Alicia Ortiz, 46, was one of nine people killed on December 24, 2008, during a mass shooting and arson attack at a Christmas Eve party in Covina, California. The party was at her sister Sylvia Pardo’s home. The attacker, Sylvia’s ex-husband Bruce Jeffrey Pardo, allegedly arrived in a Santa Claus suit, shot attendees beginning with an 8-year-old girl who answered the door, and then set the house on fire after opening fire.

Investigators say Pardo’s actions were premeditated: he brought multiple semi-automatic handguns, a large gift-wrapped package containing a homemade device to spray racing fuel, and had rented vehicles and a plane ticket for an escape. The fire burned him badly and he was later found dead of a self-inflicted gunshot wound at his brother’s home in Sylmar. Court of events and items recovered suggested he intended the attack as revenge tied to his recent divorce from Sylvia.