Speaker A
You doing okay this morning?
Eight years after a brutal quadruple homicide, detectives expose Amy Valardi and Ross, revealing secrets and new evidence in a chilling South Carolina case.
Key Takeaways
- Cold cases can be solved years later with persistent investigation and new evidence.
- Family members can sometimes be involved in crimes that initially seem random or external.
- Violent histories and suspicious behaviors of suspects are critical in criminal investigations.
- Financial inconsistencies and hidden assets can provide important clues in homicide cases.
- Polygraph tests and detailed interviews help uncover truths and contradictions in suspect statements.
What the video covers
- In 2015, Amy Valardi's parents and grandparents were found brutally murdered in their home in Pendleton, South Carolina.
- The case went cold due to lack of witnesses and physical evidence, but detectives continued investigating for years.
- Amy and her husband Ross lived a seemingly normal life, spending inherited money on luxury items and exotic animals.
- Amy's ex-husband Neil reported her violent past, including attempts to stab him, raising suspicion.
- Investigators found $68,000 in cash and 18 firearms in Amy and Ross's trailer, inconsistent with their lifestyle.
- Ross, a Marine Corps veteran with combat experience, underwent a polygraph test and shared theories about the motive.
- The investigation revealed inconsistencies and suspicious behaviors from Amy and Ross, suggesting they were involved.
- Detectives uncovered new evidence and testimonies that eventually led to the case being reopened and suspects confronted.
- The video includes never-before-seen footage and detailed interviews with law enforcement and witnesses.
- The story highlights the challenges of solving cold cases and the impact of hidden family secrets.
Chapters
- 00:00Introduction and Case Background
- 02:01911 Call and Crime Scene Discovery
- 04:19Amy's Violent Past and Initial Suspicions
- 07:57Search Warrant and Evidence Found
- 10:02Ross's Polygraph and Background
- 12:38Investigation Developments and Theories
- 14:48Suspects' Behavior and New Leads
- 19:27Case Reopening and Final Revelations
Full Transcript — Download SRT & Markdown
Speaker A
Yep. Sorry to wake you up. Listen, my name's Tyler. This is Steve. How are you?
Speaker A
This is 42-year-old Amy Valardi. And for the last eight years, she's been living with a terrifying secret that these detectives are about to expose.
Speaker A
I got assigned a case about the homicide that happened in Pendleton in 2015. So, we'd like to talk to you.
Speaker A
Oh my god. In 2015, Amy's parents and grandparents were found brutally murdered inside their family home. And with no witnesses and no physical evidence connecting anyone to the murders, the case slowly goes cold.
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Say hi, Amy. Years after the homicides, Amy and her husband Ross had moved on, spending their newfound fortune on cars, a new house, and expensive exotic animals. But unbeknownst to everyone, the killers had been closer to home all along.
Speaker A
Amy's doing what she promised you was going to do. Everyone's a killer. Deputies and stuff screwed up all the evidence.
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You're dead smack in the middle of this thing. We're not here because we think you did it or you might have did it. We know you did it. It's piling up. Ross, we don't want to roll the dice on this. I'm
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telling you. We've been following this case closely for several years, working alongside police departments and legal experts to uncover every detail and bring you never-before-seen footage investigating South Carolina's most disturbing quadruple homicide.
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It's approximately 10:30 a.m. on a Monday morning, just after Halloween, when the Anderson County Sheriff's Office receives a frantic 911 call from what sounds like a house of horrors.
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Peterson County 911 with location of emergency.
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Oh my god. I need—
Speaker A
Ma'am, I can't understand you. What's your address?
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227 Road.
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Ma'am. Ma'am, tell me what's going on.
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Oh my god. Is somebody hurt?
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Ma'am, I can't—
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In my mama's house and they're—they're dead. There's blood everywhere.
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Who are these people that are in the house?
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It's my mom and my grandpa and my daddy and my stepdad.
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On the line is 32-year-old Amy Valardi, reporting that her entire family has been murdered. Within minutes, deputies rushed to the home where the scene awaiting them would be even more brutal than Amy had led them to believe.
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Once officers step inside, they discover three victims, Mike Scott, Barbara Scott, and Violet Taylor, lying deceased on the living room floor. Several feet away inside a bedroom lies the fourth and final victim, Kathy Scott. Each family member appears to have suffered
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multiple stab wounds and a single gunshot wound to the head. As crime scene investigators begin processing the home, they discover a trail of shoe prints, a Clorox bleach bottle sitting in the kitchen sink, and two cell phones discarded outside. The only significant
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clues left behind by whoever carried out this brutal attack. Back outside, deputies speak with a 911 caller, Amy.
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She tells officers that she and her husband Ross live next door and became concerned after her mother Kathy failed to take her dog outside this morning.
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When Amy went to check on her, she says that's when she discovered the bodies of her parents and grandparents.
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After clearing the entire house and finding no murder weapon and very little physical evidence left behind, investigators grow increasingly concerned. They are dealing with a ruthless and calculated killer and that these may not be his first victims. At
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this stage, the only people on the investigators' radar are Amy and Ross, seemingly grieving relatives of the victims. However, later that evening, as news of the Scott family murders spreads across Anderson County, Amy's ex-husband Neil contacts police with some
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interesting information.
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Said you were married to Amy previously.
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I was her first husband. I believe she's capable of this. I say that because while we were married, she tried to stab me.
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What brought on y'all separation?
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The fight or—actually, that was one of three fights. One she just tried to charge me, I tripped her and laid her down on the ground and told her not to come back after me.
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And the other time was a knockdown drag-out where I was told she hit me and one of my friends with a ball bat.
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I don't remember that. The separation was on adultery charges.
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Did you get knocked out or something?
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I blacked out.
Speaker A
Well, listen, Neil, I appreciate you calling in and I'll keep your information handy.
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Amy's violent history places her under suspicion, but that soon becomes the least of detectives' concerns as she and Ross begin behaving in ways no genuinely grieving couple ever should.
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On Wednesday morning, acting on information from Amy's ex-husband, investigators quickly secure a search warrant for Amy's trailer and rush over.
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The moment they step inside, they're struck by a peculiar smell, one eerily similar to what they encountered at the murder scene. As the search continues, detectives uncover an unusual amount of cash. $68,000 bundled inside a bedroom safe along with
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18 firearms, all of which are seized as potential evidence. Considering Amy and Ross' modest lifestyle, this discovery immediately raises questions. After clearing the trailer, investigators ask Amy and Ross to come to the station for an opportunity to clear their names. And
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interestingly, both agree, almost as if they've been expecting this very moment. Once Amy and Ross arrive at the station, they're immediately asked if they're willing to undergo a polygraph test, something rarely requested of witnesses.
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Ross agrees and is the first to take a seat. But before asking about the murders, the examiner would begin by trying to better understand the man sitting across from him. And Ross is about to reveal something from his past
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that makes him almost impossible to break.
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This is Mr. L. I'm polygraphing them. I'm not law enforcement in any way, form, fashion. I do a lot of tests for law enforcement, but I don't have a gun or badge. Any medical
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problems you know about?
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Uh, physical or—um, nothing physically wrong. Um, you have a mental problem?
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I am rated for 30% for PTSD.
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Were you actually in combat or—I know you had embassy duty sometime?
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Yeah, that was my last three years. My first two and a half I was infantry unit.
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So you were in combat the first two and a half years you were there?
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Yeah. And like I only did one deployment. So it's not like I did back-to-back deployments.
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So you did one deployment in combat?
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Yes, sir.
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Where?
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In Iraq.
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You're correct. Iraq.
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Now you've been in Marines. You know what gunshot sounds like?
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Oh yeah. You know what—all you know what screaming and everything sounds like?
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Oh yeah.
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Uh, you hear anything that was out of the ordinary?
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Not out of the ordinary. Amy sleeps with our television on and I hate to think that that would be the reason why I wasn't able to go save someone.
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Think Amy had anything to do with this?
Speaker A
No, I don't think she had anything to do with this.
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Although Ross steers detectives away from Amy, his own background has started to draw attention to himself. Ross spent five years in the Marine Corps. During that time, he received extensive hand-to-hand combat training with knives, along with specialized instruction on how to resist
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interrogation if ever captured by the enemy. Realizing this, the examiner would allow Ross to share his thoughts on who could be responsible, and his answer would be unexpected to say the least.
Speaker A
How do you think I did this?
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I'm just—I have no freaking clue.
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Um, did you do it?
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Did I do it? No.
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What you got down?
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There's three possible scenarios that—okay.
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Um, one, Mike deals in a lot of gold. He buys and sells gold. He buys and sells guns and he buys and sells video games and stuff like that. And maybe someone was disgruntled in a sale.
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Or maybe someone noticed that, you know, he dealt in a lot of this stuff and figured they'd cash in.
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You know, that's okay.
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You know, that's one scenario that could be a—yeah, a slight possibility.
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The other one, I think it was Tuesday or Wednesday of this past week, he had mentioned to me that he had se—
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confession or physical evidence, detectives have no choice but to let the couple go. And before long, the investigation comes to a halt.
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As weeks turn into months, leads begin to dry up and the case eventually goes cold. For a time, Amy continues giving public interviews, pleading for the killer to be found. But behind closed doors, life goes on for Amy and Ross.
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And it appears they've put the tragedy behind them. After inheriting the family's home, the couple begins renovating the very place where the murders took place. Once the work is complete, they move in and settle into a comfortable new life,
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benefiting from the money left behind by the victims. During this time, Ross would spend nearly $40,000 on a Dodge Ram, a Mustang, two Harley-Davidson motorcycles, and a Yamaha personal watercraft. Eventually, the couple would sell the home and move to West Columbia,
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South Carolina. All the while, they would keep the truth hidden, not only from investigators, but also from their own children, who were still too young to understand where all this newfound fortune had come from.
Speaker A
I'll show you some. Yep. See you. Open up. Look. It's now 2023 and in an unexpected twist, the television series Cold Justice approaches the Anderson County Sheriff's Office with the hope of finally solving the case. And 8 years
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later, the investigation is officially reopened. Detective Tyler Duncan is assigned alongside veteran investigator Steve Spingola. And together, they're tasked with re-examining every piece of evidence collected back in 2015. And as he scrolls through years of Facebook posts, he comes across something
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unexpected. A video the couple would soon regret not deleting. Without this recording, detectives might have hit yet another frustrating dead end, especially since Amy's parents had no CCTV cameras surrounding their home. And it shows just how important reliable security can
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let's return to the video that's about to spell serious trouble for Amy and Ross. You guys keep calling the police and you guys keep making calls.
Speaker A
I did not call no police. I don't know anything on us today. I don't know what Kathy does. That's all right.
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He's making problems for him and I not only for us personally and me. Not a me and I ain't me. You don't know your English stupid.
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Wow. Really? Hold on. Let me go get my grandmother who's actually an English teacher and we'll find out who's correct on that.
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Why don't you have grandma come out here real quick? I don't think your grandma wants to deal with this trash.
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No, this is ridiculous at this point. Dad, you don't know doodoo from feathers? Yeah, that's right, Jamie. I'm the litter.
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I'll show you some. Yep. See you. Open it up. Yeah, look. This footage completely contradicts the story Amy and Ross had been telling police for years, becoming the first major lead detective Duncan believes could finally crack the case. And so
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after 8 years with virtually no progress, Detective Duncan prepares to pay Amy and Ross a visit. A couple who have spent nearly a decade believing they got away with murder. But what Detective Duncan is about to do is not
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without risks. Knowing the couple had already lawyered up in the past, detectives know they have only one chance to get this right or risk the case going cold for good.
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On December 11th at 8:00 a.m., Detective Duncan and Spangola head to Amy and Ross' new home in West Columbia, South Carolina, more than 100 miles from where the murders took place. Once they arrive, the people inside the house have
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no idea their lives are about to be turned upside down forever. You ready? Let's go.
Speaker A
There we go. There we go. Hey, Ross. I'm Tyler Duncan. I'm with Anderson County Sheriff's Office. This is Steve.
Speaker A
How you doing? How's it going? Um, so we're I got assigned the case about the homicide that happened in Pendleton in 2015.
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Okay. And uh so I'm trying to go around basically and start from the beginning and since Amy is Amy here?
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She. So, since she's the one that called 911, I think you were there also. Um, yeah. Well, I mean, I showed up just after you called yesterday after.
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Okay. Yeah. So, we we'd like to talk to you. Um, we're kind of starting from the beginning of the case and going back through.
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Yeah. My house is a mess right now. Well, that's we can actually get we can get sit in the car here and uh talk.
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All right. Do you want to talk to both at the same time? We'll talk to you separately and we'll talk if you want to come on out. We'll talk to you and then we can talk to her.
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Okay. After Ross steps out of the house and walks towards the detective's vehicle, all three men know this could very well be their final standoff. The detectives have the element of surprise and the couple's unsettling digital footprint.
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While Ross relies on a rock-solid story backed by years of marine training, the stakes have never been higher as the couple's future now rests entirely in Ross' hands.
Speaker A
Can we wake you up? Oh, I'm sorry. So, if you just want to start from kind of the beginning of what you remember and and we'll go from there.
Speaker A
All right. Um, well, this will be fun cuz that was quite a while ago. Um, I went out to run my errands. I didn't really notice anything um out of the ordinary that I could see. Uh, you know, that
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morning when Amy got up, she had noticed that uh her mom's dogs had not been taken out yet, which was weird because her mom takes her dogs out every morning. So her so she went out there to see why her mom's dogs hadn't been taken
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out. Um she let her mom's dogs out into the dog run and she went up to the uh house to, you know, knock on the door, see if her mom maybe wasn't feeling well, see if something was going on that she didn't,
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you know, didn't tell Amy about. So she opened it up, walks in, and that's when she apparently found the scene that she found. Um, she went bolting back out of the house.
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Uh, I believe that's when she made the call. I think she called 911 before she called me, if I remember correctly.
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From the start, detectives immediately notice a few things. Ross struggles to maintain eye contact, and the story he's telling is one they've already partially verified. On the day of the murders, surveillance footage captured Ross at a nearby Quick Trip, seemingly supporting
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his account. But what appeared to clear Ross of suspicion eight years earlier would eventually become one of the strongest pieces of evidence against him.
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For now, Ross's story matches his original account. But as he continues talking, small changes would begin to emerge, giving detectives an unexpected lead.
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Can you describe, I guess, your kind of your relationship with with Mike and Kathy? Yeah. So, um, at first when, uh, uh, when Amy and I first started dating, um, uh, my relationship with Mike was really great, actually. Kathy is one of
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those people that if you don't understand her, she's hard to swallow, but I mean, overall, I mean, she was a really good person, I think. Um, it's just like just some of her mannerisms were a little bit, we'll say, fun. There
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was a couple things that kind of were red flags, but I don't know if they have anything to do with this or not. Um, one of them was at really weird times and weird hours of the day and night,
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I would see Mike walking around the perimeter of the property talking to himself. In something like this, what do where does your investigation normally what do you guys normally follow in cases? TV shows that I watch always say
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follow the money, right? That's one of the biggest things. Follow the money and you find out where the real motives are.
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Interestingly, this follow the money approach will prove to be the key to solving the case, but not in the way Ross thinks. After a few more minutes, Ross's interview comes to an end, and he's asked to let Amy know it's her
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turn. As detectives wait for her, they know the last time Amy spoke to law enforcement, she sat silently as they angrily confronted her over failing a polygraph test. But now Amy's attitude would be very different. And detectives are about to see how 8 years of carrying
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a terrifying secret had changed her. He's the victim. Oh, I got that very quickly.
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Yep. Very quickly, and he goes on and on and on. Benefit from this one. Excellent. But follow the money.
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Follow the money. You could tell that he's Yeah. I saw him. Yeah. Crying in our And every time he's talking, he would look and then when he would go to answer and and again I I don't but but he can't
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look at you in the in the face. His timeline is extremely off. You just hop in the passenger seat.
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Okay. Well, we can we can stand outside. You doing okay this morning? Yeah. Sorry to wake you up. Well, so my name is Tyler. This is Steve. How are you?
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But when we start with a case, you know, we're considered a cold case, we want to start from the beginning. That's how I operate. I hope you have no bad feelings with me. Um I'm sorry that the maybe the
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county or somebody has has irritated you. I can only imagine irritation. You know, you get pretty irritated about lies and stuff going around everything else and how that affects your children.
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Certainly. and but we we're trying to do right by your mother, your grand your grandmother and then obviously Mr. Scott and and his mom. So, I don't know if y'all are redoing it and y'all going to do it
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justice and that would be wonderful. Despite Amy claiming she's okay with the case being reopened, her defensive demeanor tells detectives otherwise.
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After reviewing the original case file, Detective Duncan knows that confronting Amy directly has never worked. So, learning from their previous experience, he decides to take an opposite approach to get to the bottom of what Amy truly feels about the victims.
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What do you remember? What can you help us with? Where should we look? I mean, I mean, obviously, you got to know finding dead people doesn't really leave you in the right state of mind.
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can do things to you. Yes, ma'am. Um but and then everything that ensued, I mean, honestly, I can't even tell you.
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I can barely remember the funerals. I don't really remember much about being inside the house anymore. I I think I've blocked that out. That's just and that's just how it's going to have to be at this point because I've got children.
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I've got to be here for them and I can't be in the L. Then, we had another girl that was working for us. She was around at the time here and there, Roxy.
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You said her name was Roxy. Yeah, Roxy. Boy, how about leading? So, he Ross was telling us a little bit about like the relationship between like I guess y'all and the family. Um, and I guess it was good and then something happened.
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Uh, yeah, I remember what happened. Um, I mean, a lot of people remember what happened. We got into it around 4th of July or something with Mike. It didn't have much to do with my mom and my grandmother, of course. My father died
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when I was 18. So, I didn't need another father cuz I was 23 and had my own kid.
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And there had always been issues there for years, but way before this. So, he had issues with a couple of my ex-husbands. He had issues with a couple of my friends.
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Now, who? This is Mike. Yeah. Okay. Um, I really hate to tell y'all this. It probably sounds horrible coming from me, but he wasn't a nice person.
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For the first time in 8 years, Amy admits she never had a good relationship with her stepfather. But detectives would later learn her resentment towards him went far deeper. She also points Duncan and Spingola towards her friend and former employee Roxy, someone
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detectives now need to interview as soon as possible. Before wrapping up, Detective Spingola has one more question for Amy, one they would return to again and again throughout the investigation.
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How were things going financially at that time? Okay. Yeah, it was fine. Nothing. No problems.
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Nothing abnormal. I mean, and you tried to cooperate. I know you've answered questions before.
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Yeah. You took a polygraph? Yeah. How'd that go? Uh, they were like they I they wouldn't even tell me. They acted like I did something horrible on it, you know, and it's not that I haven't wanted to cooperate. It's just you get to a
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certain point and you see where things are going and you're like, you know what, this is [ __ ] Thank you for talking to us.
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She can't remember anything because she doesn't remember her lies. Am I wrong? Despite Amy's best attempts, detectives know her account is full of lies, even more so than Ross's. Still, at this stage, they have nothing concrete tying either Amy or Ross to the murders, and
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the couple knows it. Once detectives return to the station, both sides realize they're at a pivotal point in the investigation as the next 24 hours could determine whether Amy and Ross walk free or spend the rest of their
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lives behind bars. The following morning, Detective Scotty Hill and prosecutor Kelly Seagler follow up on the previous day's leads and decide to pay a visit to Amy's former coworker, Roxy. The detective's hunch is that Amy believes this interview will
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strengthen her alibi. But by introducing a new potential witness, whatever Roxy is about to say now has the power to shift the investigation in either the detectives or the couple's favor.
Speaker A
Hey Roy, how you doing? Good. How are you doing? Fine. Come on in. Basically, what we we've decided to do is start this case from the beginning and work it like it's never been worked before.
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Okay. Do everything we can. So, obviously you were kind of a big deal in the early early days of the case. You worked for Ross Namy, right?
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How was she to work for? Um, cool. Laid back. Um, we joked around a lot. Never took anyone too serious. Um, I think I seen um Kathy and what was his name?
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Mike. Mike. Um, at the the shop, the grooming shop twice. And the first time everything was great. And then the second time they came, uh, it wasn't good. Um, it was kind of I was in the back grooming, so I
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didn't hear everything that was going on, but just watching the body language and hearing the what they were saying at the time. It wasn't it was something to do with money.
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Okay. Um because afterwards Stacy Stacy uh Amy had talked about um how she was going to keep her kids away from um Kathy and Mike. And that's when they just went kapahoots from there. They never got along after that.
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And then throughout working there, she'd always tell me about how she was treated growing up and all of that. So, what kind of stuff would she say about how she was treated?
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Um, she told me that she was always a daddy's girl. And when um her dad passed away, I think she said her dad had a he was working on a car and it crushed him and he was placed in the hospital.
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Um and her mom decided to pull the plug on him and she said she was only 13 and so she didn't really have a say so. But she always uh hated her mom for that.
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What Roxy has just revealed could provide detectives with one of the strongest motives behind the murders. As Amy's hatred towards her mother over the decision to remove her father from life support had only deepened over the years. And as detectives wrap up the
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interview and relay their findings to Duncan and Spingola, Amy and Ross are completely unaware that their luxurious life is about to come crashing down.
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While Amy and Ross continue enjoying their freedom, Duncan and Spola drive over to two people who knew the victims better than almost anyone else. Their closest friends, Stan and Mary, to see if their stories match, detectives decide to interview them separately. And
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while they expect to hear more unsubstantiated claims, they're about to uncover much more than that. Do you will you just hop in the passenger seat so we can sit down and and talk about what happened back in 2015 real quick?
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We're investigating the case again. Um going through going through everything. Um and that's kind of why you know we can kind of talk in private a little bit and just see I know at some point in time I think you
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had called and talked with some detectives back back then and stuff. So I did because I felt like I I need to tell them what I knew about what Barbara had told me. I kind I kind of come on
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the case earlier this year. Uh started reviewing it and stuff. Uh I hope you catch it, man. I tell you what, we were with him. Uh Kathy was here that uh Friday before we don't know exactly when she died, either Friday
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night or Saturday, whatever. But uh she and Kelly and uh and we told the first people uh we were really good friends.
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She cleaned our house, but Mike and I were good friends. And uh uh we sent food home for them. that our food was in their refrigerator when they died.
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I'd say at least 3 months before that happened, she was just a nervous wreck over what was going on up there in that house. And then that last time I went, that was just a few days before that
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happened. Uh Barbara was just I mean she was beside herself crying and and going on about how uh Amy something bad was going to happen because uh uh Amy just seemed like she just hated their guts.
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I think the week that he died or the weekend that he died, I think he told his boss that he knew was going to die.
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Do you know why he would say that? He's going to get killed. He was that afraid?
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Yeah, he just knew. I think they might have I don't remember all of that stuff, but uh you know, uh to the detective's surprise, neither Stan nor Mary believe these murders came out of nowhere. Their accounts suggest this may have been a planned attack,
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potentially explaining why so little evidence was left behind. But what stood out to Stan and Mary even more was the couple's behavior in the days after the murders, convincing them that one of the Valardes is indeed the killer.
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Did you go to the funeral, man? Anything unusual at the funeral? Weird. Weird. Why?
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For them just to come in like they were all upset and and concerned about what had happened. That just didn't seem normal to me. I don't know.
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Do you remember anything anything unusual happened at the funeral? Anything that stuck out in your mind? Do I have to say that?
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Yeah. I don't want to say it. You know, we we're trying to put this together.
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She was dressed like a red, huh? Red dress. I don't remember the color of dress, but short dress, boots, and all that stuff.
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Uh, Kelly will be able to tell you more than I can on that. If she wasn't speaking to them or having anything to do with them, I don't know why she decided she'd come in and check on them.
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What' you think happened? Minute I heard it, I I I thought Amy's done what she promised you was going to do. I never even considered it being anybody else. When you heard they were they were murdered, what was your first
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thought? They killed her. What makes you say that? They did. They're the ones who killed her. Uh and y'all know that, too. So, several people told me, you know, just don't have the proof. And what I was told, I don't know, maybe your sheriff
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told me that, but uh they went in over there, the uh uh deputies and stuff thought it was a a murder and screwed up all the evidence.
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After speaking with Stan and Mary, detectives Duncan and Spangola know they're closing in on a breakthrough.
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They just hope it comes fast enough before the couple disappears. Over the following weeks, Duncan and Spangola conduct dozens more interviews with family members and friends, re-examining every piece of evidence to see whether anything had been overlooked over the
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years. And that's when they come across something peculiar. Amy had insisted from the beginning the $60,000 recovered from her home was her savings. But as investigator Duncan digs deeper, he discovers Amy and Ross' dog grooming business had been earning far less than
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they originally claimed. That's when Spingola uncovers something critical. While reviewing the victim's phone records, he finds that just days before his death, Mike had photographed stacks of cash to prove to a seller that he had enough money for an upcoming purchase.
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But upon closer inspection, the serial numbers in this photograph exactly match the cash seized from Amy and Ross' home.
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Then comes their biggest breakthrough yet. Duncan and Spingola revisit the CCTV footage from the morning of November 1st and identify the shoes Ross was wearing. Fred AS6 Speed Star sneakers. When they compare them to the bloody footprint left at the scene, the
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match is undeniable. Nearly a decade later, Detective Duncan finally has the concrete physical evidence he's been searching for. On the morning of December 20th, detectives return to the couple's home for what they believe will be their final visit. Once they arrive,
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they spot Ross' brand new Ford Mustang, confirming the couple hadn't disappeared. While Amy refuses to speak with him this time, Ross agrees to another interview. After 8 years without an arrest, Ross is convinced any evidence against him simply doesn't
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exist. But he's about to get a reality check and his final chance to explain away the damning evidence stacked against him.
Speaker A
Hey, so we just want to ask you a couple more things and we're going to get out of here. Okay.
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So, there was something that had come up um while we was looking through the file. Do you remember owning a a like a red pair of shoes?
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Red pair of shoes. ASIC uh speed star shoes? Don't recall. So, there was a video on your phone of you wearing these ASIC speed shoes.
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Oh, yeah. Okay. Yeah, I remember those shoes. What What happened to the shoes? cuz I don't think they ever found they never found the shoes.
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That's a good question because I have no idea. I possibly thrown away. The reason that I ask is we found this is from crime scene photos and these are confirmed to be AS6 speed store shoes.
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Okay. Um inside and they have blood droplets on them. And interestingly enough, here at the Quick Trip wearing those shoes the night of the murders, I have no idea how those shoes would have had any kind of blood on them. I mean, obviously
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wearing them at a quick trip on the 31st. And they never found the clothes either that you were wearing.
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I mean, I I can understand where that would look like to be a problem, but again, I don't know where the shoes are at the moment, and I don't remember what ever happened to those particular shoes. If something
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were to have happened that I had done would be stupid for me to wear them into the house and then wear them after that.
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Well, that's what I'm saying. They were never found. So, it's almost like you got rid of them and y'all did benefit from the murders. Okay. Because you got a lot of money. We've been through your financials. Okay.
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You didn't get We did not get a lot of money from this. Y'all were struggling all up until the murders. The money found in your safe.
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There's money photos from Mike's computer that match the same serial numbers as the money that was found in the safe. So, it's not savings. That's money that was found inside of Mike and Kathy's house that Mike was saving and
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y'all took it after you killed them. Okay? And I'm telling you right now, we're going to prove it.
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Or you can roll the dice. When that jury comes back, I'm telling you, like you said, it's not going to be pretty. We're not here because we think you did it or you might have did it. We know you did
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it. Okay? We're just here as a courtesy. It's piling up. Ross. So, you're telling me that and if you guys said you went through my financials, right?
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You saw where I had made the money and we saw where you spent it.
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No, you didn't. Yes, we did. Cars. Your car was even reborn, buddy. I'm tell I'm not trying to scare you here, but that's actually absolutely what you're trying to do.
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Well, I'm not. You said it the best. Follow the money. We did that. It led right into your single wide. Just telling you. Using Ross' own words against him, Detective Duncan and Spingola followed the money and ironically, it led detectives straight
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back to him. For the first time, Ross begins to realize he and Amy may not be as untouchable as they once believed.
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But even then, he's convinced detectives still don't have enough to secure a conviction, and he's about to show them just how confident he really is.
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Let's just play this out in a hypothetical right? Right. Let's say a deal happens, right?
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What kind of deal would that be? I don't know, Ross. Here's Okay, but here's the deal. With That's a bad analogy. Here's the thing, sir. Without a deal, there's no hope. Do you believe that? I want you to go and, you know, think
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about this. I I understand that, but my my point being is you guys just brought up my kids, my wife, my family.
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Right. Mine is going to be better than Amy because I came to the trough first.
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Right. Right. So, prison time no matter what. Amy, prison time no matter what. So, now you're talking about both of us are going to prison.
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Um, my my three kids in here, they grew up without a father and a mother. Granted, my mother would be more than willing to take them. I understand that.
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We're not the ones who put you on this predicament, okay? Y'all made a decision for whatever reason, okay, to do what y'all do. You say we made a decision back wall. I understand it. We make decisions at stress.
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Now you have now, you know, 8 years, whatever. Now you're going to have to deal with the consequences.
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For almost 10 years now, no one has found anything enough to come down here and bother me or my wife or my family. For 8 years, nothing's been enough to come down here.
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But now all of a sudden, 8 years later, there's enough evidence to come bother me. Why or how?
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And we found the missing pieces. Okay. Okay. And I just showed you. Why? Why is it Why is it 8 years later that missing pieces had just finally quote unquote fallen into place?
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I can't answer that because I wasn't I wasn't the ones that was investigating this case before I got it.
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So tell me where they fell for sure. I don't know. I can't plead guilty to something that Ross, don't go there. Don't go there anymore, please. I have a lot of respect for you.
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Don't go there anymore. All right. I won't. I did my job and you did yours. You understand that?
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Yep. That's it. That's the bottom line. No more bull here. All right. I won't. And then if if if that is where we are, then at this juncture, it is time for me to hop out of the truck and I probably will be
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contacting an attorney. Well, he's free to go. Okay. Yep. You guys have a nice drive back to Anderson.
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Despite Ross still refusing to admit to the horrific crime he and Amy committed, Duncan and Spangola no longer need his confession. The evidence speaks for itself. Later that day, both Amy and Ross are arrested and transported to the
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Anderson County Detention Center, where they are charged with four counts of murder based on 8 years of findings.
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This is what investigators believe happened on the night of October 31st, 2015. Around 11:00 p.m. that night, Amy and Ross walked the short distance from their trailer to the Scott family home.
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Because they were family, detectives believe they were able to enter the house without forcing their way inside.
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Investigators believe Mike Scott was attacked first before he had a chance to defend himself. Kathy Scott, Barbara Scott, and Violet Taylor all suffered slash wounds, which investigators concluded were the fatal injuries. after they had already died. Each victim was
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then shot in the head. Detectives believe Amy and Ross then took the cash Mike kept inside the home before leaving the scene. 2 days after the murder, Amy returned to the house and placed the 911 call, reporting she had discovered the
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bodies. In February 2026, Amy is found guilty on all four counts of murder and sentenced to four life sentences. As of August 2026, Ross remains behind bars awaiting trial. If convicted, he too could receive four life sentences, one
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for each victim.
Topics:Amy ValardiPendleton homicideSouth Carolina murdercold case investigationquadruple homicidetrue crimefamily murderpolygraph testcriminal investigationDr Insanity
