The photo of Alicia and Jose Ortega comes from the Mexican newspaper, “El Siglo de Torreon” which profiled the couple on their 50th wedding anniversary.

The couple and seven other members of their family are missing and presumed dead following a Christmas Eve massacre at their home on Knollcrest Drive in Covina.

Here’s some of El Siglo’s report (Translation by Google):

The family was killed by a man dressed as Santa Claus in Los Angeles have roots in Torreon, as owners of the house where the massacre occurred was a marriage from the city, in-laws of the murderer, Bruce Jeffrey Pardo.

A Toyota Rav4, apparently rented by Bruce Pardo in the days before he carried out the massacre of nine people celebrating Christmas at a Knollcrest Drive home, has been recovered, officials said.

A bomb squad investigation is now underway. THe car may be boobytrapped or contain explosives.

Here’s the most recent update:

A sheriff’s bomb squad is investigating a vehicle in Glendale they believe was rented by Bruce Jeffrey Pardo, the gunman in the Christmas Eve massacre who later killed himself.

A Glendale resident called police after noticing the abandoned vehicle, said Glendale police Sgt. Tom Lorenz.

A gray 1999 Toyota RAV4 was rented by Pardo from an agency in Pasadena Dec. 19 and should have been returned Friday, said Lt. Pat Buchanan of the Covina Police Department.

Police said Saturday they are seeking a second car that may be associated with Bruce Pardo, a gunman who dressed as Santa Claus who methodically killed nine people inside a Covina house on Christmas Eve.

The car a 1999 gray Toyota Rav4, may be rigged to explode.

Here’s the story:

Meanwhile, a gray 1999 Toyota Rav4 rented by the suspect, Bruce Pardo, in recent weeks remains unaccounted for, Covina police Lt. Pat Buchanan.

Anyone who sees the SUV, which has a license plate number of 5RYD562, is advised not to approach it, the lieutenant said.

“We believe it may be booby trapped or contain explosives,” he said.

A Dodge Caliber rented by the suspect and abandoned in Sylmar was rigged to explode when examined by investigators.

From the Los Angeles Times:

Nancy Windsor broke into violent sobs and tried to speak through them as she described her struggle to cope with her son Bruce Jeffrey Pardo’s Christmas Eve massacre, in which he killed his ex-wife and eight members of her close-knit family.

“I have to be honest with you, I’m having trouble holding myself together,” Windsor aid today in a brief telephone interview with The Times from the hotel where she is staying

A small bouquet of flowers was left a few homes away from the crime scene at 1129 Knollcrest Drive where the Christmas Eve murders took place in Covina, photographed on Friday, December 26, 2008. (Photo by Raul Roa)  

Dressed as Santa, Bruce Pardo, 45, of Montrose, opened fire with four semi-automatic handguns on a party at the home of his ex-wife’s family. He then sprayed the home with a flamethrower, which burned the home to the ground.

Pictures courtesy Covina PD Lt. Buchannan, who wrote:

The photographs attached to this e-mail are of the device Suspect
Pardo brought with him to the Knollcrest house. What you see depicted in the photogrpahs is the tank from a compressor where the actual compressor mechanism has been removed. Added on to the compressor tank is another
smaller tank. We believe the smaller tank held the high octane racing
fuel and the larger of the two tanks held compressed air. We believe
Suspect Pardo added plumbing to where he could attach a hose line
with a sprayer on the end. The hose line was consumed in the fire and we have yet to find the sprayer end. In several of the photogrpahs, you can
see the Christmas wrapping paper stuck to the upper tank.

This from Ruby Gonzales:

Sylvia Pardo, 43, had three children. They survived the massacre.

She didn’t have a criminal record. Records show she has lived in Oklahoma and Texas.

She worked as a sales and marketing assistant at John Bodger and Sons Inc. in South El Monte. It operates under the business name Bodger Seeds, Ltd.

News of the killing surprised her employer.

“I was deeply shocked,” said company president Jack Bodger. He had never met Bruce Pardo.

Bodger said Sylvia Pardo had been with them six or seven years.

“She was an excellent employee. Very kind. Always considerate of others,” Bodger said.

Sylvia Pardo married Bruce Jeffrey Pardo on Jan. 29, 2006. The couple separated Feb. 25, 2008 and Sylvia Pardo filed for divorce on March 24, 2008, according to court records.

The couple had a court hearing Dec. 18.