EVE CARSON 2009 UPDATE: FEDS SEEK DEATH FOR KILLER ATWATER

Demario James Atwater, left, and Lawrence Alvin Lovette are charged with Carson's murder.


Feds Seek Death Penalty in Student President Murder
Friday, January 16, 2009 / ASSOCIATED PRESS


GREENSBORO, N.C. — Federal prosecutors say they will seek the death penalty against a man charged with killing the student body president of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

The U.S. Attorney's Office said Friday that Attorney General Michael Mukasey has approved prosecutors' request to seek the execution of 22-year-old Demario Atwater. Atwater pleaded not guilty last month to four federal charges, including carjacking resulting in death, in the slaying of Eve Carson. His trial is set for November.

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,480263,00.html




Eve Carson: a special friend remembered

There was nothing she thought she couldn’t do, no problem she thought she couldn’t help tackle, and no person she believed she couldn’t learn something new and valuable from. That was her special burden, her friends said, and her remarkable gift.

READ THE MEMORIAL TO EVE CARSON.

READ WORDS FROM FELLOW STUDENTS, HER FRIENDS, HER FAMILY.

THIS LINK IS TO THE UNIVERSITY OF NORTH CAROLINA GAZETTE WHERE EVE WAS A STUDENT.

http://gazette.unc.edu/archives/08mar26/file.1.html

ARKANSAS: ANNE PRESSLY KILLER, CURTIS LAVELLE VANCE, ARRAIGNED

Anne Pressly, 26, was a news anchor at KATV in Little Rock, Arkansas. She was a graduate of Rhodes College in Memphis, Tenn., which has discussed establishing a scholarship to honor her, and worked as a reporter for WBBJ-TV in Jackson, Tenn., in 2004.

AP/Little Rock Police Dept. / Nov. 26
Curtis Lavelle Vance, 28, was formally charged in Pulaski County Circuit Court Thursday with capital murder and rape, and also faces additional charges of burglary and theft. Vance is slated to return to court on January 15th to enter his plea.

Suspect in anchorwoman's killing to be arraigned
Fri January 9, 2009

(CNN) -- The man accused in the brutal killing of Arkansas television anchor Anne Pressly will appear next Thursday in Pulaski County Circuit Court, where he will enter a plea in the high-profile case.

Curtis Lavell Vance, 28, was formally charged Thursday with capital murder, rape, residential burglary and theft, Prosecutor Larry Jegley said Friday.

Neither he nor police would discuss details of the case because of a gag order imposed by the judge. Jegley hasn't said whether he will seek the death penalty.

Jegley said Vance, who denies he was in Little Rock, Arkansas, when Pressly was killed, was being held at the Pulaski County Regional Detention Facility.

Vance was linked to the killing through DNA testing.

Lt. Terry Hastings, spokesman for Little Rock police, told CNN in December that investigators are "110 percent" certain Vance killed Pressly, 26, who was the morning news anchor for KATV, a CNN affiliate.

Pressly was found unconscious in her home October 20 and died five days later at a hospital.
"She fought for her life. She fought her attacker. Her left hand was broken from trying to fight this man off," Pressly's mother, Patti Cannady, told NBC.

"Six weeks ago this morning, I found my daughter beyond recognition with every bone in her face broken, her nose broken, her jaw pulverized so badly that the bone had come out of it; I actually thought that her throat had possibly been cut. Her entire skull had numerous fractures from which she suffered a massive stroke."

Hastings told CNN that DNA evidence also ties Vance to a rape in April in Marianna, Arkansas, about 90 miles east of Little Rock.

READ UPDATES OF HEINOUS CRIME AGAINST ANNE PRESSLY...

http://www.cnn.com/2009/CRIME/01/09/anchor.killing.arraignment/index.html

JESSIE DOTSON: LESTER STREET KILLER MIGHT GET DEATH

Accused killer Jessie Dotson appeared before a judge Monday, March 10 to face charges of six counts of first degree murder

Alan Spearman / The Commercial Appeal
Jessie Dotson appeared in Judge Ann Pugh's General Sessions Division 7 courtroom this morning.

Death Penalty Sought for Lester Street Murder Suspect Jessie Dotson
Contributor: Shane Myers

Email: smyers@myeyewitnessnews.com

Last Update: 12/29/2008 10:58 am

MEMPHIS, TN -- The Shelby County District Attorney says he will pursue the death penalty against Jessie Dotson, the man accused in the murder of six people -- including two children -- in a home on Lester Street.

The District Attorney's Office made the announcement after a grand jury indicted 33 year-old Dotson on six counts of first degree murder, three counts of attempted first degree murder and being a convicted felon in possession of a handgun, Thursday morning, December 4, 2008.

According to authorities, four adults and two children were found dead inside a home in the 700 block of Lester Street in March 2008. Police say three other children, who were stabbed, were taken to the hospital in extremely critical condition. All six of the murder victims were either stabbed or shot to death.

(snip)

The following statement was issued by the Shelby County District Attorney’s Office:

“In the case of Jesse Dotson, we have identified seven different factors which qualify him for the death penalty under our state law. That’s pretty extraordinary. The correct course of action is to give the jury in the trial of Jesse Dotson the option of imposing the death penalty,” said District Attorney Gibbons.The seven specific aggravating circumstances under state law include:

1. The murders were committed against victims less than 12 years of age and the defendant was 18 or older;

2. The defendant was previously convicted of one or more felonies involving use of violence (Jessie Dotson pleaded guilty to second degree murder on November 21, 1994 and was sentenced to 18 years in prison);

3. The defendant knowingly created great risk of death to two or more persons, other than the victims murdered, during the act of murder;

4. The murders were especially heinous, atrocious or cruel in that they involved torture or serious physical abuse beyond necessary to produce death;

5. The murders were committed for the purpose of avoiding, interfering with or preventing a lawful arrest or prosecution of the defendant;

6. The murders were knowingly committed by the defendant while he had a substantial role in committing the other crimes (attempted murders);

7. The defendant committed “mass murder,” which is defined as the murder of three or more persons.

First degree murder is a charged covered by the D.A.’s “No Deals” policy on violent crimes. Exceptions are made to the policy for legal or ethical reasons. First degree murder is punishable by life in prison with the possibility of parole after 51 years, life in prison without parole, or death.

WHAT WILL BE JESSIE DOTSON'S FATE?

http://www.myeyewitnessnews.com/news/local/story/Death-Penalty-Sought-for-Lester-Street-Murder/4aDFhpG1YEOAA-gsr9bcsw.cspx

GEORGIA: FRIENDS HONOR MEREDITH EMERSON WITH HIKER'S FOUNDATION

MEREDITH EMERSON

ELLA, MEREDITH EMERSON'S FAITHFUL FRIEND AND HIKING BUDDY

MISSION STATEMENT
Right To Hike, Inc. is dedicated to celebrating the life of our friend, Meredith Hope Emerson through raising funds and awareness for causes close to Meredith's heart. We hope to honor her memory by sharing her courage, love of the outdoors and belief that all people have the right to live without fear.

http://www.righttohikeinc.com/Home.6.0.html

One Year Later, Georgia Hiker's Murder Inspires Better Rescue Methods
Saturday, January 03, 2009

Associated Press

ATHENS, Ga. — Friends of Meredith Emerson were distraught when she disappeared while hiking in north Georgia on New Year's Day a year ago. They were devastated when the 24-year-old University of Georgia graduate was found murdered one week later.

But Emerson's many friends were determined to make sure she will never be forgotten. In the year since she and her dog vanished Jan. 1, 2008 near Blood Mountain, they have raised $35,000 for causes important to former resident of Longmont, Colo.

Friends who started the Right to Hike Foundation raised money through a restaurant promotion, a 5K race and a banquet. The foundation donated $5,000 to the university to help endow a scholarship to study in France, as Emerson did. The group also bought 15 GPS units and distributed them to hiking outposts in north Georgia, paying the $99 annual subscription fee for each. Lost hikers can use the GPS to signal rescuers.

A former drifter, Gary Michael Hilton, is serving a life term for killing Emerson. Hilton coldly described to investigators how he had kidnapped her, beat and eventually killed her. He also faces a murder charge in the killing and decapitation of a nurse in Florida.

(snip)

The 20 or so friends who began the Right to Hike Foundation have also gotten a trail named for her: Meredith's Trail, at the Gwinnett Environmental and Heritage Center. Karrenbauer said Emerson, who lived in Gwinnett County, often hiked there with her dog, Ella.

READ THE STORY...
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,475567,00.html

CHOMP RECOMMENDS THIS FOUNDATION.

THERE IS SO MUCH ON THIS SITE TO HONOR AND TO REMEMBER MEREDITH EMERSON. WE WILL NOT LET HER BE LOST AGAIN. PLEASE, CHECK THE "RIGHT TO HIKE" WEBSITE BELOW. BECOME A MEMBER, BECOME A SPONSOR, READ ABOUT MEREDITH AND HER BELOVED DOG, ELLA, JOIN IN HIKING ACTIVITIES.

In celebrating the life of Meredith Hope Emerson, friends and family have founded Right to Hike, Inc., a non-profit organization that plans to support causes that were close to Meredith's heart, including hiking safety.

http://www.righttohikeinc.com/Home.6.0.html

TEXAS: ERIN CAFFEY, 17, GETS PLEA DEAL, ELIGIBLE FOR PAROLE AT 59

Alba, Texas: Listen to father's 911 call for help from neighbor's house.

At 16 Erin Caffey murdered her mother and two brothers. At 17 Erin Caffey is sentenced to two life sentences plus a 25 year third sentence. "As for Erin Caffey, two life sentences, will she ever parole out? I can't answer that," said Rains County Attorney, Robert Vititow. "And if she did, she would still have another 25 year sentence to serve and so the odds are that she may never get out."


Teenage girl gets 2 life terms in family slayings
Associated Press
Jan. 3, 2009, 11:43AM

EMORY — A teenage girl has been given two life sentences and an additional 25 years in prison for her role in the murders of her mother and two young brothers in the family’s home.

Erin Caffey, 17, could be eligible for parole when she’s 59 under a plea agreement reached Friday, said defense attorney William McDowell. Her trial was scheduled for next month in nearby Hopkins County, and prosecutors had said they didn’t plan to seek the death penalty against her.

(snip)

Authorities said the murder plot was hatched because Erin Caffey’s parents didn’t want Wilkinson to date their daughter, who was 16 at the time of the crime.

In November, Wilkinson and Waid avoided the death penalty by pleading guilty for their involvement in the killings. McDowell said both will most likely receive life sentences with parole. All four defendants were initially charged with three counts of capital murder.

WHAT'S NEXT FOR THIS TEENAGE KILLER?
http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/hotstories/6192597.html

TEXAS: ERIN CAFFEY AT 16 KILLED FAMILY WITH HELP FROM "FRIENDS"

Erin Caffey, shown in her booking photo, was 16 at the time her mother and two brothers were found slain in their Alba, Texas home. (AP Photo/Rains County Jail)

Courtesy Rains County Sheriff / Waid, Johnson, and Wilkinson helped Erin Caffey kill her family.

Caffey Murder Trial Moved, Date Set
By COSHANDRA DILLARD / TYLERPAPER.COM Staff Writer
Friday, December 05, 2008

EMORY -- The capital murder trial of a Rains County teen allegedly involved in the deaths of her mother and two young brothers has been moved to Hopkins County, officials said Thursday.

Eighth District Court Judge Robert Newsom officially transferred the trial, as the prosecution and defense agreed.

The jury selection for Erin Caffey, 17, will be Feb.2-5. Newsom also scheduled the trial to begin Feb. 9 and said it is expected to last until Feb. 17.

In November, Charles Allen Waid, 20, and Charlie James Wilkinson, 19, pleaded guilty to capital murder for their involvement in the killings.

Prosecutors are not seeking the death penalty for Ms. Caffey, a minor at the time she allegedly helped kill her family. Prosecutor Lisa Tanner indicated that was the only reason they were not asking for the death penalty.

Ms. Caffey's father, Terry Caffey, 41, was shot five times but got out of his burning house and reached his neighbors, still conscious enough to tell them he recognized Wilkinson shooting him and his wife in their bed, sheriff's officials said. He has since recovered from his gunshot wounds.

(snip)

Penny Caffey, 37, a church pianist, and sons Mathew, 13, and Tyler, 8, were shot and stabbed to death.

Their bodies were removed once firefighters extinguished the flames of the home, which burned to the ground, officials said.

READ TYLER PAPER.COM FOR UPDATES OF CAFFEY MURDER, TRIAL, SENTENCING...

http://www.tylerpaper.com/article/20081205/NEWS01/812050338

READ ARTICLE BY TYLER PAPER.COM STAFF WRITER, LAUREN GROVER

http://www.tylerpaper.com/article/20080303/NEWS01/429461743

ASPEN, CO: JAMES BLANNING RUINS NEW YEAR'S EVE WITH BOMBS

James Blanning's mug shot was taken in 1996 by state corrections officials. (Department of Corrections). He was sentenced in Rio Blanco District Court in 1996 to 16 years in prison for racketeering and white collar crimes encompassing forgery of deeds and wills, fraudulent security sales and forged money, according to Colorado Bureau of Investigation records.

Photo by Aspen Times
Surveillance video by a Vectra Bank camera in Aspen captured suspect, Jim Blanning, at 2:37 p.m. Weds.

WRITING ON ENVELOPE LEFT AT FRONT DOOR OF THE ASPEN TIMES NEWSPAPER.Photo by The Aspen Times
An envelope containing a typewritten letter was left at the front door of The Aspen Times office. This handwritten note was on the envelope containing the typed letter.

TYPEWRITTEN LETTER LEFT AT FRONT DOOR OF THE ASPEN TIMES NEWSPAPER.

Photo by The Aspen Times
An envelope containing a typewritten letter was left at the front door of The Aspen Times office. This is the typed note and is not censored.

Police cleared a 16-block area of Aspen, seen here in this file photo, Wednesday afternoon after two banks reported receiving bomb threats and packages wrapped in holiday paper. (Reuters)

Photo by Janet Urquhart/The Aspen Times
Aspen Assistant Police Chief Bill Linn offers additional details on the bomb threats that forced the evacuation of much of downtown Aspen Wednesday, during a press conference Thursday morning.

Aspen police officer Bill Linn peers from behind a wall at a sled containing wrapped packages left in an alleyway between Hopkins and Hyman Avenue in Downtown Aspen on Wednesday, Dec. 31, 2008. (Aspen Daily News ZACH ORNITZ )

A photo of the clear plastic boxes containing holiday wrapped packages and pizza boxes in the bottom of this black sled. (Aspen Police Department)

Bomb suspect killed self; blasted Rove, Cheney and Bush in note

Associated Press
Published January 1, 2009

ASPEN — A man who left bomb threats and homemade bombs around Aspen on New Year's Eve, shot and killed himself in his car a few hours after his threats cleared much of the resort town, Aspen Police said.

Assistant Aspen Police Chief Bill Linn said James Chester Blanning, 72, walked into two Aspen banks Wednesday afternoon and left packages wrapped in holiday paper along with notes saying the boxes contained bombs. The notes threatened "mass death" and demanded $60,000 cash, along with criticisms of President George Bush, Linn said.

The Aspen Times newspaper reported that Blanning left a typewritten note at the newspaper's offices Wednesday evening. The profanity-laced note, which appeared to match those Blanning left at banks, said "Aspen will pay a horrible price in blood" if his demands were not met.

(snip)

Sixteen blocks, nearly the entirety of downtown Aspen, was cleared of holiday revelers Wednesday afternoon. Linn said that police bomb squads detonated the bombs once the area was cleared, and that one of the packages created a fireball outside a Wells Fargo bank when police detonated it. No one was injured.

Linn said the bombs were dangerous, containing plastic bladders of gasoline, but Linn did not describe exactly how sophisticated they were.

Blanning, who grew up in Aspen, was identified by the Pitkin County sheriff on a surveillance tape from one of the banks. Linn said the suspect was well known to police and that the sheriff remembered Blanning from a 1994 suicide threat atop the Pitkin County Courthouse.

WHAT TURNED THIS ASPEN RESIDENT INTO A BOMBER?
http://www.rockymountainnews.com/news/2009/jan/01/suspect-dead-aspen-bomb-threats-last-will-sent-tim/

READ THE STORY IN "THE ASPEN TIMES" NEWSPAPER...
http://www.aspentimes.com/

TINLEY PARK LANE BRYANT: $100,000 REWARD IF YOU CATCH THE KILLER

It's way past time to catch this killer!
Someone, probably several people, knows this man. Won't you turn him in for $100,000 reward??? It doesn't matter if he is your husband, your brother, your son, your boyfriend. He is still an extremly dangerous killer!

Please, take another look at the sketch of the Tinley Park Lane Bryant killer of five women. Just in case that you really do not recognize the sketch, I am going to try an experiment. I have distorted the original sketch for a different view. Many sketches of criminals are not close enough to say, "That's him. That's the killer."

Detectives say this man killed five women and injured another in a brutal mass murder at a women's clothing store in a Chicago suburb. Police say the five victims were all women. They were found inside the store, bound with clothing and duct tape and shot execution-style in the head. A sixth woman was shot in the neck and miraculously survived.

Description:

Black male
Height: 5'9" - 6'0"
Weight: 200 - 230 lbs.
The killer had 3-5 puffy corn rows pulled back.
The killer had a braid over his right ear that had four light-green beads.
Cops say the suspect has a "husky" build.

Police describe the possible suspect as wearing a dark-colored, below-the-waist-length winter coat. They say he had black jeans on with embroidery on the back pockets similar to a cursive "g". The suspect was wearing a charcoal gray "skull" cap.


America's Most Wanted (AMW) has a comprehensive overview of this story. There are clues, analysis of evidence, videos, tiplines.
http://www.amw.com/fugitives/case.cfm?id=52877

Tinley Park Police Department has continued updates of this crime and other crimes in this area. Are any of these crimes connected? There are updates, reward money, past press releases.
Anyone having information regarding this crime, or who may have seen anything of a suspicious nature in or around the mall located at 191st & Harlem Avenue, between 10:00 a.m. and 11:00 a.m. Saturday, February 2, 2008, call the Tinley Park Police Department at 708-444-5394, or call the Cook County Crime Stoppers at 1-800-535-7867.
http://www.tinleyparkpolice.org/

Lane Bryant Tinley Park Memorial Fund
LuAnn Via, President of Lane Bryant stated, "We have received an incredible outpouring of concern, prayers and offers of help from the community and our associates. So many have asked how they can help the families of the victims of this horrible tragedy. I would like to personally thank each and every person who has telephoned us, emailed us, or visited our stores to relay their support. I thank you all deeply for your heartfelt words."

The Memorial Fund is being administered through Harris Bank, and is intended to provide financial assistance to the immediate families of the victims. The Lane Bryant Tinley Park Memorial Fund honors the women who lost theirlives in this tragic event:

-- Jennifer L. Bishop of South Bend, Indiana
-- Carrie A. Chiuso of Frankfort, Illinois
-- Rhoda McFarland, the store manager of the Tinley Park Lane Bryant store,
of Joliet, Illinois
-- Sarah T. Szafranski of Oak Forest, Illinois
-- Connie R. Woolfolk of Flossmoor, Illinois

Donations may be made by check or money order and will be accepted at all Harris Bank locations. Checks should be made payable to "Lane Bryant Tinley Park Memorial Fund", and mailed to:
The Lane Bryant Tinley Park Memorial Fund
Harris Bank
19500 S. Harlem Avenue
Frankfort, IL 60423
ATTN: Sandy Kozin

Thank you for stopping at my blog, and for reading this story.
CHOMP

NEDERLAND, CO: DERICK BONESTROO OPENS FIRE AT ELDORA SKI LODGE

Photo by Eldora Mountain Resort
Brian Mahon, General Manager of Eldora, was shot to death by a fellow employee Tuesday morning at the ski area.

Javier Manzano © The Rocky
Nederland Police shot and killed a man at the side of Peakview Road after he shot a worker at the Eldora Ski resort today. The vehicle (on the left) had multiple gunshot holes on the windshield, and police said that they opened fire after the suspect shot at a sheriff's deputy (vehicle on the right - which had three bullet holes (two on the hood and one on the windshield.

A Boulder County Bomb Squad robot maneuvers behind a suspect vehicle after the fatal shooting today at Eldora Mountain Resort near Nederland. (POOL LONGMONT TIMES-CALL RICHARD M. HACKETT)

Employee kills Eldora general manager, shot by deputy
By James B. Meadow, Rocky Mountain News, Kevin Vaughan, Rocky Mountain News
Published December 30, 2008

NEDERLAND — A black-clad worker at the Eldora ski area asked other employees about their religious beliefs before shooting the resort's general manager to death early this morning, then died a short time later several miles away in a gunbattle with a Boulder County sheriff's deputy.

Rob Linde, a spokesman for Eldora Mountain Resort, identified the dead man as Brian Mahon, the general manager at the ski area for the past five years and an employee there since 1991.

The Boulder County Coroner’s Office has identified the gunman as Derick A. Bonestroo, 24, of Nederland.

The gunman, a lift operator at the ski area this season, had been in town only a short time, several Eldora workers said.

Bonestroo entered the morning meeting of lift operators in a locker room near the ski area's base, then fired a shot through the ceiling, said Boulder County sheriff's Cmdr. Phil West. Mahon, working in an adjacent room, burst into the locker room to see what was going on and was shot in the chest and head. He died almost instantly.

(snip)

Sheriff's deputy John Seifert, on patrol in the area, sped toward the resort and met Bonestroo, who was driving in the other direction, near Nederland High School. The deputy turned around and pursued him on Colorado 119, known as the Peak to Peak Highway, south of town, where Bonestroo stopped in a long, sweeping curb.

West said that after stopping at the side of the road, Bonestroo leaned out the driver's side of the car and opened fire on Seifert's Tahoe. Seifert, a member of the department's SWAT team, bailed out of the car with his AR-15 rifle in hand, moved to the right rear corner of the vehicle, and opened fire on the gunman, killing him.

http://www.rockymountainnews.com/news/2008/dec/30/officer-involved-shooting-near-eldora-ski-resort/

CHOMP SAYS: I have been up to Nederland and Eldora while I lived in Denver. The Colorado mountain towns have a unique, small town atmosphere. They are wonderful to visit...and to live there. This is a shocking story to me too!

I am including a link below to a memorial page from Eldora Mountain Resort to honor Brian Mahon...a kind and gentle family man, and a good friend to many.

http://www.eldora.com/

HARTSBURG, IL: MeLisa CLEARY - BODY FOUND BY TRAIN TRACK

Hartsburg, Illinois: Place where MeLisa Cleary's body found by train tracks.

MeLisa Cleary's body was found near railroad tracks more than 20 miles from her home.

By None
MeLisa Cleary was in the process of separating from her husband, Daniel, when she was last seen on June 6, 2008.

Body found near Hartsburg
By Staff and wire reports / The Courier
Tue Jun 10, 2008, 09:59 AM CDT

Hartsburg, Ill. -

Police reportedly have detained a Mackinaw man after a woman’s body, believed to be that of the man’s missing wife, was found near Hartsburg on Monday.

Authorities suspect the body is that of MeLisa Cleary, 30, of Mackinaw. She was reported missing Friday evening after family and friends could not reach her by phone. Nicole Simpson, a close friend, said her body was found in a rural area near Hartsburg on Monday morning, according to a report by GateHouse News Service in Peoria.

Logan County State’s Attorney Tim Huyett said Canadian National railroad workers found the body of a 30-year-old woman near Hartsburg, but he would not confirm her identity. Logan County Coroner Robert Thomas said the body would likely be identified today, and he said it showed obvious signs of trauma.

Authorities couldn’t locate MeLisa Cleary’s husband, Daniel Cleary, for questioning Monday, but news reports indicate he was taken into custody early this morning. MeLisa Cleary’s sister, Brandy Gerard of Washington, told WEEK TV in Peoria that neighbors saw Daniel Cleary and the couple’s three children leave their residence in a car with suitcases Monday afternoon. The three children are: Chloe Renee Cleary, 3; Jacob Thomas Cleary, 8; and Kaitlin Elizabeth Roten, 12, who sometimes goes by the last name of Cleary.

The Illinois State Police issued an Amber Alert stating that Daniel Cleary, 34, abducted his three children at 5 p.m. Monday and was possibly en route to the Peoria area.

http://www.lincolncourier.com/archive/x142954319/Body-found-near-Hartsburg

This case is open and active! If anybody has any information involving the disappearance and death of MeLisa by all means call.

The Tazewell County Sheriff's Office can be reached at 309-346-4141. The Logan County Sheriff's Office can be reached at 217-732-2156. Crimestoppers at 673-9000.

COVINA: BRUCE PARDO, KILLER SANTA PLANNED ESCAPE TO CANADA

Covina is a city in Los Angeles County, California, about 22 miles (35 km) east of downtown Los Angeles.

El Siglo de Torreon
Alicia and Joseph Ortega were born and married in Torreon, Mexico, according to El Siglo de Torreon, a local newspaper. This photo, published in that paper, shows the couple celebrating their 50th wedding anniversary. They are believed to be among the dead in the Christmas Eve attack at their home in Covina

(Ken Hively, Los Angeles Times)
L.A. County coroner's officials remove the body of Bruce Jeffrey Prado from a house in Sylmar.

Photograph shows the burned-out Dodge Caliber automobile in the Sylmar area of Los Angeles that Bruce Pardo drove to his brother's house before committing suicide. Before the suicide, Pardo used remnants of the Santa suit to booby-trap his rental car to explode. (AP Photo/Covina Police Department)

Photograph shows a charred Santa suit inside the Dodge Caliber automobile that Bruce Pardo drove to his brother's house before committing suicide. Pardo apparently intended to flee the U.S., but his plans were dashed after the inferno he created severely burned his arms and melted his red costume onto his body, police said Friday. (AP Photo/Covina Police Department)

Los Angeles County firefighters remove items from the burned home Friday, Dec. 26, 2008, in Covina, Calif., that was set on fire during a Christmas Eve murder rampage. Bruce Pardo, dressed as Santa, shot indiscriminately at partygoers and destroyed his former in-laws' house with a homemade blowtorch, ultimately leaving nine people dead before killing himself. (AP Photo/Nick Ut)

Undated photograph provided by the Covina, Calif. Police Department shows a device that suspect Bruce Pardo brought with him to the Knollcrest house. Pardo destroyed his former in-laws' home with a homemade device that sprayed flammable liquid. (AP Photo/Covina Police Department)

'Santa' Gunman's Marriage Dissolved When Wife Discovered He Abandoned Brain-Damaged Son
Saturday, December 27, 2008
FOXNEWS.COM

COVINA, California — A man plotting revenge against his ex-wife dressed up like Santa, went to his former in-laws' Christmas Eve party, shot at partygoers and destroyed his former in-laws' house with a homemade device that sprayed flammable liquid, slaughtering at least nine people before killing himself hours later.

Bruce Pardo, 45, saw his marriage fall apart this year when his wife discovered he had abandoned a brain-damaged son years earlier but continued to claim the boy as a tax write-off, the L.A. Times reported.

(snip)

Sylvia Pardo got the dog. Bruce Pardo got angry.

Police believe he intended to flee to Canada after the Christmas Eve massacre, but his Santa suit melted on his body, leaving him with third-degree burns on both arms. Pardo later shot himself at his brother's home, where authorities found $17,000 on him and a plane ticket for a flight from Los Angeles to Canada.

Police say Pardo used a homemade device to spray racing fuel around the home and that the vapor was ignited by a pilot light or candle. They found what they described as a virtual bomb-making factory at Pardo's Montrose home, and that a rented car he had been driving was full of explosives and ammo. Police, suspecting the car could be booby-trapped, fired an incendiary device into it, and the whole thing exploded and burned, MyFoxNY reported.

READ MORE...
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,473024,00.html

RENO: DNA LINKS JAMES BIELA TO BRIANNA DENISON MURDER...AND OTHERS ???

Brianna Denison
March 29, 1988 -February, 2008

Site where Brianna Denison was found.

Photo © Stan White

http://renotahoe.about.com/b/2008/03/09/brianna-denison-investigation-web-page.htm

HUNTING GROUNDS OF SUSPECTED RENO RAPIST/SERIAL KILLER

Left: James Biela / Right: Original police sketch
James Biela, 27, was arrested on Nov. 25, 2008 after cops linked the Sparks, Nev. man to the murder of Brianna Denison and a Dec. 2007 sexual assault.

Reno Police arrest James Biela for Denison's murder
Posted: Nov 26, 2008 01:27 AM PST
Updated: Dec 10, 2008 07:15 AM PST

The arrest of a Sparks man as a suspect in the January kidnapping, rape and murder of a 19-year-old woman is now drawing interest out of state.

Investigators in Columbus, Ohio announced Friday that they are looking to Brianna Denison accused murderer, James Biela, as having a possible connection to as many as seven sexual assault cases in their area.

Authorities in Ohio say they have video surveillance of their suspect from an ATM when he used one of his victim's credit card but haven't named Biela as a formal suspect.

(snip)

Biela's girlfriend, who has a 4-year-old child with him, discovered a pair of underwear in his pickup truck according to police. She told a friend, and police say that friend called Secret Witness on Nov. 1.

Court documents say, "Biela respectfully declined to prove a DNA sample and indicated that he had not been involved in the murder of Brianna Denison and that his girlfriend" could provide him with an alibi.

Biela's girlfriend, according to court documents, contacted police saying that she could not account for his whereabouts in the early morning hours of Dec. 16 or Jan. 20. She then allowed investigators to test their son's DNA.

The DNA in subsequent tests was a "direct link" to the Denison case, Poehlman said. Police say the DNA evidence also links Biela to another sexual assault and kidnapping near the University campus in December.

COURT HEARING FOR BIELA IS SET FOR DEC. 10...STAY TUNED
http://www.krnv.com/Global/story.asp?S=9416901

COVINA, CA: BRUCE PARDO, SANTA, KILLS 6 AT PARTY, 3 MISSING

Covina Police Department via / AP
Bruce Jeffrey Pardo, 45, the prime suspect in the Christmas Eve Santa-suit killings at a suburban L.A. home, killed himself Thursday, according to police.

FNC
Images from the scene of a deadly fire that claimed at least three lives in suburban Los Angeles on Christmas Eve.

This image from video shows firefighters outside a blazing house in Covina, Calif., late Wednesday, Dec. 24, where a man dressed as Santa who had been having marital problems opened fire at a Christmas party, leaving more than three people dead in a home that then caught fire. (AP Photo/On Scene Video via AP))3:08 p.m. ET, 12/25/08

Hector Mata / AP

A Bomb Squad and Los Angeles County Sheriff official stand near a crime scene where a man in a Santa Claus costume killed at least six people during a Christmas party in Covina, Calif., Thursday, Dec. 25, 2008. 6:36 p.m. ET, 12/25/08

Hector Mata /AP

Covina police Chief Kim Raney talks with reporters about a killing rampage at a Christmas party, during a news conference at the Covina Police Headquarters in Covina, Calif. Thursday, December 25, 2008. 6:30 p.m. ET

12/25/08

Man in Santa suit kills at least nine at Covina party, police say

By Ari B. Bloomekatz, Tami Abdollah and Joel Rubin 5:10 PM PST, December 25, 2008

A distraught man dressed as Santa Claus opened fire at a Christmas Eve party and then set the house ablaze, killing at least six people, police said. Several hours later, the shooter killed himself.

Three people who attended the party remained unaccounted for Thursday afternoon as coroner officials continued to search through the wreckage.

Bruce Jeffrey Pardo, 45, who had recently been divorced and is believed to have lost his job, knocked on the front door of a home owned by the parents of his ex-wife in Covina around 11:30 Wednesday night, said Police Chief Kim Raney.

An 8-year-old girl ran to the door to answer Pardo's knock, police said. He shot her in the face, stepped into the house and began to fire indiscriminately with a semiautomatic handgun.

(snip)

The two-story house, located at the end of a quiet cul-de-sac, was fully engulfed by fire, Los Angeles County fire officials said. About 80 firefighters were initially kept at bay by police who feared that the gunman was still in the area.

They battled flames that soared 40 to 50 feet high for an hour and a half before extinguishing the fire, according to Capt. Mike Brown. Amid the ruins, the second floor of the house had collapsed onto the ground.

WHAT MADE BRUCE PARDO INTO A KILLER?
http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-santa-shooting26-2008dec26,0,6505439.story