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by JENN WOOD
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More than a decade after four members of her family were found brutally murdered inside their Anderson County home, 42-year-old Amy Vilardi stood before a jury Monday (February 23, 2026) as prosecutors began laying out their case against her in one of the Upstate’s most disturbing homicide cases.
Vilardi – who is being tried separately from her husband and co-accused, 38-year-old Ross Vilardi – is charged with four counts of murder in the November 2015 killings of her 60-year-old mother, Cathy Scott; her 58-year-old stepfather, Terry Michael Scott; her 80-year-old step-grandmother, Barbara Scott; and her 82-year-old grandmother, Violet Taylor.
The victims were discovered inside a double-wide trailer on Refuge Road near Pendleton, S.C. November 2, 2015 – nearly ten years ago. Investigators believe the murders occurred on or about Halloween of that year.
The murders were gruesome. According to the Anderson County Sheriff’s Office (ACSO), Barbara Scott, Taylor, and Terry Scott had their throats slit prior to being shot postmortem in the living room. Cathy Scott was shot twice in the head and then stabbed in a bedroom.
At the time, Amy and Ross Vilardi lived in a separate single-wide trailer on the same property. The couple told investigators they did not discover the bodies for roughly three days.
It was not until December 2023 — more than eight years after the crime — that both were charged with four counts of murder.
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THE STATE’S OPENING: ‘THE HAND OF ONE IS THE HAND OF ALL’
Assistant attorney general Joel Kozak told jurors the evidence will show Amy and Ross Vilardi acted together in carrying out the killings.
“In South Carolina,” Kozak said, “the hand of one is the hand of all.”
Under that legal doctrine, a person can be convicted if they participated in a common plan — even if they did not personally inflict every fatal injury.
Prosecutors indicated they will rely on a combination of forensic and circumstantial evidence, including a shoe print allegedly matching footwear owned by Ross Vilardi, text messages discussing money in the days leading up to the killings, evidence that none of the victims were wearing shoes or socks, and the absence of forced entry at the residence. The state has also suggested financial stress was a motivating factor.
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THE DEFENSE: NO NEW EVIDENCE
Defense attorney Lori Murray – one of the Palmetto State’s most well-known, well-regarded defense attorneys – urged jurors to focus on what did not happen in 2015.
For eight years, she argued, investigators had the same physical evidence, the same scene documentation, and the same statements — yet no charges were filed. According to Murray, it wasn’t until the ACSO brought in the TV show Cold Justice to review the evidence that the arrests were made.
“There was no new evidence,” Murray told jurors. “They just looked at it differently.”
After looking at the evidence, investigators claimed they had probable cause for the crime, according to the defense.
She then reminded jurors that arrest requires probable cause — a far lower standard than proof beyond a reasonable doubt.
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WHAT JURORS SAW AND HEARD
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Jurors heard and saw all manner of evidence and testimony on the first day of the trial – starting with the 911 call placed by Amy Vilardi after the bodies were discovered. That recording set the tone for the day’s testimony. On the call, her voice fluctuates between hysteria and quiet sobbing. At one point, she describes the victims as “cold.” When asked to identify them, she clearly states each full name, including middle names. The courtroom remained silent as the recording played while the jurors listened intently.
Prosecutors then moved jurors from the phone call to the physical scene itself. ACSO lieutenant Chris Beusse testified he responded to the residence and recorded video before the home was disturbed; graphic footage which was then admitted into evidence. The jurors watched the video of the horrific crime scene in silence – with little reaction visible on their faces. Many of the family members of the victims opted to remain outside the courtroom while the jurors viewed the crime scene video.
Anderson County deputy coroner Donald McCown followed Beusse on the stand, walking jurors through the death investigation process. He testified investigators observed no signs of forced entry into the residence. McCown also testified about his documentation of the crime scene including photographs taken during the course of the investigation. McCown’s photos began with exterior documentation and progressed inward, capturing blood patterns, body positions, and the overall layout before moving to close-up injury documentation. McCown ultimately ruled the deaths homicides caused by gunshot wounds and cutting force injuries.
The most pointed exchange of the day came during cross-examination over time of death. McCown acknowledged that determining time of death is “not an exact science”. Based on rigor mortis, livor mortis, environmental temperatures of approximately 71 degrees inside the home, and the absence of advanced decomposition, he concluded the victims had been deceased greater than 24 hours but less than 36 hours prior to being discovered.
Defense attorney Josh Kendrick pressed him repeatedly — could it have been exactly 24 hours? Slightly less? McCown maintained he was comfortable placing the deaths beyond the 24-hour mark but acknowledged the discipline produces ranges, not precision. Even a small shift in that window, the defense suggested, could affect the prosecution’s theory of when the killings occurred and who had opportunity.
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A LONG ROAD TO TRIAL
After the killings, Amy Vilardi publicly thanked the community in a television interview and criticized law enforcement for a lack of transparency. In the years that followed, the Vilardis remodeled the double-wide where the murders occurred and later moved into it. They were involved in civil litigation over property and funds seized during the investigation. Eventually, they relocated to West Columbia – where they operated a mobile dog grooming business.
Following their arrests, both were denied bond in February 2024 – and have remained in custody since.
Now, nearly ten years after the murders, a jury is hearing evidence for the first time.
Day one made clear the fault lines of this trial: The brutality of the scene, the absence of forced entry, the joint-liability theory advanced by prosecutors and the defense’s insistence that the case rests on reinterpretation — not revelation.
Testimony is expected to continue this week…
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR …
As a private investigator turned journalist, Jenn Wood brings a unique skill set to FITSNews as its research director. Known for her meticulous sourcing and victim-centered approach, she helps shape the newsroom’s most complex investigative stories while producing the FITSFiles and Cheer Incorporated podcasts. Jenn lives in South Carolina with her family, where her work continues to spotlight truth, accountability, and justice.
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