The holidays are meant to be filled with warmth, well wishes, and… murder? Sometimes that special time of year can actually bring out the worst in us, as it was with these 12 true crime cases.
Holidays can be hard. Difficult family dynamics, isolation, or reminders of where we fall short of societal expectations can drive us to the edge. Perhaps that is why some crimes seem to strike right at holiday peak. Whatever the reason, it’s clear the holidays are not a happy time for everyone. So here are 12 notorious true crime holiday cases that will have you feeling like someone left you a lump of coal in your stocking.
Laci Peterson
Laci Peterson was America’s missing daughter when she disappeared on Christmas Eve 2003. However, she wasn’t just someone’s daughter, she was about to become someone’s mother. Laci was eight months pregnant with her first child, Connor, with her husband Scott Peterson.
However, baby Connor would never get a chance at life, as his and his mother’s bodies were found a few months later. Even more unbelievable than their deaths, was the person responsible for them, Scott Peterson. Peterson was convicted in 2004 and while justice was served, for many in the Modesto, California community, Christmas Eve is still a bittersweet time.
Carnation Christmas Murders
Carnation, Washington was normally a quiet, sleepy Seattle suburb, but on Christmas Eve 2007 gunshots rang out through the town. Michele Anderson and her former boyfriend, Joseph McEnroe, had turned their cozy Christmas gathering into a nightmare by murdering six members of Anderson’s family.
The ages of the victims ranged from Anderson’s 3-year-old nephew to her 61-year-old parents. According to the Seattle Times, Anderson claimed she was “tired of everyone stepping on her,” and angry with her brother for reportedly not paying back a large sum of money he borrowed.
Anderson was convicted of six counts of aggravated first-degree murder, and was sentenced to six life sentences.
Sodder Children
On Christmas Eve in 1945 in the small town of Fayetteville, West Virginia, a horrible house fire ripped through the Sodder family home. The home was inhabited by George and Jennie Sodder, and nine of their children. Four of the children found their way to safety, but the other five were assumed to be lost in the fire. …Or were they?
The great mystery around the Sodder family continued when no remains were found in the ashes. Other details also proved suspicious, and Mr. Sodder began to believe his missing children might still be alive. Sightings of the children have popped up over the years, as have a variety of conspiracy theories. It remains one of the most mysterious unsolved true crimes to this day.
Dayton Ohio Murders
Christmas of 1992 in Dayton, Ohio will live on in infamy for years to come. Over the holiday weekend, a group of four young men and women went on an unprecedented shooting spree of “joy-killings” that left six dead and two more injured.
They were discovered to be part of a group known as the “Downtown Posse,” and they were finally apprehended after 72 hours of mayhem. One was executed, and the others remain behind bars for life. The group may have been convicted, but for the Dayton community, that horrible Christmas day will live on in infamy.
Covina Massacre
On Christmas Eve 2008 in Covina, California, the Ortega family was just sitting down to a card game when there was an unexpected knock at the door. Standing at the door was a man dressed as Santa Claus, and he had a gun.
The man was Bruce Jeffery Pardo, and he was the ex-husband of Sylvia Ortega, the daughter of the owners of the home. Angered by his recent divorce, Pardo opened fire on the entire family, killing eight and injuring others, including Leticia Ortega’s 8-year-old daughter. It was a tragedy that rocked the community for decades to come.
JonBenét Ramsey
JonBenét Ramsey was a six-year-old Colorado beauty queen who was well-known in the pageant world. On Christmas morning 1996, her parents, Dave and Patsy Ramsey woke up to find their daughter missing, and a bizarre ransom note left on their staircase.
Upon further investigation, JonBenet’s lifeless body was found in the basement of the family home. While there are many theories about who might have killed JonBenet Ramsey, including some around the family itself being responsible, as of this time, the murder remains unsolved.
Lawson Family Murders
The Lawson family lived on a small farm in Germanton, North Carolina. They seemed every bit the average farming family, but on Christmas 1929 that all changed. Pictured, the family huddles together for a final family portrait the day before Christmas. By the following day, every member of the Lawson family except for one, would be dead at Mr. Lawson’s hands.
On Christmas Day, Mr. Lawson took a 12 gauge shotgun, shot and killed his wife and 6 children, and then turned the gun on himself. Only one of his sons survived. Rumors surfaced that Lawson and his oldest daughter, Marie, had been involved in an incestuous relationship, and that she had been pregnant with his child. Oddly enough, the house was opened up as a tourist attraction.
Dustin Klopp
On Christmas Day 2014, police in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania received a bizarre phone call. 34-year-old Dustin Kopp claimed to have murdered his wife, Stephanie Kilhefner, with an axe. When law enforcement arrived, they found her body in the storage shed. Kopp claimed that on Christmas Eve, the two had had a fight that had turned physical. He murdered his wife, cleaned up the crime scene, and then took his two young children to a Christmas celebration the following day.
Kopp was charged with criminal homicide, abuse of a corpse, and evidence tampering. He died by suicide in the Lancaster County Prison in 2015.
Ronald Gene Simmons
On Christmas Week 1987 in Russelville, Arkansas, Ronald Gene Simmons would embark on a killing spree that would lead him to be known as one of the most prolific serial killers in history. His crimes began on December 18th, when he killed his wife, adult son, and young grandaughter. When his other children arrived home, he also murdered them. On December 26th, unsuspecting holiday guests of the Simmons family arrived at the home, and Simmons killed seven more friends and family members upon their arrival.
In town, he went on a shooting spree at the mini mart where he had worked, and several other locations. He killed two and wounded four more people before finally turning himself in. He was charged with 14 counts of capital murder, and was put to death on June 25, 1990.
Brandon Aydelott
Sometimes the holidays seem to bring out the worst in families, and our next case is a prime example of that. 17 year old Brandon Aydelott, dubbed “The Mommy Killer,” killed his mother Sharon Aydelott on Christmas Eve 2013. Brandon stabbed his mother and beat her with a baseball bat, claiming voices in his head told him to. It was a gruesome crime scene and a shocking story in their well to do town of Gulf Breeze, Florida.
Aydelott was found not guilty by reason of insanity in 2016, and is in state custody at a psychiatric facility in Florida.
The Christmas Tree Lady
In December of 1996, an unidentified woman was found dead in a cemetery near an 8 inch Christmas tree in Fairfax County, Virginia. It was discovered that she had died by suffocation in what was presumably a suicide, but no one knew who she was.
It would be 25 more years until her true identity would be uncovered. DNA was able to determine the woman was Jocelyn Meyer Sommers, 69. Although finally identified, many questions around her death still remain unanswered. Her family was unable to provide clarity on why she had ended her life, why she had chosen the cemetery, or how the Christmas tree had gotten there.
The Atkins Murders
On Christmas Day in 2020, police received a phone call saying there were five people dead inside a home in Atkins, Arkansas. When investigators arrived, they confirmed the bodies of 31 year old Jaquita Chase, her mother, and her three young children. The case was determined to be a murder-suicide, with Jaquita Chase being the shooter. To this day, exactly what happened in that small home on Christmas Day, or why, remains a chilling mystery.
The holidays are assumed to be a time of peace and joy, and it’s easy to forget that crime doesn’t take a day off even when the rest of the world does. Happy holidays!