SANTA may typically be associated with merriment and holiday cheer, but several chilling crimes have also been carried out by people donning Kris Kringle suits over the years.

From murder sprees to beating an elderly woman with a 2X4, below are seven instances of men dressed like Santa who committed heinous crimes.

SANTA SET A CHRISTMAS PARTY ON FIRE

In a Los Angeles suburb in 2008, Bruce Pardo showed up dressed in a full Santa suit to a home where his ex-wife and her family were celebrating Christmas Eve.

Under his suit, he was carrying several handguns. When his former wife's 8-year-old sister opened the door to the party, he immediately shot her.

When the rest of the family tried to flee, he began shooting into the home before pulling out another weapon he had been concealing – a homemade flamethrower.

He proceeded to burn the house to the ground before turning his gun on himself. A total of nine people – including his ex and her parents – died in the attack.

SANTA TRACKS DOWN & KILLS HIS EX AND KIDS

On Christmas 2011, a man dressed up in a Santa suit headed to his estranged wife's apartment in a Dallas suburb.

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When Aziz Yazdanpanhwas showed up, three other relatives were there as well.

Shortly after arriving, he called 911 himself and told authorities, "I am shooting people."

When police arrived, they found everyone in the apartment dead, still gathered around the Christmas tree where they had been opening presents.

SANTA BEATS ELDERLY WOMAN WITH A 2 X 4

A man dressed in a Santa suit attacked a 74-year-old woman with a 2X4 in a shopping mall in Georgia in 2004.

Elkin Donnie Clarke, 49, hit Annie Ruth Nelson in the face with the board, knocking her unconscious.

He later told police that he hit her because she stole $145 worth of boxes of Hersey's chocolate from him, but officials never confirmed that story.

SANTA AT KID'S CHARITY STEALS $150K

In 2014, Ronald Joseph Papaleoni, 70, who would dress up as Santa at a charity event for children in Georgia, pleaded guilty to five counts of theft; he was accused of stealing more than $150,000.

Papaleoni once ran a group that oversaw funds for Lake Allatoona Preservation Authority.

While he worked as general manager for the group, he wrote multiple unauthorized checks to himself, according to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

Those included $5,000 for the nonprofit The Joy Foundation, which he owned and would don a Santa suit for at an annual children's charity event.

DRUNKEN SANTA ENDS UP KILLING PARTY GUEST

During his own Halloween party in 2017, where he just happened to be dressed as Santa, Randall Gaston Jones was apparently so intoxicated his guests told him he needed to go to bed.

After being told to go sleep it off, he reportedly went into his room and came back with a gun.

One guest, Michael McCloskey, reportedly tried to take the gun and was shot in the process. He later died.

Three other party guests were hit as well and Jones was quickly taken into custody.

MAN IN SANTA SUIT SHOOTS UP CLUB IN TURKEY

In a horror New Year's Eve attack, a man dressed up as Senta showed up at a club in Istanbul with a long-barreled gun and shot a police officer and a civilian standing outside.

He then entered the club and opened fire, killing a total of 39 people and injuring 69 others.

The suspect, Abu Muhammad Horsani, was later captured at a friend's apartment.

ISIS claimed responsibility for the attack.

SANTA WHO STABBED LONDON MAN NEVER FOUND

In November 2005, a man donning a Santa hat and beard entered the London apartment of 25-year-old Sikandar Shaheen and stabbed him to death.

The Santa accessories were left behind, but police never found the suspect or understood a motive for the attack, according to The Guardian.

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