In episode 7, we talked about the Larry Rudolph trial. We discuss if his wife died by accident or malice and what could be his motive? Was it for money or his other woman? Then we talk about the Covina Christmas Massacre. In 2008, Bruce Pardo dresses up as Santa to crash the annual Ortega family Christmas party, where his ex-wife Sylvia and her elderly parents resided. Pardo then brutally murders 9 members of the Ortega family. Toward the end of the massacre, Pardo engulfs the entire house in flames with a homemade flamethrower.

Works Cited

The Associated Press. “Dentist Admitted to Killing His Wife on African Safari, Federal Prosecutor Says.” NBCNews.com, NBCUniversal News Group, 14 July 2022, https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/dentist-confessed-killing-wife-african-safari-federal-prosecutor-says-rcna38178.

Becerra, Hector, and Tami Abdollah. “More Grim Details of Christmas Eve Shooting Rampage in Covina Emerge.” Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 31 Dec. 2008, https://www.latimes.com/local/la-me-santa-shooting31-2008dec31-story.html.

Blanco, Juan Ignacio. “Bruce Pardo: Murderpedia, the Encyclopedia of Murderers.” Bruce Pardo | Murderpedia, the Encyclopedia of Murderers, https://murderpedia.org/male.P/p/pardo-bruce.htm.

“Covina Massacre.” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 24 Dec. 2022,

Griffin, Allie. “Millionaire Dentist Found Guilty of Shooting Wife Dead on African Safari.” New York Post, New York Post, 2 Aug. 2022, https://nypost.com/2022/08/02/millionaire-pennsylvania-dentist-larry-rudolph-found-guilty-of-killing-wife-on-african-safari/.

Karimi, Faith. “An American Dentist and Big-Game Hunter Is Found Guilty of Killing His Wife on Their African Safari.” CNN, Cable News Network, 2 Aug. 2022, https://www.cnn.com/2022/08/02/us/lawrence-rudolph-guilty-safari-murder-cec/index.html#:~:text=Lawrence%20Rudolph%2C%2067%2C%20killed%20his,death%20almost%20six%20years%20ago.

Rob. “Santa's Slay: Bruce Pardo Massacred His Whole Family on Christmas 2008.” Sinister Isles, Sinister Isles, 30 Dec. 2021, https://www.sinisterisles.com/post/bruce-pardo-santa-massacre.

“Santa Slayer Planned More Murders.” CBS News, CBS Interactive, 30 Dec. 2008, https://www.cbsnews.com/news/santa-slayer-planned-more-murders/.

“Sylvia Ortega (1965-2008) - Find a Grave Memorial.” Find a Grave, https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/32415013/sylvia-ortega.