Pasco officers say they have found human remains at a property in Hudson and have made an arrest as they continue to search for a family of four missing since early Thursday morning.
“We do not know at this time who those human remains are,” Sheriff Chris Nocco said early Saturday afternoon. “The missing persons case will remain open until everyone has been identified.”
Officers search for Rain Mancini, 26; Phillip Zilliot II, 25; 6-year-old Karma Zilliot; and 5-year-old Phillip Zilliot III.
Rory Atwood, 25, is charged with first-degree murder in the case, Nocco said. According to the Pasco Sheriff’s Office, Atwood lives on the property on Nottingham Trail where the remains were found. For now, the sheriff said, Atwood is charged with John Doe’s murder.
About the family, Nocco says: “We think they may have died on the property, but we don’t know that definitively.”
He described a complicated and confusing case that officers were still trying to decipher late Saturday.
Mancini and the elder Zilliot were drinking with Atwood at the house Wednesday night, the sheriff said. Their children were there too, as was Atwood’s daughter and a friend of Mancini.
According to Nocco, Mancini’s friend said the couple and Atwood were arguing. Before leaving, the friend reportedly heard someone say that Atwood had pointed a gun at them earlier.
Around 2 a.m. Thursday, Nocco said, Atwood called a friend and sounded distraught, saying he had shot someone. According to Nocco, Atwood dropped his daughter off with the child’s mother early Thursday morning.
The Sheriff’s Office received a call Thursday afternoon from someone reporting that Atwood may have killed someone. Officers began investigating and searching the property but found nothing, Nocco said.
On Friday, investigators learned that family members had not heard from Mancini, Zilliot and their children, who the sheriff said were moving from one place to another without stable housing. He said they may have lived with Atwood at one point.
Officers again searched the property with dogs and found the remains. Nocco said the missing persons case will remain open until emergency responders receive more information from the medical examiner.
Pasco Sgt. Michael Rosa said officers continued to search the property Saturday. It concerns approximately 10 hectares.
Authorities did not immediately release any further information but asked anyone with tips about what happened to call the Sheriff’s Office.
