Man dressed up as Santa to surprise wife and kids, then killed them: Chrmas murders that shook Texas | Trending

In Grapevine, known as the Chrmas Capital of Texas, the festive spirit of Chrmas morning in 2011 was shattered a horrifying murder-suicide, carried out a man ominously dressed as Santa Claus. When the police reached the house where the killings took place, they found seven bodies lying among gift wrapping paper. Aziz Yazdanpanah showed up at his estranged wife’s apartment on December 25, 2011 in a Santa suit.(X/@MatthewAMullins) Aziz Yazdanpanah, 56, an Iranian-born man killed his estranged wife, their two teenage children, his wife’s ser, his brother-in-law and his niece at the family’s Chrmas gathering. When Aziz arrived at the house, his niece texted her boyfriend complaining about his presence. “We just got here and my uncle is here too. Dressed as Santa. Now he wants to be all fatherly and win father of the year,” she said. (Also read: Man risks his life to save dog from bear attack: ‘This is the definition of loyalty’) Twenty minutes later, she and her family were gunned down. Dressed in a red and white Santa suit, Aziz called 911 to report the murders before taking his own life. Holiday massacreThree minutes after the call, police arrived at the scene to discover a devastating tragedy. Aziz had fatally shot his estranged wife, Fatemeh Rahmati, 55, their 14-year-old son, Ali, and their 19-year-old daughter, Nona. He also killed his wife’s ser, Zohreh Rahmaty, 58, her husband, Mohamad Hossein Zarei, 59, and their 22-year-old daughter, Sahra. The victims were shot in the head, chest and stomach multiple times. Two handguns were found at the scene. A family friend told local news that Aziz was apparently told he wasn’t welcome to the gathering and that may have been the final breaking point for him, the Independent reported. The friend spoke to Aziz on Chrmas Eve and he told him that “his ser-in-law had control over his wife and children and they would len to her when she called him evil.” ‘I am shooting people’A recording of a 911 call made Aziz captured the chilling last words of the killer who admitted to the dispatcher that he was shooting people. In the call, he was heard saying “help” twice and then “I am shooting people,” followed heavy breathing before the line went dead and he shot himself. But before he killed himself, he tried to stage the scene placing one of the two guns used in the hand of his dead brother-in-law. (Also read: Who is Taleb al-Abdulmohsen? A look at Germany attack suspect’s radical views) What was the motive?Aziz’s marital and financial troubles led him to kill his family, but have also said his exact thought process may never be known. Aziz was a former real estate professional who was out of work at the time of the killings. In August 2010, the couple filed jointly for bankruptcy. When the family’s financial troubles intensified, Aziz’s wife held down jobs at two spas to raise their children. In April 2011, she moved out of the family’s home in into the apartment complex two miles away. Aziz remained in their home and continued to struggle financially. The massacre remains the deadliest crime in the hory of Grapevine.