HUDSON, Fla — Prosecutors in Pasco County have filed that they will seek the death penalty against a man accused of killing a family of four and burning their bodies in a fire pit on his property.
Rory Atwood, 25, was charged with four counts of first-degree murder after the family of four went missing on June 13.
Court documents released on June 17 revealed that Atwood told deputies he threw the bodies of Rain Mancini, 26, Phillip Zilliot II, 25, and their children, Karma Zilliot, 6, and Phillip Zilliot II, 5, into a fire pit on his property in Hudson.
According to an affidavit, Atwood called a friend and requested help burning trash. The friend noticed a puddle of blood and could see adult and child bodies over the video phone call, according to court records. Detectives returned to the home on Nottingham Trail in Hudson on June 14.
A Pasco County Sheriff's Office cadaver dog removed items from a burn pit that appeared to be small skeletal remains, according to court documents.
Records stated Atwood evicted the family on June 1 for failure to pay rent. Records said days later, there was an altercation involving a firearm and a knife. Court records indicate Rain and Phillip suffered gunshot wounds. Records do not indicate how the children died.
Atwood first denied killing the family or burning their bodies. He eventually admitted the bodies of all four family members were located in the fire pit on his property.
Prosecutors said the death penalty was sought because of four aggravating factors:
- The defendant was previously convicted of another capital felony or of a felony involving the use or threat of violence to the person
- The capital felony was committed for the purposes of avoiding or preventing a lawful arrest or effecting an escape from custody
- The capital felony was a homicide and was committed in a cold, calculated, and premeditated manner without any pretense of moral or legal justification
- The victim of the capital felony was a person less than 12 years of age
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