed to injure three others.
It’s believed that the motive behind the gruesome attack was marital problems, as Bruce and Sylvia’s divorce was finalised just one week prior, on December 18. In the divorce, it was settled that Bruce would keep the house and cars, while Sylvia would get $10,000, the diamond wedding ring, the couple’s dog Saki, as well as most of the furniture.
Bruce had reportedly been prepping for the mass murder for months, having started purchasing hundreds of rounds of ammunition and guns in the summer of 2008, as well as commencing the construction of a fuel-spraying device meant to torch his ex-wife’s place of residence.
The unemployed electrical engineer then ordered an extra-large, custom-made Santa suit from costume maker Jeri Deiotte in early fall that same year. Come December, Bruce had rented two getaway cars and booked a flight to Illinois, setting his terrifying plan into motion.
Speaking to NBC News, Henry Baeza, the owner of Montrose Home Bakery where Bruce dined the day of the killings, shared: “He was planning that for months. And the other 45 years he was a totally normal man. It doesn't make no sense.”
Describing the custom-order of the Santa Claus suit to the news publication, Jeri said: “He wanted it huge, bigger than he was. That's what triggered it to me because I heard on the news that he carried some guns inside.”
The police later revealed that Bruce intended to kill his own mother in the deadly, pre-planned attack, as she was expected to attend the Christmas party as well; however, she didn’t attend at the last minute due to falling sick.
After what the police suspect was an early ignition of his fuel-spraying device, Bruce reportedly suffered third-degree burns so severe, his Santa Claus costume was seared onto his flesh.
Authorities suspect he was in a great deal of pain, however, Bruce still managed to change out of the suit and drive 40 miles away to his brother’s house, where he eventually shot himself in the head once.
It was later discovered that Bruce had left another rented car booby-trapped outside his ex-wife’s divorce attorney’s home — probably with plans to make him one of his victims, however his own injuries came in the way of that. The car he was using was also parked outside his brother’s home and exploded when found by the authorities.