Pendleton, South Carolina – A South Carolina couple is facing multiple counts of murder in connection with the stabbing and shooting deaths of four members of their family. Amy Vilardi and Rosmore Vilardi have been charged with the 2015 killings of Cathy Scott, Michael Scott, Barbara Scott, and Violet Taylor. The victims, who were Amy Vilardi’s mother, father-in-law, grandmother-in-law, and maternal grandmother, were found stabbed and shot in their home on Refuge Road in Pendleton.
More than eight years after a South Carolina couple was brutally killed in their home on Halloween night alongside their elderly mothers, two family members have now been arrested. After being identified as persons of interest in the case earlier this year, the married couple was arrested on Friday. During a press conference on Friday, Anderson County Sheriff Chad McBride stated, “I think we knew this day would come… There’s a lot of pieces to have to put together and just a lot of hard work and effort.”
On November 2, 2015, Amy Vilardi called 911 to say she had stopped by the house and discovered her loved ones dead. She then gave a flurry of media interviews expressing her shock and horror at the murders of such “wonderful people” who “just didn’t deserve this.”
Law enforcement officials have not released much information about the evidence used to build the case against the Vilardis, but Sheriff McBride described the daughter’s report and subsequent 911 call as the foundation of the case.
McBride added, “It rocked everybody to the core and it was a scary case. It was brutal murders. Senseless.”
While the motive behind the killings remains unclear, the sheriff emphasized the tragic nature of the crime, calling it “one of the worst things they’d ever seen.” The Vilardis lived on the same property as the victims but resided in a separate house.
During the press conference, Sheriff McBride requested that the media attend the upcoming courtroom proceedings for further information and cautioned against disclosing sensitive details that the defense could use. The case is being handled by the South Carolina Attorney General’s Office.
At an initial hearing on Saturday, December 16, 2023, the defendants were not granted bond and are currently being held in Anderson County Detention Center.