In-laws Roasting on an Open Fire

Santa gunman lost job, wife before gory attack

By CHRISTINA HOAG – 1 hour ago (AP)

COVINA, Calif. (AP) — Bruce Pardo's ambitions rarely panned out quite as he envisioned.
He lost his electrical engineering job. His marriage ended after two years. Even his planned getaway to Canada after a murderous rampage at his former in-laws' house ended instead in his suicide after he badly burned himself while torching the house.

The 45-year-old Pardo, accused of killing nine people and injuring three others, wasn't well-known by neighbors, who described him as a quiet man. Friends said he volunteered as a church usher.

But on Christmas Eve, police said he wreaked unimaginable havoc when he showed up at a party at his ex-wife's parents' home dressed as Santa Claus, leaving behind charred corpses and endless questions.

"It's a shock to everybody that knew him," said Jan Detanna, head usher at the Holy Redeemer Catholic Church in Montrose, where Pardo volunteered. "You just don't know what's going on sometimes."

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You better not shout
You better not cry
Or file for divorce
I'm telling you why
Santa Claus is coming to town