On June 17th, The Pasco Sheriff’s Office in Florida reported the arrest of a man after burnt remains were discovered in a fire pit outside his residence.
The agency made an announcement on Saturday regarding the arrest of Rory Atwood, aged 25 and hailing from Hudson. Atwood has been charged with one count of first-degree murder after the discovery of remains in Pasco County, located to the north of Tampa. The identity of the remains has not yet been confirmed, as per a post made by the agency on Facebook.
Officials were on the hunt for Phillip Zilliot II, aged 25, and Rain Mancini, aged 26, along with their two children, 5-year-old Phillip Zilliot III and 6-year-old Karma Zilliot. Atwood’s former housemates were the family members in question.
According to Pasco Sheriff Chris Nocco, they suspect that the family in question may be responsible for the incident. However, he added that he cannot confirm anything until they receive final confirmation from the medical examiner.
An affidavit released on Monday revealed the details.
On Thursday, authorities began searching for the family following a welfare check request.
According to authorities, Atwood informed the deputies that on Thursday night, he observed the Zilliot family departing from his property.
Upon inspection, the deputies noticed the presence of a fire pit in the backyard that emitted smoke and was still smoldering.
A man contacted the sheriff’s office on Friday and disclosed that Atwood had confessed to killing the family members.
During the conversation, Atwood informed the deputies that the family members had vacated the house two weeks prior because they failed to pay their rent, which led to Atwood evicting them from the property.
The arrest report stated that the suspect revealed that Mancin had informed him about her plans to take her children and stay at a women’s shelter, while their father would be staying in a nearby park in a tent.
