HUDSON, Fla. — Pasco County resident Rory Atwood is accused of killing members of a Husdson family that went missing last week. Investigators said Atwood claimed he shot and killed the parents and put their bodies in a burn pit on his property.
What You Need To Know
- An affidavit from Pasco County says some of the human remains found at Rory Atwood’s home may be that of Phillip Zilliot II and Rain Mancini
- According to that document, Atwood seemingly says he shot and killed the two and put their bodies into a burn pit on his property
- Zilliot’s family plans to hold a candlelight vigil Wednesday night at Veterans Memorial Park in Hudson
Phillip Zilliot II, Rain Mancini and their two children were missing for a few days, and a during a search, human remains were discovered on Atwood’s property, a place where Zilliot and Mancini had lived for a time.
The sheriff’s office couldn’t definitively say who the remains belonged to, but an affidavit following an interview with Atwood says he allegedly shot and killed both Zilliot and Mancini after investigators say he initially lied to them about the Zilliot family’s whereabouts.
Those documents state that Atwood supposedly took the victims to a burn pit on his property, along with any evidence tying him to the crime and burned them.
Phillip Zilliot II's mother, Shelly Zilliot, is working through the grief. If this happened before she found faith, she says she can’t imagine how she would be doing right now.
“This would have destroyed me,” she said. “This would have destroyed me. But somehow, I’m not okay, but I will be.”
Clinging to her cross around her neck, Shelly is showing incredible strength, considering the horrific tragedy she and her family are dealing with right now.
“I’m so broken right now,” she said. “And I have to go on because I have my daughter and two other grandchildren.”
As for the children of Phillp Zillot II and Rain Mancini, Karma and Phillip III, according to the affidavit, Atwood says he doesn’t know what happened to them, but Shelly says investigators are confident their remains were also in the burn pit.
“They said all remains were not adult, and they were all together,” she said.
The Pasco County Sheriff’s Office charged Atwood with first degree murder.
Meanwhile, all Shelly can do is continue to show incredible strength for her family, relying on faith and loved ones’ support while navigating the unthinkable.
Shelly says her family is doing an online fundraiser to help them through this awful time.
The Zilliot family is also holding a candlelight vigil Wednesday night at Veterans Memorial Park in Hudson at 9 p.m., which anyone is welcome to attend.