A Florida homeowner shot and killed a family of four with young children and burned their remains in the home's fire pit, police said Tuesday, June 18.
Rory Atwood, 25, allegedly confessed to slaughtering the family – which included children aged 5 and 6 – after an argument with the parents, whom he had been friends with since high school. .
If there was no evil in this world, we would not have to pray so much. And when I talk about this story today, you're going to hear about evil,” Pasco Sheriff Chris Nocco told reporters.
Atwood initially denied having any knowledge of the whereabouts of the Zillette family, which included 26-year-old Ren Mancini. Phillip Zilliot II, 25; and their young children Karma and Philip III, 6 and 5, respectively, Nocco said.
The family, who were staying at Atwood's Hudson home, were reported missing by Mancini's mother on Thursday, June 13 after the mother-of-two failed to keep up with her daily interactions.
Atwood, a father himself, gave investigators permission to search the property that day, but detectives found nothing but a backyard fire pit that was “actively smoking and smoking,” the indictment said. The complaint said.
The next day, a friend of Atwood's told police that the landlord had called her the night before and confessed to “killing her roommate and their children,” the document said.
Investigators returned to the property with cadaver dogs, who reportedly retrieved “small skeletal remains,” soft tissue and two human vertebrae from the fire pit. The back patio was also drenched in a strong odor of chlorine.
Atwood, who initially claimed he had evicted them for failing to pay rent, eventually confessed to killing the family.
According to her account, Zilliot II and Mancini broke into the home on the night of Wednesday, June 12, with both parents carrying knives. The accused killer claimed Zilliot II tried to use a knife on Atwood, his high school friend, but resorted to a fist fight when Atwood disarmed him.
He told detectives the landlord spoke up after he saw Mancini use a knife to “stab” his own 4-year-old daughter in the throat.
According to court documents, they struggled over knives and allegedly brought a Zilliot II firearm, with Atwood eventually gaining control and shooting both of her ex-boyfriends.
He did not say where the victims' children were during the struggle, but told police he believed the parents killed their children.
Atwood later backtracked and said the bodies of younger Karma and Philip were also in the fire pit, but he did not admit to killing them.
That's when Atwood uses his “adrenaline” to drag the bodies of Zilette II and Mancini into the pit of fire and flames he claims they started.
Nocco said investigators are still working to tie the family to the bodies found at the scene, but they have charged Atwood with her death based on her testimony.
Atwood pleaded not guilty Monday, June 17, and is being held without bond, court records show.
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