CALIFORNIA BRIEFING / LOS ANGELES COUNTY
The Los Angeles County coroner’s office over the weekend released the names of six of the nine victims killed in the Christmas Eve rampage at a Covina home.
All nine have been named in news reports, based on information from police and family members, but the names released Saturday mark the first official identifications.
The victims include Alicia Ortega, 70, and her husband, Joseph, 80, who owned the home; Teresa Ortega, 51, of Upland; Cheri Ortega, 45, and Charles Ortega, 50, both of West Covina; and Alicia Ortiz, 46, of Upland.
They were members of a large, close-knit family that had lived for years in the area.
They died when Bruce Jeffrey Pardo, recently divorced from one of Joseph and Alicia Ortega’s daughters, arrived at the home wearing a Santa suit.
He opened fire with a handgun and then set the family’s home ablaze.
Pardo later committed suicide at his brother’s house in Sylmar.
His former wife is believed to be among the three victims remaining to be officially identified.
-- Sam Quinones
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