South Carolina couple charged in gory 2015 Halloween slayings of 4 older family members

Pendleton, S.C. — A South Carolina couple has been charged with killing 4 older members of the family in a gory 2015 Halloween assault within the victims’ residence.

Amy and Rosmore “Ross” Vilardi remained jailed Tuesday in Anderson County on 4 counts of homicide every. They’ve a preliminary court docket listening to scheduled for Feb. 20.

The case hadn’t been added to the state’s on-line court docket data system as of Tuesday, and a spokesperson for the county sheriff’s workplace mentioned the company has not recognized an legal professional who may communicate on their behalf. In interviews with information shops for the reason that killings, the couple has mentioned they’re harmless.

Throughout a information convention Friday to announce the costs, Sheriff Chad McBride declined to say why they have been introduced so lengthy after the killings, including that such particulars could be reserved for court docket.

“God bless this household. They have been by way of a lot,” McBride mentioned. “They’ve waited for a very long time.”

The killings shocked Pendleton, a rural city of about 3,500 individuals in western South Carolina about 110 miles northeast of Atlanta.

In keeping with McBride, Amy Vilardi known as authorities on Nov. 2, 2015, to report the deaths of her 60-year-old mom, Cathy Scott, 85-year-old grandmother, Violet Taylor, 58-year-old stepfather Mike Scott and his 80-year-old mom, Barbara Scott. Amy and Ross Vilardi lived subsequent door to the victims on the identical property, FOX Carolina reported.

Authorities mentioned the scene the place the victims had been shot and stabbed was “grotesque” and among the many worst some investigators had ever seen. Though the killings gained widespread consideration, nobody was arrested till final week.

Shortly after the slayings, Amy Vilardi advised CBS Spartanburg, S.C. affiliate WSPA-TV the victims have been “fantastic individuals,” and “would do something for anyone. They simply did not deserve this.”

The defendants and a few of their different family members filed claims and counterclaims over belongings and 1000’s of {dollars} in money that was taken as proof from the property. These property have been ultimately divided amongst them in a 2021 settlement.

On the information convention, McBride applauded his investigators and the victims’ different members of the family for by no means giving up.

“I want that the households weren’t having to take care of this,” McBride mentioned. “However I hope this can be a good day for them, not less than step one in getting justice.”