THE COVINA CHRISTMAS MASSACRE: When Santa Came to Kill

On Christmas Eve 2008, what should have been a joyful family gathering in Covina, California, became one of the most horrific mass murders in American history. When 8-year-old Katrina opened the door to greet Santa Claus, she had no idea she was face-to-face with a killer who would destroy her entire extended family in a matter of minutes.

Bruce Jeffrey Pardo, a 45-year-old aerospace engineer, had spent six months meticulously planning the perfect revenge against his ex-wife Sylvia and everyone she loved. Dressed in a custom Santa suit and carrying what appeared to be a wrapped Christmas gift—actually a homemade flamethrower—Bruce turned the Ortega family's annual Christmas Eve celebration into a scene from hell.

But this wasn't a crime of passion. This was calculated annihilation by a man whose narcissistic rage had festered for months after being ordered to pay spousal support. Bruce didn't just want Sylvia dead—he wanted to erase her entire support system, her entire family, everyone who had ever shown her love or loyalty.

In this comprehensive episode, we examine the psychology of family annihilation, the warning signs of financial abuse that can escalate to murder, and how a seemingly ordinary suburban man became one of California's most notorious mass killers. We'll explore Bruce's disturbing pattern of abandoning vulnerable dependents, his methodical planning process, and the cold calculation behind his decision to target an entire family during the holiest night of the year.

Most importantly, we honor the memory of the nine innocent victims whose only crime was loving someone who had married a monster: grandparents Joseph and Alicia Ortega, Sylvia Ortega Pardo, brothers Charles and James Ortega and their wives, sister Alicia Ortega Ortiz, and 17-year-old Michael Ortiz.

This is the story of how financial control, wounded pride, and narcissistic entitlement can metastasize into unthinkable evil—and why the most dangerous moment for domestic violence victims is often when they try to leave.

Content Warning: This episode contains detailed discussions of mass murder, domestic violence, financial abuse, child abandonment, and graphic descriptions of violence. The case involves the systematic targeting of an entire family, including children. Listener discretion is strongly advised.

Resources: If you or someone you know is experiencing domestic violence or financial abuse, help is available through the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-7233 or thehotline.org.

Episode Hashtags:

#TrueCrime #DeadlyIntent #CovinaChristmasMassacre #BrucePardo #OrtegaFamily #FamilyAnnihilation #ChristmasEveMassacre #DomesticViolence #FinancialAbuse #MassShooter #Psychology #CriminalProfiling #NarcissisticRage #SpousalSupport #DivorceViolence #FamilyMurder #Christmas2008 #Covina #LosAngeles #CaliforniaCrime #SantaShooter #HomemadeWeapons

www.carman-carrion.com

☕ **SUPPORT THE SHOW:**

🖤 Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/c/CarmanCarrion

☕ Buy Me a Coffee: https://buymeacoffee.com/carmancarrion

📱 **CONNECT WITH CARMAN:**

🌐 Website: https://www.carman-carrion.com/

📺 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@CarmanCarrion

🐦 Twitter/X: https://x.com/CarmanCarrion

📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/carmancarrion/

🔔 **SUBSCRIBE & REVIEW:**

🎵 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/0uiX155WEJnN7QVRfo3aQY

🍎 iTunes: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/freaky-folklore/id1550361184

Your support helps bring you more terrifying tales!

**MUSIC CREDITS:**

Music and sound effects provided by: CO.AG, Myuu, Jinglepunks, Epidemic Sound, Kevin MacLeod, Dark Music, and Soundstripe.

On Christmas Eve 1945, five Sodder family members vanished when their West Virginia home burned down, but no remains were ever found, and disturbing evidence suggests kidnapping rather than tragedy.

https://open.spotify.com/episode/1EKrpt5r8ZU1aqKJRFcf9k?si=beaoa70NQUi_LjeT4n_wjA

🎙️ **EXPLORE MORE SPINE-CHILLING CONTENT:**

🔮 Freaky Folklore: https://www.eeriecast.com/podcasts/freaky-folklore

💀 Carman's Crypt (Original Horror): https://carmanscrypt.buzzsprout.com

🔍 Deadly Intent (True Crime): https://carmancarrion.buzzsprout.com

🏚️ Destination Terror: https://www.eeriecast.com/podcasts/destination-terror

☕ **SUPPORT THE SHOW:**

🖤 Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/c/CarmanCarrion

☕ Buy Me a Coffee: https://buymeacoffee.com/carmancarrion

📱 **CONNECT WITH CARMAN:**

🌐 Website: https://www.carman-carrion.com/

📺 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@CarmanCarrion

🐦 Twitter/X: https://x.com/CarmanCarrion

📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/carmancarrion/

🔔 **SUBSCRIBE & REVIEW:**

🎵 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/0uiX155WEJnN7QVRfo3aQY

🍎 iTunes: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/freaky-folklore/id1550361184

Your support helps bring you more terrifying tales!

🌐 **DISCOVER MORE HORROR:** http://eeriecast.com/

https://www.carman-carrion.com/

**MUSIC CREDITS:**

Music and sound effects provided by: CO.AG, Myuu, Jinglepunks, Epidemic Sound, Kevin MacLeod, Dark Music, and Soundstripe.

#TrueCrime #SodderFamily #UnsolvedMystery #CriminalPsychology #1945Mystery #WestVirginia #ChristmasEveTragedy #MissingPersons #ColdCase #TrueCrimePodcast #DeadlyIntentPodcast #CriminalIntent #KidnappingCase #OrganizedCrime #HouseFireMystery #FayettevilleWV #SodderMystery #TrueCrimeAnalysis #CriminalBehavior

BREAKING: Jack the Ripper SOLVED? New DNA Evidence Points to Aaron Kosminski After 137 Years

For over a century, Jack the Ripper's identity remained one of history's greatest mysteries. Five women brutally murdered in Victorian London's Whitechapel district. A killer who vanished into the fog. Countless suspects, endless theories, but no definitive answers.

Until now.

In this explosive episode of Deadly Intent, we dive deep into the groundbreaking 2025 DNA evidence that may have finally unmasked the world's most notorious serial killer. Russian researcher Russell Edwards claims a "100% DNA match" linking the murders to Aaron Kosminski, a Polish barber who was already a prime suspect in 1888.

What You'll Discover:

• The shocking DNA analysis from Catherine Eddowes' bloodstained shawl
• Why Kosminski's own family had him committed to an asylum after the final murder
• The psychological profile that explains how a mentally ill immigrant terrorized London
• What the escalating violence pattern reveals about the killer's deteriorating mind
• Why the victims—Polly, Annie, Liz, Kate, and Mary Jane—deserve to be remembered as more than footnotes

The Evidence: Mitochondrial DNA extracted from a Victorian crime scene shawl matches living descendants of both victim Catherine Eddowes and suspect Aaron Kosminski. The timeline fits. The psychology aligns. And families of both victim and suspect are now demanding an official inquest to legally name the killer.

But is the evidence strong enough to close history's most infamous cold case? We examine both sides of this controversial claim and explore what it means for the families still seeking justice 137 years later.

New episodes of Deadly Intent drop every Tuesday. If you love deep dives into criminal psychology, check out my other shows: Carman's Crypt (original horror), Freaky Folklore (supernatural legends), and Destination Terror (haunted locations) - all available wherever you get podcasts.

Warning: This episode contains detailed discussion of violent crimes and may not be suitable for all listeners.

Subscribe, share with a fellow true crime enthusiast, and leave us a 5-star review to help other mystery lovers find us.

#JackTheRipper #DNAEvidence #TrueCrime #DeadlyIntent #AaronKosminski #ColdCaseSolved #SerialKiller #TrueCrimeCommunity #CrimePodcast #PsychologyOfKilling #CriminalMind #HistoricalMystery #ForensicPodcast #CrimeLovers #MysteryPodcast #PodcastRecommendation #TrueCrimeAddict #TrueCrimePodcast

On December 19, 1959, Christine's brother Daniel made a horrifying discovery that would haunt him forever—his sister, her husband Cliff, and their two young children had been brutally murdered in their rural Florida farmhouse. Christmas presents lay wrapped in the attic, never to be opened. Holiday carols the children had been learning would never be sung.

The Walker family murders shocked the peaceful community of Osprey, Florida, and launched one of the state's most extensive investigations. Four lives ended with methodical precision, leaving behind a crime scene that defied easy explanation. Was it robbery gone wrong? A land dispute turned deadly? Or something far more sinister?

The case takes a stunning turn when investigators discover a chilling connection to another infamous family murder—the Clutter killings immortalized in Truman Capote's "In Cold Blood." Could the same killers who terrorized Kansas have struck again in Florida just weeks later?

Join me as we explore the psychological profile of a calculated predator, examine the evidence that's kept this case alive for over six decades, and follow the modern DNA investigation that brought new hope to a grieving family. From the small-town innocence of 1950s America to cutting-edge forensic science, this is a story about evil that refuses to stay buried and a community's unwavering quest for justice.

The Walker family never made it to Christmas. But their story—and the search for their killer—continues to this day.

Content Warning: This episode contains discussions of family violence, sexual assault, and crimes against children.

Hashtags: #DeadlyIntent #TrueCrime #WalkerFamilyMurders #InColdBlood #UnsolvedMystery #Florida #1959 #FamilyMurder #ColdCase #Christmas #Thanksgiving #TrueCrimePodcast #Murder #Investigation #RuralCrime #SarasotaCounty #Osprey #HickockSmith #DNA #Justice

🎙️ **EXPLORE MORE SPINE-CHILLING CONTENT:**

🔮 Freaky Folklore: https://www.eeriecast.com/podcasts/freaky-folklore

💀 Carman's Crypt (Original Horror): https://carmanscrypt.buzzsprout.com

🔍 Deadly Intent (True Crime): https://carmancarrion.buzzsprout.com

🏚️ Destination Terror: https://www.eeriecast.com/podcasts/destination-terror

☕ **SUPPORT THE SHOW:**

🖤 Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/c/CarmanCarrion

☕ Buy Me a Coffee: https://buymeacoffee.com/carmancarrion

📱 **CONNECT WITH CARMAN:**

🌐 Website: https://www.carman-carrion.com/

📺 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@CarmanCarrion

🐦 Twitter/X: https://x.com/CarmanCarrion

📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/carmancarrion/

🔔 **SUBSCRIBE & REVIEW:**

🎵 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/0uiX155WEJnN7QVRfo3aQY

🍎 iTunes: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/freaky-folklore/id1550361184

Your support helps bring you more terrifying tales!

🌐 **DISCOVER MORE HORROR:** http://eeriecast.com/

https://www.carman-carrion.com/

**MUSIC CREDITS:**

Music and sound effects provided by: CO.AG, Myuu, Jinglepunks, Epidemic Sound, Kevin MacLeod, Dark Music, and Soundstripe.

Send us a text

In November 1959, the small farming community of Holcomb, Kansas was shattered when four members of the respected Clutter family were brutally murdered in their own home. Herbert Clutter, a prosperous wheat farmer, his wife Bonnie, and their teenage children Nancy and Kenyon became victims of two ex-convicts chasing a prison rumor about a safe full of cash that never existed.

This is the story behind Truman Capote's groundbreaking true crime novel "In Cold Blood"—a meticulously planned crime that revealed the terrifying randomness of evil and changed how America viewed rural safety forever. Dick Hickock and Perry Smith drove 400 miles across Kansas with shotguns and rope, intending to rob and kill from the very beginning. What they found instead was a family whose only crime was being in the wrong place when evil came calling.

Join host Carman as she explores the psychological dynamics between two killers whose partnership amplified their worst impulses, the devastating impact on a close-knit community that never locked its doors, and the investigation that eventually led to one of the most famous manhunts in American history. We'll examine the disturbing evidence of sexual assault, the methodical execution of an entire family, and the questions that still haunt investigators more than 60 years later.

This episode contains detailed discussions of violent crime, murder, and sexual assault. Listener discretion is advised.

Note: This episode sets up next week's deep dive into the Walker family murders—a potentially connected case that led to the 2012 exhumation of the killers' bodies in a search for DNA evidence.

https://carmancarrion.buzzsprout.com

#InColdBlood #TrueCrime #ClutterMurders #TrumanCapote #Kansas #FamilyMurder #DeadlyIntent #PodcastTrue #ColdCase #1959 #PerrySmith #DickHickock #Holcomb #RuralCrime #AmericanCrime

🎙️ **EXPLORE MORE SPINE-CHILLING CONTENT:**

🔮 Freaky Folklore: https://www.eeriecast.com/podcasts/freaky-folklore

💀 Carman's Crypt (Original Horror): https://carmanscrypt.buzzsprout.com

🔍 Deadly Intent (True Crime): https://carmancarrion.buzzsprout.com

🏚️ Destination Terror: https://www.eeriecast.com/podcasts/destination-terror

☕ **SUPPORT THE SHOW:**

🖤 Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/c/CarmanCarrion

☕ Buy Me a Coffee: https://buymeacoffee.com/carmancarrion

📱 **CONNECT WITH CARMAN:**

🌐 Website: https://www.carman-carrion.com/

📺 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@CarmanCarrion

🐦 Twitter/X: https://x.com/CarmanCarrion

📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/carmancarrion/

🔔 **SUBSCRIBE & REVIEW:**

🎵 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/0uiX155WEJnN7QVRfo3aQY

🍎 iTunes: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/freaky-folklore/id1550361184

Your support helps bring you more terrifying tales!

🌐 **DISCOVER MORE HORROR:** http://eeriecast.com/

https://www.carman-carrion.com/

**MUSIC CREDITS:**

Music and sound effects provided by: CO.AG, Myuu, Jinglepunks, Epidemic Sound, Kevin MacLeod, Dark Music, and Soundstripe.

Support the show

Send us a text

DEADLY INTENT - Season 1, Episode 16 "The Perfect Family Lie - Chris Watts"

In August 2018, a security camera captured the last moments of what appeared to be the perfect American family. Chris Watts—devoted father, loving husband, the man neighbors trusted—walked calmly to his truck carrying a red gas can. Behind him, his pregnant wife Shanann and daughters Bella and CeCe slept peacefully, unaware these would be their final hours.

What the world discovered next shattered every assumption about the smiling family photos, social media posts, and suburban dream life. This wasn't a crime of passion or sudden rage—this was methodical annihilation by a man who valued his own desires over the lives of those who loved him most.

Join host Carman Carrion as she examines the psychological unraveling of Chris Watts—a covert narcissist who maintained the facade of the perfect husband while planning the ultimate escape: erasing his family to start fresh with his mistress. Through forensic evidence, expert analysis, and respectful examination of the victims' lives, we explore how ordinary evil can hide behind the most convincing masks.

This episode includes detailed psychological analysis of family annihilation, the investigation that exposed his lies, and a memorial tribute to Shanann, Bella, CeCe, and unborn baby Nico—four people whose lives mattered far beyond the headlines.

Content Warning: This episode contains detailed discussion of family murder, domestic violence, and child victims. Listener discretion advised.

Resources: National Domestic Violence Hotline: 1-800-799-7233

🎙️ **EXPLORE MORE SPINE-CHILLING CONTENT:**

🔮 Freaky Folklore: https://www.eeriecast.com/podcasts/freaky-folklore

💀 Carman's Crypt (Original Horror): https://carmanscrypt.buzzsprout.com

🔍 Deadly Intent (True Crime): https://carmancarrion.buzzsprout.com

🏚️ Destination Terror: https://www.eeriecast.com/podcasts/destination-terror

☕ **SUPPORT THE SHOW:**

🖤 Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/c/CarmanCarrion

☕ Buy Me a Coffee: https://buymeacoffee.com/carmancarrion

📱 **CONNECT WITH CARMAN:**

🌐 Website: https://www.carman-carrion.com/

📺 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@CarmanCarrion

🐦 Twitter/X: https://x.com/CarmanCarrion

📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/carmancarrion/

🔔 **SUBSCRIBE & REVIEW:**

🎵 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/0uiX155WEJnN7QVRfo3aQY

🍎 iTunes: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/freaky-folklore/id1550361184

Your support helps bring you more terrifying tales!

🌐 **DISCOVER MORE HORROR:** http://eeriecast.com/

**MUSIC CREDITS:**

Music and sound effects provided by: CO.AG, Myuu, Jinglepunks, Epidemic Sound, Kevin MacLeod, Dark Music, and Soundstripe.

#DeadlyIntent #ChrisWatts #TrueCrime #FamilyMurder #ShanannWatts #WattsFamily #TrueCrimePodcast

Support the show

Send us a text

If you’ve just discovered Deadly Intent… welcome.
I'm Carman Carrion — a researcher, writer, and the creator of podcasts like Freaky Folklore and Destination Terror.

But here — on Deadly Intent — we explore a different kind of darkness.
Not the monsters of myth… but the real ones.
The ones that walk among us.

This show is about why people kill.
Not just what they did — but what led them to do it.
Their intent.

Because in the end…
It’s not the act itself…
…but the intent behind it…
that separates accident from murder, passion from premeditation, and revenge from justice.

Every episode examines a criminal case through the lens of motive and psychology.
From notorious serial killers like Robert Hansen…
To cold cases, twisted family crimes, and killers who hide in plain sight.

If you want to hear chilling true stories told with empathy, depth, and detail — you're in the right place.
Start with any episode that grabs your attention… but listeners often recommend:

· The Butcher Baker – A mild-mannered baker who hunted women like animals in the Alaskan wilderness.

· Albert Fish — The Boogeyman – A sadistic predator whose crimes became some of the most horrific and psychologically disturbing in American history.

· Or our deeper dives into lesser-known predators whose motives are even harder to untangle.

This isn’t sensationalism.
This isn’t about gore.
This is about understanding how darkness grows… and how it hides.

Subscribe now.
And remember:
It’s not the act…
…it’s the intent.

🎙️ **EXPLORE MORE SPINE-CHILLING CONTENT:**

🔮 Freaky Folklore: https://www.eeriecast.com/podcasts/freaky-folklore

💀 Carman's Crypt (Original Horror): https://carmanscrypt.buzzsprout.com

🔍 Deadly Intent (True Crime): https://carmancarrion.buzzsprout.com

🏚️ Destination Terror: https://www.eeriecast.com/podcasts/destination-terror

☕ **SUPPORT THE SHOW:**

🖤 Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/c/CarmanCarrion

☕ Buy Me a Coffee: https://buymeacoffee.com/carmancarrion

📱 **CONNECT WITH CARMAN:**

🌐 Website: https://www.carman-carrion.com/

📺 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@CarmanCarrion

🐦 Twitter/X: https://x.com/CarmanCarrion

📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/carmancarrion/

🔔 **SUBSCRIBE & REVIEW:**

🎵 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/0uiX155WEJnN7QVRfo3aQY

🍎 iTunes: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/freaky-folklore/id1550361184

Your support helps bring you more terrifying tales!

🌐 **DISCOVER MORE HORROR:** http://eeriecast.com/

**MUSIC CREDITS:**

Music and sound effects provided by: CO.AG, Myuu, Jinglepunks, Epidemic Sound, Kevin MacLeod, Dark Music, and Soundstripe.

#FreakyFolklore #Horror #Folklore #TrueCrime #EeriecastNetwork #Podcast #DeadlyIntent

Support the show

Send us a text

This episode examines the systematic torture and murder of at least 17 women by Robert Hansen, a mild-mannered baker who transformed into one of Alaska's most notorious serial killers between 1973-1983. Hansen hunted women like wild game in the Alaskan wilderness, combining his skills as a pilot and hunter with a deep psychological need for control and revenge against those he perceived had rejected him.

Content Warning: This episode contains detailed discussions of sexual violence, torture, and murder. The case involves systematic predation of vulnerable women, descriptions of psychological and physical abuse, and detailed hunting methods used against human victims. Listener discretion is strongly advised.

#truecrime #serialkiller #Alaska #psychology #hunting #profiling #FBI

https://carmancarrion.buzzsprout.com

🎙️ **EXPLORE MORE SPINE-CHILLING CONTENT:**

🔮 Freaky Folklore: https://www.eeriecast.com/podcasts/freaky-folklore

💀 Carman's Crypt (Original Horror): https://carmanscrypt.buzzsprout.com

🔍 Deadly Intent (True Crime): https://carmancarrion.buzzsprout.com

🏚️ Destination Terror: https://www.eeriecast.com/podcasts/destination-terror

☕ **SUPPORT THE SHOW:**

🖤 Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/c/CarmanCarrion

☕ Buy Me a Coffee: https://buymeacoffee.com/carmancarrion

📱 **CONNECT WITH CARMAN:**

🌐 Website: https://www.carman-carrion.com/

📺 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@CarmanCarrion

🐦 Twitter/X: https://x.com/CarmanCarrion

📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/carmancarrion/

🔔 **SUBSCRIBE & REVIEW:**

🎵 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/0uiX155WEJnN7QVRfo3aQY

🍎 iTunes: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/freaky-folklore/id1550361184

Your support helps bring you more terrifying tales!

🌐 **DISCOVER MORE HORROR:** http://eeriecast.com/

**MUSIC CREDITS:**

Music and sound effects provided by: CO.AG, Myuu, Jinglepunks, Epidemic Sound, Kevin MacLeod, Dark Music, and Soundstripe.

Support the show