By Calvin Palmer
Police believe Christmas Eve killer Bruce Pardo also intended to kill his mother and his ex-wife’s attorney.
Lt. Pat Buchanan of Covina Police Department yesterday said that Pardo fell out with his mother, feeling that she was siding with his ex-wife, Sylvia, in their acrimonious divorce.
Buchanan said: “Pardo had found out that his mother was invited to Sylvia’s family’s Christmas Eve party in Covina and had intended to kill her along with others gathered there.”
Pardo’s mother did not attend the party due to illness.
Detectives also believe Pardo had planned to kill his wife’s divorce attorney. Police found a car rented to Pardo parked outside the attorney’s home in Glendale.
Buchanan said: “It is not known how Pardo had planned to use the car.”
Police also said that Pardo appeared to have been planning the attacks since June, when he began buying handguns.
Last night, about 500 Covina residents attended a community meeting to discuss the awful events of Christmas Eve when Pardo killed nine people at the home of his former in-laws and set the house on fire. Pardo later committed suicide.
Many of those in attendance were neighbors of Joseph and Alicia Ortega, hosts of the family celebration that ended in carnage and destruction.
Although the coroner has not formally identified the victims, the Ortegas are believed to be among those who were killed along with their daughter, Pardo’s ex-wife, and several other family members.
Covina Mayor Kevin Stapleton told the meeting, “I assure you, the acts of this man are not going to define Covina.”
Stapleton also urged curiosity seekers to be considerate of the residents and surviving Ortega family members and allow them time to grieve in peace.
“Keep in mind the people who live here,” he said. “We need to bring back some sense of normalcy.”
The meeting started and ended with a prayer.
A fund has been set up to aid the families devastated by the shootings. At least 13 youngsters were left orphaned and two others lost one parent.
Donations can be sent to the Ortega Family Fund, c/o Law Offices of Scott J. Nord, 500 N. Brand Blvd., Suite 550, Glendale, CA 91230.
[Based on a report by the Los Angeles Times.]
2 Comments
December 31, 2008 at 8:43 pm
Pretty creepy isn’t it…to think someone who we know to be a stable hardworking kind of guy to go crazy like that. More disturbing still, that HE PLANNED IT all out for months.
December 31, 2008 at 8:46 pm
Happy New Year to you and yours!