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Carter Roy (12:54)

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Carter Roy (13:22)

In 2004, 39 year old Sylvia Ortega had returned to her hometown of Los Angeles after losing one husband in a tragic accident and divorcing another. Now she was focused on spending time with her family and raising her three children. Dating probably wasn't a priority, but that didn't mean she wasn't open to it. So she was pleasantly surprised when her brother in law introduced her to his co worker, 41 year old Bruce Pardo. As a software engineer at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory or JPL. Sylvia might have expected Bruce to be uptight and serious, but that couldn't have been further from the truth. Bruce was one of those larger than life type people, always laughing and cracking jokes. He and Sylvia hit it off right away. They quickly began spending more time together, going on dates and getting to know each other. Bruce seemed like an open book. Sylvia had no idea that he was keeping some very dark secrets, ones that he was determined to keep buried. Like Sylvia, Bruce was born and raised in Los Angeles County. His dad was an engineer and noticed that Bruce also had an aptitude for math. His father encouraged him to pursue it. Maybe he'd go into a similar career. So as a teen, Bruce attended John H. Francis Polytechnic High School in Sun Valley where he focused on math, science and technology. Bruce did well there and it wasn't a surprise that after graduating in 1981, the 18 year old went on to study computer science at Cal State Northridge. Despite his brains, Bruce was also something of a class clown. He loved to be the center of attention and would do anything to get a laugh. At his College graduation around 1985, Bruce carried a life sized blow up doll around all day. He even took it onto the stage to get his diploma. Not long after graduating, Bruce landed a job as a software engineer at jpl. It was hard work and Bruce looked for ways to do as little as possible. He bragged to friends about taking long lunches and finding ways to look busy without actually doing much. And he didn't seem to think the rules applied to him either. If he wanted to take time off, he just left. For example, if there was fresh snow on any of the nearby mountains, he'd ditch work for an impromptu winter Holiday. In another case, Bruce even hacked into NASA's computer system to look up his colleagues salaries just because he could. But one thing Bruce couldn't do was stay on top of his finances. Although he made good money at NASA, it didn't stay in his bank account long. Which was probably why he was still living at home with his mom, Nancy Windsor, even as a well paid 24 year old. But living with Nancy didn't hurt Bruce's romantic life. In fact, in 1988, 25 year old Bruce got engaged to a woman named Delia. They met while working at JPL and unlike Bruce, she actually had a decent amount in savings. To Bruce, this sounded like a great way to bankroll the life he wanted. Starting with the wedding, which Bruce wanted to be extravagant. Delia put down the deposit for their reception at a country club. She footed the bill for a honeymoon in Tahiti. After spending a year finalizing the details, Bruce and Delia sent out invitations to 250 guests and booked the San Fernando mission for the ceremony. The day of the wedding started off a little chaotic. Everyone rushed around doing their jobs, preparing the venue with decorations and flowers. Things were all falling into place when it became apparent that something very important was missing. The groom. His mother hoped he was just running late. But minutes stretched into hours and before long it was clear that Bruce wasn't coming. He'd skipped out on his own wedding. It took Delia a week to find out what had happened. Bruce took all the money out of their joint account, about $3,000, which is almost $8,000 in today's money, and ran away to Palm Springs. Eventually Bruce showed up at work like nothing had happened, tanned and happy from his vacation to the desert. Delia was devastated. But by all accounts she never got an explanation nor an apology from Bruce. Still, consequences weren't something that kept Bruce up at night. He'd humiliated Delia, embarrassed his family and stolen his fiance's money. Even then it seemed like the people in his life didn't call him out on might have been his charisma. But it also could have been because they liked benefiting from his generosity. He was still covering dinners and inviting people to party on his boat. But the older he got, the harder it was for Bruce to pull off the frat boy life. And eventually even he had to grow up. The moment came in the year 2000. It's not clear how long they'd been dating, but that was when 36 year old Bruce and his girlfriend Elena Lucano had a baby boy. They named him Bruce, but called him by his middle name, Matthew. It seemed like Bruce was finally taking on some real responsibilities. He, Elena and the baby moved into a nice house with a pool in the backyard. He talked about setting up a college fund for his son, no doubt imagining Matthew following in his footsteps as an engineer. It felt like Bruce had turned over a new leaf as a caring father and family man. Then, in January 2001, tragedy struck. One day, Elena needed to run some errands. She left 13 month old Matthew in the care of his father. When she got back hours later, Bruce was watching TV and baby Matthew was nowhere to be found. Bruce hadn't even noticed he'd been missing. He jumped up and helped Alina frantically search the house. That was when they spotted the tiny body floating in the pool Matthew had fallen in. Bruce raced outside and dove into the water. Miraculously, Matthew was still alive. But no one knew how long he'd been submerged. Emergency services rushed the toddler to the hospital. Bruce sat at Matthew's bedside every day for a week. But when the doctors delivered the news that Matthew had suffered extensive brain damage, Bruce broke. Maybe he felt guilty, or maybe it was something worse. That he didn't want to raise a disabled son. Whatever his reasoning, Bruce did the unforgivable. Just like before, he ran from his responsibilities. From then on, he never spoke to Elena again, except through attorneys. Bruce never voluntarily paid her a penny of support. Even when Matthew's medical expenses topped over $300,000, Elena had to sue him for financial assistance. Once again, Bruce apparently saw nothing wrong with walking away. He didn't want to be in that situation. So he got out. When Bruce met 39 year old Sylvia Ortega in 2004, it had only been three years since he abandoned his disabled child. But Bruce didn't see the need to share that with his new girlfriend. Bruce's friends and family were still hoping that he would settle down and finally become a family man. They all thought Sylvia was perfect. And apparently Bruce did too. So he decided to pursue her, even though she was fresh off a divorce. Sylvia wasn't immune to Bruce's charms. And neither were the rest of the Ortegas. They opened their home to Bruce with the same generosity they showed everyone. He was immediately welcomed as a part of the family. Even though Bruce came from a much smaller household, he'd always loved a crowd. And he always had an audience with the Ortegas. So everyone was thrilled when they tied the knot. In January of 2006, Bruce bought a new three bedroom house in Montrose, about 30 miles north of Covina. It was a young, affluent neighborhood only 10 minutes from Bruce's work at JPL. Sylvia and her 4 year old daughter moved in with Bruce after the wedding. It's not clear where her older kids were living at this point, but they were in their 20s or late teens. Even so, Sylvie was determined to fill her new home with love and laughter. They bought a dog, an Akita they named Saki, and made friends in the neighborhood. Bruce even regularly volunteered to usher at the local Catholic church on Sundays. After years of frat boy antics, he was finally starting to grow up. For the first year of their marriage, life was good. But then something started to change. The fun loving, goofy guy that Sylvia fell for was disappearing. The Bruce taking his place was aloof and constantly harping about money. Which was odd, because money was one thing he shouldn't have been concerned about. Bruce had left JPL in 2005 for a software engineering job with a defense contractor called ITT. He still made six figures, and Sylvia brought in about $30,000 from her administrative assistant job. And yet they argued about finances all the time. The one bright spot was Sylvia's mother in law, Nancy. She doted on Sylvia, Sylvia's child, and treated Sylvia like the daughter she never had. But as the pair grew closer, Nancy struggled beneath the weight of a terrible secret. Bruce might have cut off all contact, but Nancy kept in touch with her grandson Matthew and his mom. And though it technically wasn't her story to tell, she felt that Sylvia deserved to know. So toward the end of 2007, Nancy sat her daughter in law down and revealed the truth. Bruce had neglected his child, resulting in Matthew's brain damage. And then he walked away. Now he had no relationship with them and didn't send any child support or all while claiming Matthew was a dependent on his taxes. Sylvia was horrified. She couldn't imagine abandoning any of her children, especially if they were ill. And she was shocked that Bruce felt comfortable lying to her about it. After thinking it over, Sylvia knew she had to confront him about it. The whole thing was horrible. The least Bruce could do was stop claiming Matthew on his taxes. Not only did Bruce refuse, but he didn't show any remorse. This wasn't the man Sylvia thought she'd married. It was too much for her to forgive. So in March 2008, Sylvia filed for legal separation. Though the marriage was over, Sylvia didn't want to completely uproot her daughter's life. There were only a few months left in the school year, so she asked Bruce if they could stay in the house. Until then, he made his decision. Known in the cruelest way possible. Sylvia came home from a niece's birthday party to find her and her daughter's belongings out on the driveway. Bruce had kicked them out. With that, any chance chance of reconciliation was gone. Sylvia moved in with her sister and prepared to file for divorce. Sylvia thought Bruce had shown his true colors. She didn't know. It was just the tip of the iceberg. Hey, Ryan Reynolds here wishing you a very happy half off holiday. Because right now Mint Mobile is offering you the gift of 50% off unlimited. To be clear, that's half price, not half the service. Mint is still premium unlimited wireless for a great price. So that means a half day. Yeah, give it a try@mintmobile.com Switch upfront.

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In March of 2008, after barely two years of marriage, Sylvia Ortega and Bruce Pardo were headed for divorce. 42 year old Sylvia had learned some awful things about 45 year old Bruce, including the fact that he'd abandoned his disabled son, but still used the boy for a tax break. Realizing that she didn't truly know the man she'd married, Sylvia left. By April, the pair had hired attorneys. Through his lawyer, Bruce asked if there was any chance they could reconcile. Sylvia said no. As far as she was concerned, the marriage was over. Bruce had done plenty of leaving, but he'd never Been the one dumped before. Still, it seemed like he took it remarkably well. His attorney said he never seemed upset. And as spring turned into summer, Bruce's neighbors didn't notice anything different about him either. He was still the same friendly guy next door. Unbeknownst to his friends and neighbors, Bruce did do something out of the ordinary. On June 13, he visited Gun World in nearby Burbank and purchased a 9 millimeter handgun in cash. At the time, the purchase didn't raise any red flags. Hundreds of people bought guns at similar shops every day in Los Angeles for hunting, protection, or even recreation. But it was just the beginning of Bruce's plan. Five days later, on June 18, Bruce and Sylvia had their first hearing before a judge. A few of the Ortegas had shown up to support Sylvia. Surprisingly, Bruce's mom, Nancy, had also come. But she made it clear whose side she was on when she sat with Sylvia's family. Except for his attorney, Bruce was alone on his side of the courtroom. Sylvia asked for spousal support until she could find a higher paying job or get more hours at her current1. With three kids, it was extremely hard for her to make ends meet on her salary alone. The court ordered that Bruce pay $1,785 a month. But Bruce had a hard time following through on the orders. His first check bounced, and he put a stop payment on the second before it could do the same. Bruce had always been more of a spender than a saver, and it probably didn't help that he was fired from his job at the end of July. His old habit of trying to cheat the system had finally caught up to him. ITT found out that Bruce was billing for hours, that he wasn't actually working. Incredibly, Bruce tried to file for unemployment. But when you're fired for good reason, you don't qualify. And that wasn't the only dishonest move Bruce made that summer. Although he still couldn't make his spousal support payments, Bruce somehow scraped enough money together to purchase a second 9 millimeter handgun at Gun World on August 8th. It's worth mentioning that California has a law restricting the sales of concealable firearms like handguns. According to the statute, a person can only buy one every 30 days. Which was why Bruce waited until September 8th to go back for gun number three. If anyone had been tracking him, they would have seen the disturbing pattern begin to emerge. Bruce wasn't just interested in guns. He was stocking up on them. Later that same day, Bruce reached out to his neighbor Jerry Diot, who owned A costume company. Bruce said he needed a Santa outfit for a kid's party. September may seem early to be ordering that particular costume, But Bruce was 6 foot 4 inches tall and 275 pounds. He knew that renting wasn't going to be an option. He needed something custom. Jerry said she could do it for around $300, but she'd need a $200 deposit up front. Bruce told her it wasn't a problem and dropped off the money. Between handguns and costumes, the only thing he didn't seem to have the money for was his spousal support payments to Sylvia. But as usual, Bruce had an excuse. He told the judge he was applying for new jobs without much success, so the court agreed to suspend the payments on the basis of financial hardship. And yet, the next month, Bruce spent another thousand dollars on his fourth 9 millimeter. Aside from the firearms, Bruce wasn't spending money on much else. Without a job, he didn't have much reason to leave the house. On the rare occasions that he did, it was usually to walk Socky, his dog. He also got lunch at a nearby bakery a few times a week. But most of the time he was alone, licking his wounds. It was a departure from the social and outgoing guy he used to be. Maybe Bruce had burned all those bridges, but the biggest heartbreak must have been his relationship with his mother. He hadn't spoken to her since the hearing started. For the first time, Bruce was all alone. So when an old friend from high school randomly reached out, Bruce was eager to reconnect. His name was Steven Irwin, no relation to the Crocodile Hunter. Since they had last spoken, Steve had ended up in Iowa with a wife and six kids. It's not clear why Steve called, but he ended up inviting Bruce to his 45th birthday party in Iowa sometime in October. Bruce desperately needed to get away from everything for a while and booked a plane ticket. When they sat down to catch up, Bruce unloaded about everything he'd been through. He told Steve about the divorce and that he'd been fired. It's safe to assume he wasn't honest about the reasons why. Instead, Bruce talked about how embarrassing it was for his personal business to be out in the open. And to make matters worse, his own mother had taken Sylvia's side. It was clear that Bruce felt deeply wronged. He'd been abandoned by the people he believed were supposed to love him the most. And while Sylvia had this large, loving family to turn to, he had no one. Bruce was lonely and angry, a terrifying combination. But after getting everything off his chest, he seemed to be able to move on and enjoy the rest of his trip. From what Steve could tell after their discussion, Bruce was his usual happy, go lucky self. Well, catching up with an old friend was nice. Bruce was hiding an ulterior motive for the visit. While he was in Iowa, he stopped at a local gun store. There he purchased 16 handgun magazines. In California, magazines were limited to a 10 bullet capacity. The ones Bruce bought in Iowa could store 18 bullets each. They were the perfect addition to his arsenal. When Bruce came home, it was almost November. Jerry called to say his Santa suit was ready, so he went to pick it up. He paid the final $100 and even tipped her an extra 20. Then on November 13th, Bruce bought his fifth and final handgun. The next few weeks of Bruce's life seemed to be lonely ones. As Thanksgiving came and went, he sat alone in his empty house. He had lots of time to think about Sylvia and the Ortegas celebrating together. And as their divorce case wound down in the courts, his thoughts turned bitter. After months of negotiating and hearings, Bruce and Sylvia finalized their divorce settlement on December 18, 2008. Bruce agreed to pay Sylvia a lump sum of $10,000 and in exchange, he kept the house. Sylvia got to keep her engagement ring. But the real kicker was that the court awarded Sylvia possession of their dog, Socky. The dog had been Bruce's only companion for months, and now it was gone, along with everything else Bruce once held dear. But Bruce had snapped months ago, the moment Sylvia decided their marriage was over. He'd been carefully plotting his revenge ever since. He didn't care what the courts ordered or that Sylvia thought she'd won. Bruce knew he was going to make them all pay soon enough. It would be a Christmas none of them would ever forget. Thank you so much for listening. I'm Carter Roy and this is Murder True Crime Stories. Come back next time for part two of this story and all the people it affected. True Crime Stories is a Crime House original powered by Pave Studios. Here at Crime House, we want to thank each and every one of you for your support. If you like what you heard today, reach out on social media, rimehouse on TikTok and Instagram. Don't forget to rate, review and follow Murder True Crime Stories. Wherever you get your podcasts, your feedback truly makes a difference. And to enhance your Murder True Crime Stories listening experience, subscribe to Crime House plus on Apple Podcasts. You'll get every episode ad free and instead of having to wait for each episode of a two part series, you'll get access to both at once, plus exciting bonus content. We'll be back on Thursday. True Crime Stories is hosted by me, Carter Roy and is a Crime House original. Powered by Pave Studios, this episode was brought to life by the Murder True Crime Stories team. Max Cutler, Ron Shapiro, Alex Benedon, Natalie Pertofsky, Sarah Camp, Megan Hannam, Molly Quinlan, Artwick and Russell Nash. Thank you for listening. Looking for your next Crime House? Listen, don't miss Clues with Morgan Absher and Kaylan Moore. Every Wednesday, Morgan and Kaelin take you deep into the world of the most notorious crimes ever. Clue by clue. It's like hanging out with your smart, true crime obsessed friends. Listen to Clues on Apple podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, or wherever you listen to podcasts.