(RepublicanNews.org) – A Florida landlord is facing murder charges for butchering an entire family of four, including two young children, and then burning their bodies in a fire pit on his property where they lived.
According to an affidavit filed at the Clark County Clerk’s office, the gruesome discovery was made after a concerned neighbor contacted law enforcement on Thursday, June 13th, to request a wellness check on 25-year-old Philip Zilliot II, 26-year-old Rain Mancini, and their two children, Karma Zilliot, age 6, and Philip Zilliot III, age 5.
The neighbor told Pasco County deputies that his brother informed him of a video call from their neighbor Rory Atwood, who lived with the family of four and asked the brother to help him burn some of his trash. The caller’s brother said that during the video call, behind Atwood, he saw what looked like “adult and child bodies” as well as a blood puddle.
Police arrived at Attwood’s residence in Hudson, Florida, to question him but he denied any knowledge of the missing family’s whereabouts. The suspect told the deputies that the couple and two children had left his property the previous day, on Wednesday, June 12th.
According to the affidavit, police received another phone call the following day, June 14th, from a man who informed them that Atwood admitted to the murder of his “roommates and their children.” After returning to his home to question him again, he told them that he threw them off the property for refusing to pay rent. All of their belongings were still inside of Attwood’s home, and when police inspected further they noticed a “strong” chlorine odor and discovered the fire pit. Police dogs were brought in, and found skeleton and tissue remains inside of the pit.
Attwood also changed up his story, telling officers that the family actually left on June 1st but returned unexpectedly, after which a fight allegedly ensued. He accused Phillip Zilliot II of drawing a gun, the struggle for which Attwood claimed resulted in the couple’s deaths, although he did not specify how the children died, only indicating that the father killed them.
In a later interview, Attwood “admitted to involvement” and to knowing that the children were “burned in the same fire pit” where the bodies were found. He pleaded not guilty, according to court records, and remains in custody without bond as the remains are also being officially identified.
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