Christmas is supposed to be a time of cheer and goodwill - but things don't always pan out that way. What follows is a list of Christmas true crimes, such as...
- The Ceramic Squirrel Stabbing
- A Christmas Killing Spree
- The Christmas Club Brawl
- Flamethrower Santa
- The Body Buried Beneath Presents
- The Unappreciated Gift
- The Christmas "Witch" Hunt
- A Killer's Christmas Photo
- The Santa Suit Shooter
- A Christmas Eve Baseball Murder
- The Los Feliz Murder Mansion
- Breaking and Entering With Intent To Decorate
Be warned, this list deals with disturbing and real crimes - for something lighter, try 12 Crazy Crimes (From the Louvre Heist to a Shark-Napping!)
 |
| Not everything that happens during the festive season is picturesque... (JillWellington) |
1) The Ceramic Squirrel Stabbing
In 2013, Helen Williams had a rather dramatic reaction to a failed shopping trip. Her partner had been sent out in search of beer, but returned empty-handed thanks to the shop being shut. It seems that this wasn't a good enough excuse for Williams, who proceeded to assault her beau with a decorative ceramic squirrel.
The victim had a deep laceration to the chest and was covered in blood when the police arrived. Williams was literally caught red-handed... but tried claiming that the blood was not from her partner!
2) A Christmas Killing Spree
Ronald Gene Simmons (no relation to the singer) already had a checkered history. Following a military career he had quietly fled authorities while under investigation for incest, then set up a crude home (patched together from old mobile homes) in Pope County. He got in further trouble after making inappropriate advances at his job... but the worst was yet to come.
During the Christmas of 1987 Simmons went on a prolonged, murderous rampage. First he murdered his wife and six children with a combination of bludgeoning, shooting or strangling. He would pick off a further seven relatives as they arrived for the holidays over the next four days.
A few days later he shot the receptionist of a law office, then killed one employee and injured another at a local oil company. Next was a convenience store where he injured two people, then he shot a woman at a freight company. Finally he sat down and waited for the police - unsurprisingly, he received the death penalty for his actions.
3) The Christmas Club Brawl
Owen Kerry was having a few drinks at a club in Cramlington on Christmas Eve when he ran afoul of Brian Cahill and Lyndsey Harper.
In the aftermath of a brawl instigated by Harper, Cahill attempted to strike Kerry in the back of the head with a glass... failing twice and being hurled to the ground. Cahill had gone out looking for trouble though and had concealed a combat knife in his sock. He kept the weapon low and covertly stabbed Kerry in the stomach, inflicting a mortal wound before slipping away into the crowd.
Cahill and Harper quietly left the club and hid the knife - supposedly they danced a jig at the thought of having "gotten away with it." The courts disagreed.
4) Flamethrower Santa
Fresh off a bitter divorce, Sylvia Ortega understandably didn't invite her ex to her Christmas party - but Bruce Pardo decided to attend anyway. He turned up wearing a Santa suit and equipped with four pistols and a makeshift flamethrower. Breaking in, he killed nine of the revelers and lit the house on fire.
It seems that Pardo had planned to escape to Canada and make a new life for himself, but his Santa suit melted onto his skin in the flames. Covered in burns, he put a bullet in his own head.
Police found that his car was rigged with a crude booby trap, causing it it burst into flames mid-search.
 |
| You'll never look at a pile of presents in quite the same way... (Bru-nO) |
5) The Body Buried Beneath Presents
62-year-old Michele O'Dowd thought she'd made a new friend in 37-year-old Patty White... but things were a lot more sinister than they seemed.
White strangled and robbed the unsuspecting O'Dowd, leaving her body buried beneath a pile of presents and accompanied by an empty vodka bottle. Having disguised the murder as a robbery gone wrong, she attempted to withdraw cash in O'Dowd's name using her stolen bank cards.
O'Dowd was discovered when her brother became worried about the sudden lack of contact. The courts saw right through the flimsy hoax and sentenced White to 45 years.
6) The Unappreciated Gift
In Britain, it's customary to feign enthusiasm for a gift even if you don't like it. Still, when Alan Williamson rejected the unisex trainers and calendar being offered by Melissa Young, he probably didn't expect to be stabbed 29 times in retaliation.
Young claimed to have been briefly possessed by the archangel Michael, who had used her to stab Williamson (supposedly a demon) to death. An unconvinced jury found her guilty of murder.
7) The Christmas "Witch" Hunt
When Kristy Bamu of Paris visited his sister Magalie in her London home, he was looking forwards to a combination holiday and reunion - instead, he was tortured to death on suspicion of sorcery.
Natives of the Democratic Republic of Congo, Magalie and her partner Eric Bikubi had become obsessed with witchcraft - and they believed that Kristy had been casting curses on the family. Kristy and two other siblings were subjected to something like a medieval witch trial - his mutilated body was discovered drowned in a bathtub on Christmas day.
8) A Killer's Christmas Photo
Charles Lawson had arranged a Christmas photograph for his family - not unusual by modern standards, but an expensive extravagance in 1929. They put on their best clothing, sat for the shoot and returned home.
Later in the day, Lawson shot his wife and 6 of their children (the eldest son was spared) then himself. No motive was ever found, but rumor spread that Charlie had been in an incestuous relationship with his daughter... and that his wife had found out.
 |
| Did a secret crime lead to the Lawson murders? (congerdesign) |
9) The Santa Suit Shooter
Given that Aziz Yazdanpanah had separated from his wife, it really shouldn't have been a surprise that he wasn't invited to her Christmas Eve party. He took the exclusion personally however, and decided to visit the next morning... dressed as Santa Claus and armed with a gun.
Entering the house, Yazdanpanah shot the seven inhabitants - including his wife, daughters and sister-in-law - before turning the gun on himself.
10) A Christmas Eve Baseball Murder
On the Christmas Eve of 2013, baseball prodigy Brandon Aydelott bludgeoned his mother with a baseball bat and fatally stabbed her with a kitchen knife.
Police interviewing Brandon saw no regret or remorse. He confessed with a smile, claiming that he had been wrongfully placed on a substance abuse program by his family... and had subsequently snapped.
Psychologists diagnosed him as a schizophrenic and he was involuntarily committed to a secure hospital. In 2024 he was deemed to have recovered enough to leave that hospital... but an attempt to move him into an unsecured facility was shot down. The killer will remain in lockdown - at least for now.
11) The Los Feliz Murder Mansion
In December 1959, Dr. Harold Perelson bludgeoned his wife with a hammer as she slept. He then went to the room of his eldest daughter and attempted to kill her the same way... but only landed a glancing blow. She proved faster that her would-be killer, dodging past and seeking help from the next-door neighbors.
With the alarm raised, Perelson's plan had failed. He told his youngest children (who'd been roused by the noise) that they were just having a nightmare, then swallowed a lethal cocktail of tranquilizers. He died on the scene.
It's not clear why Perelson attacked his family, but there is a rumor that he had previously attempted to take his own life, and that his wife had been attempting to get him committed to an asylum.
The deserted house was sold at a probate auction, but the property changed hands multiple times without anyone actually moving in - understandable, given the history and the claims that the property is now haunted.
12) Breaking and Entering With Intent To Decorate
Let's finish on a lighter note - such as how Terry Trent celebrated the season in 2011 Ohio. Full of Christmas spirit (in this case, drugs) Trent broke into a house and... decorated it. He placed candles on the tables, set the TV going and hung a wreath on the garage door.
When he was discovered by one of the occupants (an 11-year-old boy) he was polite and unthreatening. His mother was less than impressed when she returned from next door though... and Trent found himself hauled off by the police!
Thanks for reading - you might also be interested in...