BONUS EP- A Christmas Massacre

On Christmas Eve 2008, a quiet suburban home in Covina, California, filled with laughter, tamales, and generations of the Ortega family, became the scene of one of the most shocking mass murders in American history.

A knock at the door.

An eight-year-old girl runs to answer, excited to see Santa Claus.

What followed was gunfire, terror, and a deliberately set inferno that claimed nine lives and scarred survivors forever.

This is the true story of Bruce Jeffrey Pardo, a man unraveling in silence and the night he turned a family’s most sacred tradition into annihilation.

We walk through the planning, the attack, the chaos, the aftermath, and the lingering echoes that still haunt Knollcrest Drive seventeen years later.

Warning: This episode contains detailed accounts of mass murder, arson, gunshot injuries, and profound trauma. Listener discretion is strongly advised.

Sources & Further Reading

• ​ Los Angeles Times archives (2008–2009)
• ​ ABC News & NBC Los Angeles coverage
• ​ Covina Police Department & Los Angeles County Sheriff reports
• ​ Survivor interviews (including Katrina Yuzefpolsky)
• ​ “Homicide for the Holidays” coverage
• ​ Psychological insights on family annihilators (Kris Mohandie)