She Upbraided Relatives' Killer. 8 Years Later, She's Charged

Days after finding four relatives brutally murdered in South Carolina in 2015, a daughter of one of the victims gave an interview asking how the killer could live with themselves. According to police, it was a question Amy Vilardi should have been asking herself. Vilardi and her husband, Rosmore "Ross" Vilardi, have now been charged with four counts of murder in the deaths of Amy Vilardi's mother, Cathy Scott, 60, and grandmother Violet Taylor, 82; Cathy's husband, Mike Scott, in his late 50s; and Mike's mother, Barbara Scott, 80, per NBC News. All four had been cut or stabbed and shot on Halloween night, per Law & Crime. The Vilardis lived on the same property in Pendleton, though in a separate house.

Amy Vilardi reported finding the bodies inside the victims' home on Nov. 2, 2015. "The door just pushed open, so I walked in and it was dark and I just flipped the light on and there they were," Vilardi told WYFF days later. "I don't understand why any of it has happened and I just keep thinking it's a dream I'm going to wake up from," she added. "Whoever did this, I don't see how you can live with yourself." Anderson County Sheriff Chad McBride announced the Vilardis' arrests on Friday. He declined to say what evidence led investigators to the couple but stated, "I think we knew this day would come," per Law & Crime. Early on, officials noted there was no sign of forced entry or a struggle, per WYFF.

In March, a detective told the Unsolved Mysteries podcast that three victims' throats had been slit before they were shot post-mortem. "It seemed very, very aggressive and personal" and suggested a killer "full of rage and hate," said Scotty Hill, per Inside Edition. He noted the Vilardis were in financial trouble and among the few people who knew Mike Scott kept large sums of cash at home. Hill also claimed the couple couldn't account for more than $65,000 they had in their possession following the murders. During an initial court hearing on Saturday, Amy Vilardi asked to go free so that she can continue to see her children, while relatives of the victims requested no bond, per WYFF. A judge isn't likely to set bond before the new year, the outlet reports, meaning the couple will remain jailed until at least then. (More murder stories.)