Pasco man burned bodies of missing couple, 2 children, deputies say

A Pasco man has been charged with murder in connection to the disappearance of a family of four who went missing last week and has told deputies that he killed the parents and burned their bodies along with those of their two young children, records show.

Deputies have been searching since last week for Rain Mancini, 26; Phillip Zilliot II, 25; 6-year-old Karma Zilliot; and 5-year-old Phillip Zilliot III.

In court records that became public Monday, investigators said the family lived with Rory Atwood, 25, on a 10-acre property off Nottingham Trail in Hudson.

New details from an arrest affidavit show Atwood confirmed the identity of their remains to deputies, and said he burned them after a fight broke out at the home between himself, Phillip Zilliot II and Mancini.

The investigation began Thursday afternoon when a sister of Atwood’s friend tipped off authorities about the killings, records show.

Her brother said that Atwood called him asking for help burning trash. When he answered the video call, he saw a puddle of blood and the bodies of adults and children, the affidavit states.

Deputies made a wellness check at the property but found nothing suspicious. One deputy noticed a fire, still smoldering and smoking.

The next day, the Pasco County Sheriff’s Office received a second call, this time from Atwood’s high school friend. He told deputies Atwood had “admitted to killing his roommates and their children,” court records state.

On Friday afternoon, deputies returned to Atwood’s property with a cadaver dog. The dog dug through the fire pit, and retrieved small skeletal remains. Forensics teams also found “two apparent human vertebrae, all of which had apparent thermal damage to them,” the affidavit states.

In follow-up interviews with detectives, Atwood gave conflicting accounts of the killings. He initially said deputies might find horse bones on his property and asked how quickly human flesh would decompose.

Atwood told authorities he evicted the family on June 1 after they stopped paying rent. They dropped by the home unannounced Wednesday night and stayed for a few hours to collect their belongings from the property, he said.

During a later search, deputies found items belonging to the family. Atwood said they were left by the family because they “did not have time to take the items with them.”

Mancini told him she was going to stay at a women’s shelter with their children and Zilliot said he was going to stay in a tent at a nearby park, according to Atwood.

Others who were there Wednesday night told deputies that Mancini and Zilliot were drinking with Atwood at the home. Their children were there, as was a friend of Mancini and Atwood’s 4-year-old daughter.

The girl told detectives she saw Mancini arguing at her father’s home. The girl’s mother told detectives Atwood called her early Thursday morning and said there had been an altercation.

At 6 a.m., Atwood dropped off the girl in a blue BMW sedan at the home of her mother, who told detectives Atwood “was not acting himself.”

Atwood told authorities in an interview on Saturday that Zilliot and Mancini entered his bedroom armed with knives. Atwood said he disarmed Zilliot, who punched him in the head. Atwood tossed the knife out of the bedroom and saw Mancini poking Atwood’s daughter in the throat with a knife, he said.

Atwood told deputies that a handgun suddenly appeared in the room and Zilliot grabbed it. They struggled for the gun and Atwood fired two shots into Zilliot’s head, he told investigators. Atwood said Mancini was also shot multiple times in the torso and head.

Detectives said Atwood did not say how the two children died, but that he suspected Zilliot and Mancini killed them.

Surging with adrenaline, Atwood dragged the adult bodies from the living room, out the front door and into the fire pit, which he said had already been lit, he told detectives.

Atwood also discarded the gun into the fire pit and burned his couch to destroy evidence of bloodstains from the killings, he said.

Deputies photographed Atwood and found that he didn’t have any injuries consistent with a fight.

Investigators believe Atwood is to blame for the deaths of the adults, though the case remains under investigation as to whether he killed the children, too.

“The defendant burned the two victims and evidence within the fire pit and repeatedly lied to patrol deputies and detectives,” the affidavit states. He also “admitted to knowledge both juveniles ... were also burned in the same fire pit,” according to the affidavit.

Atwood has a criminal record that dates back to 2016, when he was charged with fleeing and eluding law enforcement. He was 17 at the time. A few months after his 18th birthday, the parents of Atwood’s then-girlfriend filed injunctions against him alleging stalking. Both injunctions were dismissed, records show.

In 2019, he was sentenced to a year of probation on a misdemeanor battery charge after he walked into a Hudson Circle K and punched someone, records show.

Atwood faces a first-degree murder charge in connection with the case of the missing family. He pleaded not guilty during his first appearance in court on Monday. He was being held without bond at Land O’ Lakes Jail, records show.

Investigators have not yet positively identified the remains found in the fire pit and are still waiting on results from the medical examiner.

The Pasco Sheriff’s Office asked anyone with information about what happened to call the agency at 727-847-8102, option 7, or report tips at PascoSheriff.com/tips.

Times staff writer Brandon Kingdollar contributed to this report.