Covina killing spree stuns friends, neighbors

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http://www.sgvtribune.com/news/ci_11316208

Covina killing spree stuns friends, neighbors

Bruce Pardo was reserved but friendly

By McIntire and Bethania Palma Markus, Staff Writers

Posted: 12/26/2008 05:28:53 PM PST

COVINA - Known as quiet, shy and exceedingly "normal," Bruce Pardo's Christmas Eve killing spree stunned friends and neighbors who said there was no indication of his plans - even on the day of the gruesome incident. Denae and Henry Baeza, who own Montrose Bakery on Honolulu Avenue, knew Pardo as a regular customer.

He would get raspberry and cream cheese Danishes at the bakery three or four times per week, and always sat at the same table, according to the Baezas.

Henry Baeza saw Pardo for the last time on Christmas Eve at about noon, he said. Before Baeza left to make a delivery, Pardo wished him "Merry Christmas."

"The last time that I seen him, he was happy," he said.

Pardo had been scheduled to usher Midnight Mass at Holy Redeemer Catholic Church in Montrose later that night.

Instead Pardo dressed up as Santa Claus and opened fire at his ex-wife's Christmas party in Covina. He shot an 8-year-old girl in the face after she opened the front door.

People franticly fled from the holiday party as Pardo opened fire with a semi-automatic handgun. He then used a homemade blowtorch to burn the house to the ground.

By the time he was finished, nine people were dead. He later turned a gun on himself.

Pardo's rampage elicited disbelief from Montrose residents who knew him.

"All my waitresses are calling me saying, `That man, he sits at Table Four!,"' Denae Baeza said.

Darlene Underwood, a waitress at the bakery, served Pardo regularly at Table 4 and described him as "very nice, very polite." He was also reserved, Underwood said.

"He wasn't the type to open up about his personal life," Underwood said.

There was no indication that Pardo had any inclination toward violence, she said.

"There's nothing that he ever did that stands out as being different in any way," she said. "This is a shock."

Carol , of Glendora, who claims to have once dated Pardo, said she knew him when he graduated from Sun Valley's Polytechnic High School in 1981.

said he was an outstanding student who graduated a year early, then went on the Cal State Northridge, where he continued to excel as a student.

"I would never picture in my mind that he would do something like this," she said. "He was a very good guy. He would give you the shirt off his back and I just don't know what happened."

People who knew Pardo said he had just gone through a bitter divorce and settled with ex-wife, Sylvia Pardo.

The marriage to Sylvia was Bruce Pardo's first marriage, said his attorney, Stanley Silver. Pardo had one child with a previous girlfriend, according to authorities.

After the couple married, Sylvia moved into his Montrose home at 4004 Sunset Avenue, Silver said.

The couple had no children between them, though Sylvia Pardo had several children from a previous marriage.

Silver said Bruce and Sylvia Pardo had settled their divorce last week, both agreeing that Bruce Pardo would make a $10,000 payment with no ongoing spousal support.

"The money was simply to pay back some of the spousal support that had not been paid," he said. "They just arrived at a figure that was mutually settled upon."

Sylvia would also keep her diamond wedding ring and an Akita dog the couple shared.

"He was very pleased it was all behind him and it had been fully resolved," he said.

But Henry Baeza noticed that Pardo seemed depressed over the last few months.

"He was very, I guess, hurt because of his divorce," he said.

Silver said Bruce Pardo lost his job in July. From April 2005 to July of this year, Pardo worked as a software engineer in the electronics systems division of ITT Defense and Electronic Services in Van Nuys, said Albritton, the company's vice president of communication.

Pardo attended Holy Redeemer Catholic Church on Montrose Avenue, where he served as an usher during the Sunday evening children's Mass.

Montrose resident Ed Gillin, who lives on the street around the corner from Pardo's home, served as an usher alongside him on occasion and never noticed any unusual behavior.

"We never noticed anything about him that was indicative of any psychiatric disturbance," Gillin said. "He just seemed so normal like everyone else."

In the Sylmar neighborhood where Pardo ended his life, few had anything to say about the man who was occasionally seen visiting his brother, Brad Pardo, who lived at ph Court and Excelsior Street.

"I feel sorry for Brad," said Muro, who lived across the street from Pardo and his two German shepherds.

Muro and others said the neighborhood is quiet and Brad Pardo was friendly, but didn't have much to offer about either him or his brother.

Residents discovered police and yellow investigation tape on the street early Christmas morning but didn't learn about the murder spree and suicide until seeing television news broadcasts that afternoon and evening.

"I was up until 4 a.m. on Christmas and never heard anything or saw flashing lights," said Castle, who lives up the street from Pardo.

The neighborhood has had its share of trauma, Muro noted, recalling the hillside fires, including last month's Sayre Fire, which forced everyone to evacuate.

Pardo's mother lost her home in the November Sayre fire that destroyed almost 500 mobile homes at Oakridge mobile home park in Sylmar, said.

A woman claiming to be an official from Oakridge confirmed Pardo's mother lost her home in the Sayre fire.

The woman, who spoke on condition her name not be printed, would not release the name of Pardo's mother.

In the early 1990s, there was a police standoff on ph Court that ended with a suicide.

- Staff writer B. contributed to this report.

nathan.mcintire@...

(626) 962-8811, Ext. 4475

bethania.palma@...

(626) 962-8811, Ext. 2236

[Guest guest]

http://www.sgvtribune.com/news/ci_11316208

Covina killing spree stuns friends, neighbors

Bruce Pardo was reserved but friendly

By McIntire and Bethania Palma Markus, Staff Writers

Posted: 12/26/2008 05:28:53 PM PST

COVINA - Known as quiet, shy and exceedingly "normal," Bruce Pardo's Christmas Eve killing spree stunned friends and neighbors who said there was no indication of his plans - even on the day of the gruesome incident. Denae and Henry Baeza, who own Montrose Bakery on Honolulu Avenue, knew Pardo as a regular customer.

He would get raspberry and cream cheese Danishes at the bakery three or four times per week, and always sat at the same table, according to the Baezas.

Henry Baeza saw Pardo for the last time on Christmas Eve at about noon, he said. Before Baeza left to make a delivery, Pardo wished him "Merry Christmas."

"The last time that I seen him, he was happy," he said.

Pardo had been scheduled to usher Midnight Mass at Holy Redeemer Catholic Church in Montrose later that night.

Instead Pardo dressed up as Santa Claus and opened fire at his ex-wife's Christmas party in Covina. He shot an 8-year-old girl in the face after she opened the front door.

People franticly fled from the holiday party as Pardo opened fire with a semi-automatic handgun. He then used a homemade blowtorch to burn the house to the ground.

By the time he was finished, nine people were dead. He later turned a gun on himself.

Pardo's rampage elicited disbelief from Montrose residents who knew him.

"All my waitresses are calling me saying, `That man, he sits at Table Four!,"' Denae Baeza said.

Darlene Underwood, a waitress at the bakery, served Pardo regularly at Table 4 and described him as "very nice, very polite." He was also reserved, Underwood said.

"He wasn't the type to open up about his personal life," Underwood said.

There was no indication that Pardo had any inclination toward violence, she said.

"There's nothing that he ever did that stands out as being different in any way," she said. "This is a shock."

Carol , of Glendora, who claims to have once dated Pardo, said she knew him when he graduated from Sun Valley's Polytechnic High School in 1981.

said he was an outstanding student who graduated a year early, then went on the Cal State Northridge, where he continued to excel as a student.

"I would never picture in my mind that he would do something like this," she said. "He was a very good guy. He would give you the shirt off his back and I just don't know what happened."

People who knew Pardo said he had just gone through a bitter divorce and settled with ex-wife, Sylvia Pardo.

The marriage to Sylvia was Bruce Pardo's first marriage, said his attorney, Stanley Silver. Pardo had one child with a previous girlfriend, according to authorities.

After the couple married, Sylvia moved into his Montrose home at 4004 Sunset Avenue, Silver said.

The couple had no children between them, though Sylvia Pardo had several children from a previous marriage.

Silver said Bruce and Sylvia Pardo had settled their divorce last week, both agreeing that Bruce Pardo would make a $10,000 payment with no ongoing spousal support.

"The money was simply to pay back some of the spousal support that had not been paid," he said. "They just arrived at a figure that was mutually settled upon."

Sylvia would also keep her diamond wedding ring and an Akita dog the couple shared.

"He was very pleased it was all behind him and it had been fully resolved," he said.

But Henry Baeza noticed that Pardo seemed depressed over the last few months.

"He was very, I guess, hurt because of his divorce," he said.

Silver said Bruce Pardo lost his job in July. From April 2005 to July of this year, Pardo worked as a software engineer in the electronics systems division of ITT Defense and Electronic Services in Van Nuys, said Albritton, the company's vice president of communication.

Pardo attended Holy Redeemer Catholic Church on Montrose Avenue, where he served as an usher during the Sunday evening children's Mass.

Montrose resident Ed Gillin, who lives on the street around the corner from Pardo's home, served as an usher alongside him on occasion and never noticed any unusual behavior.

"We never noticed anything about him that was indicative of any psychiatric disturbance," Gillin said. "He just seemed so normal like everyone else."

In the Sylmar neighborhood where Pardo ended his life, few had anything to say about the man who was occasionally seen visiting his brother, Brad Pardo, who lived at ph Court and Excelsior Street.

"I feel sorry for Brad," said Muro, who lived across the street from Pardo and his two German shepherds.

Muro and others said the neighborhood is quiet and Brad Pardo was friendly, but didn't have much to offer about either him or his brother.

Residents discovered police and yellow investigation tape on the street early Christmas morning but didn't learn about the murder spree and suicide until seeing television news broadcasts that afternoon and evening.

"I was up until 4 a.m. on Christmas and never heard anything or saw flashing lights," said Castle, who lives up the street from Pardo.

The neighborhood has had its share of trauma, Muro noted, recalling the hillside fires, including last month's Sayre Fire, which forced everyone to evacuate.

Pardo's mother lost her home in the November Sayre fire that destroyed almost 500 mobile homes at Oakridge mobile home park in Sylmar, said.

A woman claiming to be an official from Oakridge confirmed Pardo's mother lost her home in the Sayre fire.

The woman, who spoke on condition her name not be printed, would not release the name of Pardo's mother.

In the early 1990s, there was a police standoff on ph Court that ended with a suicide.

- Staff writer B. contributed to this report.

nathan.mcintire@...

(626) 962-8811, Ext. 4475

bethania.palma@...

(626) 962-8811, Ext. 2236

[Guest guest]

http://www.sgvtribune.com/news/ci_11316208

Covina killing spree stuns friends, neighbors

Bruce Pardo was reserved but friendly

By McIntire and Bethania Palma Markus, Staff Writers

Posted: 12/26/2008 05:28:53 PM PST

COVINA - Known as quiet, shy and exceedingly "normal," Bruce Pardo's Christmas Eve killing spree stunned friends and neighbors who said there was no indication of his plans - even on the day of the gruesome incident. Denae and Henry Baeza, who own Montrose Bakery on Honolulu Avenue, knew Pardo as a regular customer.

He would get raspberry and cream cheese Danishes at the bakery three or four times per week, and always sat at the same table, according to the Baezas.

Henry Baeza saw Pardo for the last time on Christmas Eve at about noon, he said. Before Baeza left to make a delivery, Pardo wished him "Merry Christmas."

"The last time that I seen him, he was happy," he said.

Pardo had been scheduled to usher Midnight Mass at Holy Redeemer Catholic Church in Montrose later that night.

Instead Pardo dressed up as Santa Claus and opened fire at his ex-wife's Christmas party in Covina. He shot an 8-year-old girl in the face after she opened the front door.

People franticly fled from the holiday party as Pardo opened fire with a semi-automatic handgun. He then used a homemade blowtorch to burn the house to the ground.

By the time he was finished, nine people were dead. He later turned a gun on himself.

Pardo's rampage elicited disbelief from Montrose residents who knew him.

"All my waitresses are calling me saying, `That man, he sits at Table Four!,"' Denae Baeza said.

Darlene Underwood, a waitress at the bakery, served Pardo regularly at Table 4 and described him as "very nice, very polite." He was also reserved, Underwood said.

"He wasn't the type to open up about his personal life," Underwood said.

There was no indication that Pardo had any inclination toward violence, she said.

"There's nothing that he ever did that stands out as being different in any way," she said. "This is a shock."

Carol , of Glendora, who claims to have once dated Pardo, said she knew him when he graduated from Sun Valley's Polytechnic High School in 1981.

said he was an outstanding student who graduated a year early, then went on the Cal State Northridge, where he continued to excel as a student.

"I would never picture in my mind that he would do something like this," she said. "He was a very good guy. He would give you the shirt off his back and I just don't know what happened."

People who knew Pardo said he had just gone through a bitter divorce and settled with ex-wife, Sylvia Pardo.

The marriage to Sylvia was Bruce Pardo's first marriage, said his attorney, Stanley Silver. Pardo had one child with a previous girlfriend, according to authorities.

After the couple married, Sylvia moved into his Montrose home at 4004 Sunset Avenue, Silver said.

The couple had no children between them, though Sylvia Pardo had several children from a previous marriage.

Silver said Bruce and Sylvia Pardo had settled their divorce last week, both agreeing that Bruce Pardo would make a $10,000 payment with no ongoing spousal support.

"The money was simply to pay back some of the spousal support that had not been paid," he said. "They just arrived at a figure that was mutually settled upon."

Sylvia would also keep her diamond wedding ring and an Akita dog the couple shared.

"He was very pleased it was all behind him and it had been fully resolved," he said.

But Henry Baeza noticed that Pardo seemed depressed over the last few months.

"He was very, I guess, hurt because of his divorce," he said.

Silver said Bruce Pardo lost his job in July. From April 2005 to July of this year, Pardo worked as a software engineer in the electronics systems division of ITT Defense and Electronic Services in Van Nuys, said Albritton, the company's vice president of communication.

Pardo attended Holy Redeemer Catholic Church on Montrose Avenue, where he served as an usher during the Sunday evening children's Mass.

Montrose resident Ed Gillin, who lives on the street around the corner from Pardo's home, served as an usher alongside him on occasion and never noticed any unusual behavior.

"We never noticed anything about him that was indicative of any psychiatric disturbance," Gillin said. "He just seemed so normal like everyone else."

In the Sylmar neighborhood where Pardo ended his life, few had anything to say about the man who was occasionally seen visiting his brother, Brad Pardo, who lived at ph Court and Excelsior Street.

"I feel sorry for Brad," said Muro, who lived across the street from Pardo and his two German shepherds.

Muro and others said the neighborhood is quiet and Brad Pardo was friendly, but didn't have much to offer about either him or his brother.

Residents discovered police and yellow investigation tape on the street early Christmas morning but didn't learn about the murder spree and suicide until seeing television news broadcasts that afternoon and evening.

"I was up until 4 a.m. on Christmas and never heard anything or saw flashing lights," said Castle, who lives up the street from Pardo.

The neighborhood has had its share of trauma, Muro noted, recalling the hillside fires, including last month's Sayre Fire, which forced everyone to evacuate.

Pardo's mother lost her home in the November Sayre fire that destroyed almost 500 mobile homes at Oakridge mobile home park in Sylmar, said.

A woman claiming to be an official from Oakridge confirmed Pardo's mother lost her home in the Sayre fire.

The woman, who spoke on condition her name not be printed, would not release the name of Pardo's mother.

In the early 1990s, there was a police standoff on ph Court that ended with a suicide.

- Staff writer B. contributed to this report.

nathan.mcintire@...

(626) 962-8811, Ext. 4475

bethania.palma@...

(626) 962-8811, Ext. 2236

[Guest guest]

http://www.sgvtribune.com/news/ci_11316208

Covina killing spree stuns friends, neighbors

Bruce Pardo was reserved but friendly

By McIntire and Bethania Palma Markus, Staff Writers

Posted: 12/26/2008 05:28:53 PM PST

COVINA - Known as quiet, shy and exceedingly "normal," Bruce Pardo's Christmas Eve killing spree stunned friends and neighbors who said there was no indication of his plans - even on the day of the gruesome incident. Denae and Henry Baeza, who own Montrose Bakery on Honolulu Avenue, knew Pardo as a regular customer.

He would get raspberry and cream cheese Danishes at the bakery three or four times per week, and always sat at the same table, according to the Baezas.

Henry Baeza saw Pardo for the last time on Christmas Eve at about noon, he said. Before Baeza left to make a delivery, Pardo wished him "Merry Christmas."

"The last time that I seen him, he was happy," he said.

Pardo had been scheduled to usher Midnight Mass at Holy Redeemer Catholic Church in Montrose later that night.

Instead Pardo dressed up as Santa Claus and opened fire at his ex-wife's Christmas party in Covina. He shot an 8-year-old girl in the face after she opened the front door.

People franticly fled from the holiday party as Pardo opened fire with a semi-automatic handgun. He then used a homemade blowtorch to burn the house to the ground.

By the time he was finished, nine people were dead. He later turned a gun on himself.

Pardo's rampage elicited disbelief from Montrose residents who knew him.

"All my waitresses are calling me saying, `That man, he sits at Table Four!,"' Denae Baeza said.

Darlene Underwood, a waitress at the bakery, served Pardo regularly at Table 4 and described him as "very nice, very polite." He was also reserved, Underwood said.

"He wasn't the type to open up about his personal life," Underwood said.

There was no indication that Pardo had any inclination toward violence, she said.

"There's nothing that he ever did that stands out as being different in any way," she said. "This is a shock."

Carol , of Glendora, who claims to have once dated Pardo, said she knew him when he graduated from Sun Valley's Polytechnic High School in 1981.

said he was an outstanding student who graduated a year early, then went on the Cal State Northridge, where he continued to excel as a student.

"I would never picture in my mind that he would do something like this," she said. "He was a very good guy. He would give you the shirt off his back and I just don't know what happened."

People who knew Pardo said he had just gone through a bitter divorce and settled with ex-wife, Sylvia Pardo.

The marriage to Sylvia was Bruce Pardo's first marriage, said his attorney, Stanley Silver. Pardo had one child with a previous girlfriend, according to authorities.

After the couple married, Sylvia moved into his Montrose home at 4004 Sunset Avenue, Silver said.

The couple had no children between them, though Sylvia Pardo had several children from a previous marriage.

Silver said Bruce and Sylvia Pardo had settled their divorce last week, both agreeing that Bruce Pardo would make a $10,000 payment with no ongoing spousal support.

"The money was simply to pay back some of the spousal support that had not been paid," he said. "They just arrived at a figure that was mutually settled upon."

Sylvia would also keep her diamond wedding ring and an Akita dog the couple shared.

"He was very pleased it was all behind him and it had been fully resolved," he said.

But Henry Baeza noticed that Pardo seemed depressed over the last few months.

"He was very, I guess, hurt because of his divorce," he said.

Silver said Bruce Pardo lost his job in July. From April 2005 to July of this year, Pardo worked as a software engineer in the electronics systems division of ITT Defense and Electronic Services in Van Nuys, said Albritton, the company's vice president of communication.

Pardo attended Holy Redeemer Catholic Church on Montrose Avenue, where he served as an usher during the Sunday evening children's Mass.

Montrose resident Ed Gillin, who lives on the street around the corner from Pardo's home, served as an usher alongside him on occasion and never noticed any unusual behavior.

"We never noticed anything about him that was indicative of any psychiatric disturbance," Gillin said. "He just seemed so normal like everyone else."

In the Sylmar neighborhood where Pardo ended his life, few had anything to say about the man who was occasionally seen visiting his brother, Brad Pardo, who lived at ph Court and Excelsior Street.

"I feel sorry for Brad," said Muro, who lived across the street from Pardo and his two German shepherds.

Muro and others said the neighborhood is quiet and Brad Pardo was friendly, but didn't have much to offer about either him or his brother.

Residents discovered police and yellow investigation tape on the street early Christmas morning but didn't learn about the murder spree and suicide until seeing television news broadcasts that afternoon and evening.

"I was up until 4 a.m. on Christmas and never heard anything or saw flashing lights," said Castle, who lives up the street from Pardo.

The neighborhood has had its share of trauma, Muro noted, recalling the hillside fires, including last month's Sayre Fire, which forced everyone to evacuate.

Pardo's mother lost her home in the November Sayre fire that destroyed almost 500 mobile homes at Oakridge mobile home park in Sylmar, said.

A woman claiming to be an official from Oakridge confirmed Pardo's mother lost her home in the Sayre fire.

The woman, who spoke on condition her name not be printed, would not release the name of Pardo's mother.

In the early 1990s, there was a police standoff on ph Court that ended with a suicide.

- Staff writer B. contributed to this report.

nathan.mcintire@...

(626) 962-8811, Ext. 4475

bethania.palma@...

(626) 962-8811, Ext. 2236