|
Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...
|
by WILL FOLKS
***
While our media outlet devoted much of its focus this past week to the ongoing fallout from the passing of U.S. senator Lindsey Graham – and the race to fill the seat vacated by his death – it was a huge week for a number of big stories we’ve been tracking here at FITSNews.
Our Jenn Wood – whose work dominated this show – brought our audience up to speed on a major church scandal emanating from the South Carolina coast. Criminal charges and civil lawsuits are raining down on Pawleys Island Community Church and its erstwhile leaders after they allegedly allowed a pedophile to roam free on the campus of the church – and its adjoining school.
As if that weren’t bad enough, these leaders then tried to conceal it from parishioners, parents… and police, according to warrants and court filings.
After laying out the details of the Pawleys Island case, Jenn updated our audience on some significant developments related to the appeal of the infamous ‘Rose Petal Murder‘ – which is headed back to the circuit court level for a review of some compelling new arguments from defense attorneys.
Jenn also previewed next week’s big motions hearing in the upcoming murder trial of Rosmore “Ross” Vilardi – who is on trial for participating in the 2015 killings of his wife’s mother, 60-year-old Cathy Scott; her stepfather, 58-year-old Terry Michael “Mike” Scott; her grandmother, 82-year-old Violet Taylor; and her step-grandmother, 80-year-old Barbara Scott.
***
Vilardi’s wife and former co-defendant, Amy Vilardi, was convicted of all four murders in February and sentenced to four consecutive life terms.
Additionally, Jenn recapped the excellent reporting of our Erin Parrott (here and here) on an alleged drowning murder involving two teenagers and a foster child at a rural boat dock in Modoc, S.C. That story also appears to be advancing on both the criminal and civil fronts…
In our final segment, Jenn and chief photog Andrew Fancher took inventory of the state ethics investigation into disgraced former South Carolina sheriff Chuck Wright – and assessed the performance of investigators and prosecutors in holding him accountable in his criminal case.
Or, not holding him accountable, as the case may be…
Thanks again to everyone who watches and subscribes to our show. Your support drives everything we do at FITSNews. The lights, the cameras, the accountability… it’s all exclusively thanks to your views and your subscriptions.
If you value the sort of independent, unapologetic coverage we provide – please subscribe today! And if you’re already a subscriber, please consider gifting a subscription to a friend… or grabbing some of our cool merch!
***
ABOUT THE AUTHOR…
Will Folks is the founding editor of the news outlet you are currently reading. Prior to founding FITSNews, he served as press secretary to the governor of South Carolina. He lives in the Midlands region of the state with his wife and eight children.
***
SOUND OFF…
Got something you’d like to say in response to one of our articles? Or an issue you’d like to address proactively? We have an open microphone policy! Submit your letter to the editor (or guest column) via email HERE. Got a tip for a story? CLICK HERE. Got a technical question or a glitch to report? CLICK HERE.
