Manuel Pardo (serial killer)

Manuel Pardo (September 24, 1956-December 11, 2012) was a serial killer in South Florida, active from January to April 1986, often working with partner, and co-defendant, Rolando Garcia. Over the course of those months, Pardo had nine known victims. These events led to his arrest and conviction for 8 counts of first degree murder in the mid 1980s, and ultimately his execution in December 2012.

Early Life and Police Career

Pardo was born in New York. According to USA Today, Pardo was "a former Boy Scout and Navy veteran, [who] began his law enforcement career in the 1970s with the Florida Highway Patrol, graduating at the top of his class at the academy. He was fired from that agency in 1979 for falsifying traffic tickets. He was soon hired by the police department in Sweetwater, a small city in Miami-Dade County."

Criminal Career and Trial

After some brushes with law enforcement, including one incident involving lying to investigators, his position at the Sweetwater Police Department was terminated. In January 1986, Pardo killed his first two victims, Mario Amador and Roberto Alonso, with a .22 caliber Ruger pistol as he "ordered the men to the ground, then pumped bullets into each of their heads," police reporting he also shot them in the torso. Later that month, he killed a Haitian, Michael Millot, who he believed to be a police informant. In February of that year, he killed two more victims, Luis Robledo and Ulpiano Ledo, during a robbery of their home. Pardo had four victims in April of 1986 in two separate incidents: two, Fara Quintero and Sara Musa, were killed over an argument about a pawned ring worth $50; two others, Ramon Alvero and Daisy Ricard, were killed as Alvero failed to show up to several drug deals. Pardo was apprehended in New York City, found in a hospital with a bullet in his foot that matched those found in his final victims. Pardo maintained until his death that his mission was to rid Florida of its drug culture by killing, one by one, or in his cases, two by two, active sellers and buyers of drugs, though he did admit to at least six of the nine murders.

During his trial, against the advice of his attorneys, Pardo took the witness stand in self-defense. During this portion of the trial, Pardo claimed “I am a soldier, I accomplished my mission and I humbly ask you to give me the glory of ending my life and not send me to spend the rest of my days in state prison." Pardo "acknowledged that he killed all nine victims, but claimed that all nine victims were drug dealers who had no right to live and that he was doing society a favor." Prosecuting attorney David Waxman, on the other hand, maintained that Pardo was a "cold-blooded killer" and, according to the Clark County Prosecutor's site, "The State presented the case that Pardo and Garcia were drug dealers and were eliminating the competition."

He was executed in Florida on December 11, 2012.