California man bitter over divorce dresses as Santa, kills at least 8 in Christmas Eve massacre

 

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/nationworld/sns-ap-santa-shooting,0,3506094.story

COVINA, Calif. (AP) — The bloodbath began when an 8-year-old girl attending a Christmas Eve party answered a knock at the door. A man dressed as Santa and carrying what appeared to a present pulled out a handgun and shot her in the face, then began shooting indiscriminately as partygoers tried to flee.
By the time it was over, at least eight people at the party were dead and the house was torched. The gunman killed himself hours after exacting revenge against his ex-wife by going on a massacre at his former in-laws' home.
Bruce Pardo's ex-wife and her parents were believed to be among the dead. At daybreak Friday, investigators planned to resume searching what was left of their two-story home on a cul-de-sac in a quiet Covina neighborhood 25 miles east of Los Angeles.
Pardo, 45, had no criminal record and no history of violence, according to police, but he was angry following last week's settlement of his divorce after a marriage that lasted barely a year.

Related links

· Man in Santa suit found dead after opening fire at party Photos

"It was not an amicable divorce," police Lt. Pat Buchanan said.
Investigators seeking further information about Pardo's motives have begun searching his home in the suburban Los Angeles community of Montrose.
Police said he showed up at his former in-laws' home around 11:30 p.m. Wednesday for their annual Christmas party.
The gift-wrapped box Pardo was carrying actually contained a pressurized homemade device he used to spray a liquid that quickly sent the house up in flames. Police said Pardo had recently worked in the aerospace industry.
David Salgado, a neighbor, said he saw the 8-year-old victim being escorted to an ambulance by four SWAT team members as flames up to 40 feet high consumed the house.
"It was really ugly," Salgado said.
Another neighbor, Jan Gregory, said she saw a teenage boy flee the home, screaming "They shot my family!"
A 16-year-old girl was shot in the back, and a 20-year-old woman broke her ankle when she escaped by jumping from a second-story window. Those two, and the 8-year-old, remained hospitalized. All were expected to recover.
When the fire was extinguished early Thursday, officers found three charred bodies in the living room area.
"They were met with a scene that was just indescribable," police Chief Kim Raney said. Investigators found five more bodies amid the ashes later in the day and planned to return Friday to continue looking.
None of the dead or missing has been identified. Authorities were unable to immediately determine whether the victims were killed by the flames or the gunfire.
Following the shootings, Pardo quickly got out of the Santa suit and drove off, witnesses told police. He went to his brother's home about 25 miles away in the Sylmar area of Los Angeles. No one was home, so Pardo let himself in, police said.
Police were called to the home early Thursday, and officers found Pardo dead of a single bullet to the head. Two handguns were found at the scene, and two more were discovered in the wreckage of his former in-laws' house.
A car that Pardo apparently parked near his brother's home exploded Thursday evening and more ammunition was found in it, Los Angeles police Sgt. Francisco Wheeling said. She had no immediate details on what set off the explosion. No one was hurt.
Pardo's next-door neighbor, who did not want her name published to protect her privacy, said he moved in more than a year ago with a woman and a child. She said they kept mostly to themselves and the woman later moved out with the child.
Pardo was often seen walking a dog around the neighborhood and working on his lawn, the neighbor said.
He also served regularly as an usher at evening Mass at Holy Redeemer Catholic Church in Montrose, the Los Angeles Times reported.
Jan Detanna, the head usher at the church, was stunned when told about the violence.
"I'm just — this is shocking," Detanna told the Times. "He was the nicest guy you could imagine. Always a pleasure to talk to, always a big smile."
Bong Garcia, another of Pardo's next-door neighbors, told the Times he saw Pardo between 9 and 10 p.m. Christmas Eve and spoke briefly to him. Pardo told him he was on his way to a Christmas party, Garcia said.
___
Associated Press writer Daisy Nguyen contributed to this report.

Light a Candle For The Children-Judicial Abuse

 

 

Judicial Abuse

Introduction

Judicial abuse occurs when the effects of law itself are damaging to the person access to justice. In the most severe forms, Judicial abuse often occurs involving the most vulnerable members of our world: Children. For some time, judicial abuse has occurred across systems and mostly against mothers and children. Considering that it was not that long ago that both women and children were seen and not heard, just as things were improving it seemed as though humanity was finally valuing each and every precious human life. Out in the public, such things would and do cause enough outrage for a sense of "natural justice". Away from the public eye, these human rights atrocities occur almost unseen and unheard like a thief in the night.

Secrecy

There are laws that prevent survivors from speaking out about their experiences. Whilst it is "for the children", children are not allowed to speak about the proceedings either. The media have written too few articles on the family court. To bring the case to the media, participants must seek permission from the court itself or face imprisonment. Controversially, fathers rights groups were allowed to heavily voice their stories of "no contact", "falsely accused of child abuse and domestic violence" and few were allowed to challenge that except in utilizing generalist terms and evidence based research. We are aware that most of these stories are not the case at all but are withheld by law to bring the public the truth.

Family Court

In the process of seeking more time with children and promoting what appears to be the most noble cause, has entrenched the rights of mothers and children in their ability to seek safety from violence. Heads have been quoted in the media for stating that "family violence is our core business". The propaganda that is spread about the voices of children and their access to justice promotes the profitability in manufacturing child abuse and domestic violence. They can do something about it, but it is not within their best economical advantage to do so. This will continue until something is done. ShareThis

Out of the ashes of destruction and devastation, we give birth to Anonymums.

Disclaimer

Endangered Species: Mothers

Technorati Tags: Endangered Species: MothersChild Custody,Child Custody Battle,Child Custody Issues,Child custody for fathers,Custody for dads,Custody laws,Danielle Malmquist,Family Courts,Getting screwed by the Family Courts,Mother Child Relationship,Noncustodial Mothers

Endangered Species: Mothers

 

From Anonymums :

The campaigns for fathers ended up degrading and excluding single mothers from all walks of life. They were wrong for working and leaving their children, they were wrong for being poor, they were wrong for leaving abusive relationships and maintaining the “status quo” that would have harmed or even killed them, they were wrong for nurturing their children(alienating). A few years ago, I saw many grumpy mothers in the supermarket, now I see grumpy fathers - mothers were never any worse at raising children, they just did it more, thats all. The difference?

Single mothers are still being degraded no matter what they do and considering she has risked her life and body to bring each and everyone in the world, its about time, people began to show her a bit more gratitude and respect. Single mothers cannot continue to endure the wrath of the community for another lifetime, its bad for our youth and bad for society. It says to the rest of the world: “We as Australians are selfish and undeserving of the life that our mothers have given us”.

The solution is that Australians need to be more aware of this factor. This also includes same sex parents who can raise their children just as well, but should not be treated like baby factories and have abusers walk all over them to resolve “fatherlessness”. Its about time these fathers learn to take some of the responsibilities as to why a mother might be apprehensive at contact for the child. There is a real undermining of her reasons with little and in some cases large amounts of evidence as to why she would sacrifice the little time she has to herself to have the children stay with her for longer periods of time.

We need to ask ourselves:

Why are we calling mothers abductors of their own children?

Why are we looking down upon mothers for trying to bring food into their homes by working?

It is no wonder women want to abort and more are choosing to have children later in life

We didn’t just throw the baby out with the bath water - We threw the mother out too. Bring back Motherhood.

Danielle Malmquist Still Trying to get Access to Her Children

 
December 8, 2008
Danielle Malmquist Still Trying to get Access to Her Children

Got word today that Ernie Freeman, MyFoxMemphis, has another update
on Danielle Malmquist, formerly of Germantown, Tennessee. See the
story and video here:www.rightsformothers.comjustice4mothers @ 12:33 pm

MyFoxMemphis: Nasty Divorce Case Still Lingers
How sad it is that Shem Malmquist is pleading poverty and is using a
court-appointed attorney for the case, AND HE MAKES OVER $250,000 A
YEAR! That's the crap courts are giving fathers now…every
opportunity to screw over the mother. Thankfully, a local Memphis
attorney agreed to help Danielle on a Pro Bono basis. It has been
almost one year now since Danielle has seen her children. Stay tuned…

Nasty Divorce Case Still Lingers
Danielle Malmquist Still Trying to get Access to Her Children
MEMPHIS, Tenn. (WHBQ FOX13 myfoxmemphis.com) -- It's one of the nastiest divorce and custody cases you've ever seen and a former Mid-South wife says she's more convinced than ever the legal system is out to get her. Does she have a case? I-Team reporter Ernie Freeman reports on how a mother's desperate cries for help are not being heard
http://www.myfoxmemphis.com/myfox/pag...

Got word today that Ernie Freeman, MyFoxMemphis, has another update
on Danielle Malmquist, formerly of Germantown, Tennessee. See the
story and video here:
MyFoxMemphis: Nasty Divorce Case Still Lingers
How sad it is that Shem Malmquist is pleading poverty and is using a
court-appointed attorney for the case, AND HE MAKES OVER $250,000 A
YEAR! That's the crap courts are giving fathers now every
opportunity to screw over the mother. Thankfully, a local Memphis
attorney agreed to help Danielle on a Pro Bono basis. It has been
almost one year now since Danielle has seen her children. Stay tuned

Ignoring boy's plight costs state $1.5 million: Government | adn.com

 

CHILDREN'S SERVICES: 37 reports outlined danger youth was in.

By LISA DEMER
ldemer@adn.com

Published: December 2nd, 2008 11:42 PM
Last Modified: December 2nd, 2008 11:21 AM

The baby boy was born with cocaine in his system. His mother abandoned him when he was an infant. At age 3, he lay down in the street and said he wished a truck would run over him.

And the system that was supposed to protect him was every bit as dysfunctional.

He bounced from one Anchorage foster home to another and then back to his father, who beat and neglected him, according to a lawsuit filed on his behalf against the state Office of Children's Services.

The complaint accused OCS of failing to protect the child from repeated abuse and neglect, despite dozens of reports to state workers that he was in danger. The result: an emotionally damaged boy.

Late in November, the state settled the lawsuit for $1.5 million. The boy is now 18, attending a special school, and living with his adoptive parents.

Alaska's system to protect children let the boy down and is broken, said Christine Schleuss, one of his attorneys.

Neighbors, teachers, foster parents, a nurse and others all made reports to the state that the boy was in danger, 37 reports in all, most of them naming his father as a source of abuse and neglect. But an expert hired by the boy's lawyers determined that not a single report was handled properly, according to the state's own minimal standards, Schleuss said. Some weren't investigated at all.

"There was systemic indifference ... just complete indifference and lack of accountability: Oh, don't blame us for this. Even though our own rules and regulations require us to do these things, don't hold us accountable when we don't do them," Schleuss said Tuesday.

"They are not building a record of what is happening in this child's life," said co-counsel Cynthia Strout. He had unexplained bruises. There were reports of no food in the house, of drug abuse by adults, of the boy and his brothers running around unsupervised.

The boy and his adoptive parents didn't want to talk about what happened for this story but gave the lawyers permission to do so, they said. The lawsuit doesn't identify the family.

The adoptive parents never sought any money for themselves but sued to ensure the boy's needs are met, Schleuss said. He may require counseling, a job coach, assisted living and other help.

"He is a wonderful, lovely human being. He is a delightful young man. But life is going to be tough for him," Schleuss said.

The money will be managed by a court-appointed conservator, his lawyers say.

The case settled just before it was to go to trial. Schleuss wouldn't say how much of the $1.5 million will go for attorney fees. But costs for experts, travel and other expenses amounted to $170,000 as she and Strout prepared for trial, the lawyers said.

It's the second big lawsuit against OCS that Schleuss has settled this year. The other one, on behalf of two boys, settled midway through the trial, with each boy getting $1.2 million.

In the recent case, state officials didn't admit any wrongdoing but said the boy's side was seeking over $3 million in damages at what was expected to be a three-week trial.

State officials provided a written statement on the settlement through the Department of Law. One of the issues was whether the state failed to permanently sever the father's rights to the boy soon enough, the statement said.

The boy's case dates back to 1990. The state took custody of the boy at birth and had to try to reunify him with his family, the statement said. There were years of court proceedings.

Those efforts happened before a 1998 change in state law that requires abusive or neglectful parents to prove their ability to safely care for their children more quickly, the statement said.

The boy is the youngest of three and seemed to get the brunt of his father's anger, his lawyers say. As a preschooler, his emotional troubles led to repeated stays in an Anchorage psychiatric hospital, the suit said. The hospital described him as feral. After one of the stays, the staff urged that he not be returned to his father.

"And they just ignored that," Strout said.

By the time he was 6, he was in a foster home and life was more stable. But the state still required unsupervised visits with his father, and he would return to the foster home with bruises and once, with stitches. There were also suspicions another child in his father's home was sexually abusing him, the lawsuit said.

When he was 7, the foster parents agreed to become his legal guardians. Then the boy's father showed up and demanded the child back. The boy's caseworker had failed to file the court papers for the state to keep custody. The boy went back to his father.

Right away, the state learned that the father refused to give the boy medicine he needed to combat seizures. The foster parents visited and found "animal-like conditions" that they reported to the state. No one investigated.

In fact, his social worker never visited over the five months the boy was back with his father, Schleuss said.

In February 1999, the foster mother saw the boy at a Boys and Girls Club in Anchorage. He pulled up his shirt and showed welts from beatings with a dog leash. His father wasn't there. The foster mother took him straight to state authorities.

Police were called, and the father was charged with assault, the lawyers said.

The boy ended up back with the foster parents. They adopted him when he was 11. Even then he wasn't safe. The state put an older foster boy in the home who had a history of violence, without telling the foster parents about his past.

The 14-year-old had killed a cat, set fires, and molested other children. But the foster parents didn't know any of that, Schleuss said.

He molested the younger boy, the lawyer said, who had already been through so much.

The Alaska Supreme Court earlier had ruled in a separate case that the state had to inform foster parents about risky behavior of children being placed in their homes. The state even created a form. But the critical page in this case was missing, Schleuss said.

The boy's lawyers said the state can do better. They have some ideas: lower caseloads. Better pay, so workers stay on the job. Better supervision of front-line workers, an emphasis of Tammy Sandoval, the OCS director since 2005.

"What is disturbing to me is we are a fairly small state. We have the resources to do it. We can do it," Schleuss said.

But until the system improves, Schleuss and Strout say they intend to keep after OCS, one child at a time. Their next lawsuit is set for trial in April.

---

Find Lisa Demer online at adn.com/contact/ldemer or call 257-4390.

Ignoring boy's plight costs state $1.5 million: Government | adn.com

Battered Mothers Custody Conference Interviews

[IMPORTANT: The following audiovisual piece includes real-life interviews featuring disturbing verbal content and statements on child abuse and domestic violence. Viewer discretion is advised.]

Prof. Garland Waller produced "Small Justice: Little Justice in America's Family Courts" which is an independent documentary that explores the relationship between domestic violence, child sexual abuse and custody laws in America. To learn more about the stories of the women seen in this 10 minute clip, please go to http://batteredmotherscustodyconferen...

Jessie Beers Altman, a graduate student in the College of Communication, was in charge of editing this video.

For more information of Boston University's Department of Film and Television at the College of Communication, visit: http://www.bu.edu/com/ft

Abused and charged with murder: 8-year-old boy shoots & kills father and family friend after 1,000th spanking

 

Susan Mernit: Abused and charged with murder: 8-year-old boy shoots & kills father and family friend after 1,000th spanking

 

Posted December 1, 2008 | 10:01 PM (EST)

Abused and charged with murder: 8-year-old boy shoots & kills father and family friend after 1,000th spanking

stumble digg reddit del.ico.us news trust mixx.com

Read More: Child Abuse, Crime, Families, Juvenile Crime, Murder, Patricide, Media News

If you are 8 years old and you have received 1,000 spankings since you were old enough to start counting them, what does that mean?

It could mean you'd been recording them for 3 years, since you learned to write in kindergarten, or that you'd been recording them for a year, since you were seven and learned how to carry forth numbers in addition. If you'd been recording them since you were five, that would mean you'd been spanked almost once a day for the past 3 years, with 95 days off from getting your butt hit. If you'd started keeping track of the spankings when you were seven, which mean you were being hit more than 3 times a day for the past year.

Think about it. Breakfast, lunch, dinner, spanking. Every day for three years. Or, breakfast, spanking, dinner, spanking, before bed, spanking--spankings happening more frequently to this child per day than many people spent walking their dog.

Can you imagine living your life knowing that every day, at some point--perhaps more than once--a beating was going to happen? And that your father, responsible for mentoring you and your upbringing, was going to be the one to lay it on? Flat of the hand, paddle, belt, kitchen implement--did it matter after a while what your Dad hit you with?

Or was it just the consistent searing drip of the days, held together by having your pants pulled down and your butt beaten--not only by your Dad, but by his friend, a man who rented a room in their house.

How bad could any child be--any person--that someone could justify beating him, day after day?

If this isn't child abuse, I don't know what is.

If you think I'd strongly consider handing this eight year old the shotgun he is accused of picking up and using to fire two rounds each into Dad and his pal, you're reading me right.

And when I realized that this child--who doesn't live with his Dad full time--managed to score all these beatings from a monster who had only partial custody, I'd consider shooting this abuser myself.

For me, reading the news reports about this story underscores how powerless children are and how powerful the family is. In every account reported on this tragedy, the child's grandma is reported to have said, on hearing the news, "'I knew this would happen. They were too hard on (the boy). I knew (he) did it. He spent the night in my bed cuddling up to me. I had a feeling he did it. If any eight year old boy is capable of doing this, it's (him).

Which do you think would be more likely to cause Post Traumatic Stress Syndrome? Being an 8 year old who is spanked daily or multiple times a day by your father and stepmother and their friend, or doing a tour of duty in the Middle East as an adult?

I'd argue that the child--who was abused and no one did a thing about it--could be more screwed up than any vet suffering from PTSS--after all, if the kid's perception was that people who loved him wanted to beat the living crap out of him--in this case, it would be true.

When this case comes to trial, I have no doubt we are going to find out this child was a scapegoat for a sexual sadist or some other kind of pedophile sicko who found excuses to inflict pain on his son under the guise of discipline. And if that is true, this evil dad raised a son who killed out of self-defense.