Happy Bloody Holidays – Three Stories of Christmas Murders

Christmas – a time of love and peace, when families come together and celebrate the most special days of the year. But sometimes, the season of joy brings unspeakable tragedies instead. These three cases of Christmas murders might forever change the way you view the holidays and leave you with a not-so-festive feeling after all.

• Are Christmas Murders Really a Thing?
• When Santa Rings Twice: The Covina Christmas Massacre
• A Family Portrait to Remember: The Lawson Family Christmas Murders
• The Dayton Christmas Killings – a Frenzy of Christmas Murders
• … and a Happy New Year!

Are Christmas Murders Really a Thing?

Before diving into the cases, it’s worth exploring whether Christmas murders are a common phenomenon or merely a coincidence. While definitive statistics on a potential correlation between the holidays and homicides are difficult to obtain, some unofficial data is available. Jeremy Kun, PhD in mathematics, analyzed a homicide dataset and reached a conclusion: Murders do indeed happen more frequently on Christmas Day. However, the homicide rate on Christmas Eve seems to be only marginally above average.

Based on this, it can be said that Christmas murders are more likely than those on any other day. The following cases, however, stand out for very different reasons, turning the most wonderful time of the year into a time of terror.

When Santa Rings Twice: The Covina Christmas Massacre

It’s Christmas Eve 2008 at the Ortega home in Covina, California. The whole family has gathered, and the house is packed with people. There’s Christmas food, cheerful laughter, and everybody is having a wonderful time. When the doorbell rings and the little girl answers, Santa Claus is standing there, holding a large package and smiling. What seemed like the perfect holiday celebration would, just moments later, turn into a nightmare. The Covina massacre has left a mark as one of the most gruesome Christmas murders in history, nearly wiping out an entire generation of the Ortega family. But let’s go back to where it all began.

Love Stories Undone: Mr. Not-So-Nice Guy

Bruce Jeffrey Pardo was born in 1963 and followed in his father’s footsteps by becoming an engineer. When he met Sylvia Ortega in 2004, who would soon become his wife and eventually ex-wife, he already had a long history of troubled relationships and a few dark secrets.

While it was Bruce’s first time at the altar, Sylvia had been married before: her first husband tragically died in a car accident, and her second marriage ended in divorce. Her third wedding was supposed to be her happily-ever-after, but cracks began to show soon after the couple tied the knot. They quickly realized their values and ideas about marriage were fundamentally different, and fights became a regular occurrence. 

Money was often the reason for their disagreements, and the situation escalated when Sylvia found out about Bruce’s past: Not only did he have a son who was left severely disabled after a tragic accident under his care, but he also never paid any child support, On top of that, he still claimed the boy on his taxes.

This was the final straw for Sylvia and the couple split in the summer of 2008. Despite another court order, Bruce Pardo blatantly refused to pay spousal support. Instead, he began to craft a vicious plan that would forever change the meaning of Christmas for an entire family. 

A Christmas Murder in the Making

Over the course of several months, he methodically purchased multiple 9mm handguns to circumvent purchasing restrictions. As for the bullets, he was equally strategic, purchasing the maximum allowed amounts across different states. In addition, he ordered a custom  Santa costume “with extra space”.

And then came Christmas Eve. Dressed as Santa and armed with four guns, hundreds of bullets, and a self-made flamethrower disguised as a gift, he drove to his ex-in-laws’ house and rang the doorbell. His ex-wife’s 8-year-old niece excitedly opened the door. Moments later, he pointed a gun at her face and pulled the trigger. Miraculously, the girl survived. What followed, however, became one of the most ghastly Christmas murders to date.

After crossing the doorstep, Bruce Pardo opened fire. Around 25 family members were at the house, and chaos took over instantly. People hid under tables, some frantically fled the scene, while others – already hit and severely wounded – desperately attempted to stop Pardo. Within minutes, multiple people lost their lives. It was a bloodbath, and it didn’t stop there. 

Bruce unpacked the flamethrower and began setting everything ablaze. The device wasn’t structurally sound though, and an explosion followed, turning the house into a flaming inferno. By sheer luck, Bruce managed to escape and drove 40 miles to his brother’s house – but he was seriously injured. This likely led to his final decision: using one of his carefully acquired guns, he ended his own life.

The Aftermath of the Covina Christmas Murders

On Christmas Eve 2008, Bruce Pardo took ten lives, including his own. The victims included Sylvia Ortega Pardo; her parents Alicia Sotomayor Ortega and Joseph Ortega; her brother Charles and his wife, Cheri Lynn; her other brother James and his wife Teresa; and her sister Alicia and Alicia’s 17-year-old son Michael Andre, who died in the flames. Due to the severity of the burns, it took several days and dental records to identify the bodies recovered from the scene.

When the police found Bruce’s body, they uncovered the full extent of his plan, which he had only partially executed. He had allegedly intended to also kill Sylvia’s divorce attorney as well as his own mother, who had sided with his ex-wife. Investigators were certain that his suicide was a spontaneous act, as he had prepared an elaborate escape plan including multiple rental cars, flights, and a border crossing into Mexico. 

An FBI profile suggested that Bruce Pardo had a narcissistic personality disorder and an obsessive-compulsive disorder. His actions were most likely driven by the separation and divorce, which had been finalized just a week prior to the crime. 

Within hours, he destroyed  and scarred the lives of an entire family, for whom Christmas will never be the same again.

A Family Portrait to Remember: The Lawson Family Christmas Murders

When Charles Davis Lawson took his family of eight to have their portrait taken for the first time in December 1929, it was a very special day for everyone. Before visiting the photographer, they went to buy new clothes – a rare treat on its own for the modest farmers – and then posed together in their new outfits for the occasion. The picture taken that day would become an eerie foreshadowing of the tragedy that would unfold just a few days later.

A Very Normal Christmas Day – Until It Wasn’t

On December 25th 1929, the Lawson family was having a Christmas Day much like many before. Mother Fannie had woken up early to bake a cake, and their 17-year-old daughter Marie helped get everything ready for the festivities. Twelve-year-old Carrie was watching her younger siblings Maybell (7), James (4), and Raymond (2), while baby Mary Lou, just 4 months old, slept peacefully in her crib. The oldest son Arthur (19) had other plans for the day: He wanted to go hunting but realized he had run out of bullets. When he asked his father for ammunition, Charles suggested he go to the nearby town to buy more, as he himself had none left. Following his father’s advice, Arthur headed for the store.

Curiously, Charles had not told the truth: He did, in fact, have plenty of bullets – enough to soon turn the farm into a bloody Christmas murder scene.

A loaded shotgun in hand, Charles Lawson waited outside the house as Carrie and Maybell were just leaving to visit relatives. Without hesitation, he shot the girls on the doorstep and bludgeoned them to ensure they were truly dead. The noise had alerted Fannie, who rushed out to see what had caused it. She became the next victim of her husband’s deadly plan.

Then he headed inside the house, where Marie screamed in terror upon seeing her father. Moments later, he pulled the trigger. James and Raymond tried to run and hide, but without success. Charles soon found and shot both of them. Baby Mary Lou, still in her crib, became his last victim.

In an almost loving manner, he then rearranged his family’s bodies, placing rocks beneath their heads, before heading to the nearby forest. Several hours later, the last shot was heard: Charles Lawson had killed himself, after pacing restlessly in circles in the woods. 

The Christmas Murder that Remains a Mystery

To this day, the motive behind Charles Lawson’s actions remains a mystery. One hypothesis is that a head injury he suffered months prior to the murders may have caused him to snap. He had been known to have a temper even before the accident, and the head trauma seemingly intensified his outbursts. Scientists posthumously examined his brain though but found no evidence of damage.

Another theory – and persistent rumour – is that Charles might have had an incestuous relationship with Marie, and that she might have been pregnant. Although this was hinted at by some friends of the family, no definite evidence ever emerged.

When Charles’ body was found hours later, he supposedly carried two pieces of paper in his pockets with unfinished, cryptic messages. While they added to the mystery, the words offered no more insights into why he killed his family but chose to spare his oldest son.

Despite Charles Lawson viciously murdering most of his family, their bodies were laid to rest in the same grave. For years, the farm remained untouched, as relatives turned the estate into a museum, attracting morbidly curious tourists from around the world. The cake that Fannie had prepared on Christmas morning became part of the exhibition – baked with love but never tasted, it stood as a chilling symbol of the unexpected tragedy that had claimed eight lives.

The Dayton Christmas Killings – a Frenzy of Christmas Murders

It was Christmas Eve in Dayton, Ohio, and everyone was getting ready for the holidays with their loved ones. Little did they know that a group of teenagers was preparing for a very different kind of Christmas – one that would leave the whole city in shock, with its horror lingering for decades to come.

Growing Up in a Rough Time and Place

But let’s take a step back. In 1992, Dayton’s heydays were long gone. Once a thriving industrial hub, it had been hit hard by the manufacturing sector crisis that left thousands without a job. The city was struggling, and rising poverty and income inequality were just the tip of the iceberg.

Times weren’t great for teenagers, and 19-year old Marvallous Keene had his own fair share of struggles: Growing up in a particularly poor neighbourhood without a father, he also had to grieve his brother’s murder just a year earlier. Disappointed by the cards life had dealt him, he gathered a group of like-minded peers, and soon the gang became known as the Downtown Posse. Four young men and women formed the core of the group: Marvallous, his 16-year-old girlfriend Laura Taylor, 20-year-old Heather Matthews, and her 17-year-old boyfriend DeMarcus Smith.

With the holidays approaching, the gang’s frustration over societal and financial inequality grew, and they decided to take matters into their own hands. The coming days would go down in history as the Dayton Christmas killings.

December 24th 1992: The Start of Dayton’s Christmas Murders

Their first victim was quickly found: Marvallous, along with the two girls, visited 35-year-old Joseph Wilkerson, who had been promised a sexual encounter. Instead, the girls tied him to his own bed and shot him in cold blood. They fled the scene in his car but would return later.

Later that day, by chance, they encountered Danita Gulette, an 18-year-old mother to a little girl. She was using a payphone when the gang shot and then robbed her. The stolen items were an old second hand jacket and a pair of sneakers.

But the Downtown Posse was not done yet. In the car they had stolen earlier, they drove to Heather’s ex-boyfriend Jeffrey Wright, who was still living in their shared apartment. They shot at him, severely wounding both his legs, but he managed to escape to a neighbour’s house and survived.

The next day was Christmas, and the gang spent most of it disturbingly normal: meeting friends, enjoying a Christmas feast – and bragging about what they’d done just hours earlier.

And their spree of violence was far from over: Shortly after the meal, Laura lured her ex-boyfriend, Richmond Maddox, out of his house to take her on a casual ride. Richmond soon noticed the car tailgating them, which was packed with the rest of the Downtown Posse. That was when Laura pulled the gun and shot him in the head. He was dead on the spot. Moments later, she managed to escape the car before it crashed.

A Violent Finale on the Last Day of Christmas

December 26th brought the next victims of Marvallous’, DeMarcus’, Laura’s and Heather’s killing frenzy. Unhappy with the meager loot so far, they robbed a woman and stole her car. But this was only the prelude of the height of their brutality.

Sarah Abraham was working behind the cash desk of her family’s grocery store, when Laura came in. Shortly after, the others followed, heading straight for the store owner with a gun drawn. Although she fully complied, handing over the contents of the register – only 40$ – they pulled the trigger without hesitation. Then they turned around and opened the fire on the other customers, who miraculously survived.

The last two victims of the Downtown Posse were well-known faces: Marvin Washington and Wendy Cottrill had spent a lot of time with them during the previous days and were considered close friends. Unfortunately, they had heard the vivid accounts of the group’s crimes, and had become liabilities in the gang’s eyes. Pretending to take them on a joy ride, they picked up their friends and drove them to a gravel pit, where they coldly executed them. Their bodies were discovered days later, revealing that 16-year-old Wendy had been three months pregnant. 

How the Dayton Christmas Killings Came to an End

It was almost by coincidence that the violence in Dayton came to an end. Some police officers noticed the odd behaviour of a group of people in a passing car and ran the license plate. To their surprise, the plates did not match the car, so they stopped the gang. Inside the vehicle, they found not only the clearly agitated teenagers but also a weapon. The uncommon model and bullets seemed to match the shell casings found at the crime scenes over the previous days. The officers put two and two together, and arrested the Downtown Posse, bringing their killing spree to an end.

Considered the driving force behind the crimes, Marvallous Keene was sentenced to death and executed by lethal injection in 2009. DeMarcus Smith, Laura Taylor and Heather Matthews each received life sentences and remain incarcerated to this day.

… and a Happy New Year!

While the three cases discussed in this article are certainly among the most vicious Christmas murders, they are not representative of crimes that occur during the holidays. In fact, other offenses, such as property crimes or driving under the influence are significantly more likely to happen over Christmas. So, there’s no need to worry. New Year’s Eve, on the other hand, is by far the most dangerous day of the year – but that’s a story for another time.