Slain Rockville Couple Stabbed to Death, $10K Reward Offered: Police

>>News Alerts: Subscribe to a free email newsletter: BETHESDA •ROCKVILLE • SILVER SPRING

A Rockville hotel developer and his wife were likely stabbed to death sometime between Saturday night and when they were found about noon Sunday by family members, police say.

The Office of the Chief Medical Examiner has ruled the deaths of Richard Louis Vilardo, 65, and Julianne Humphries Vilardo, 67, homicides that were caused by sharp force injuries. The couple lived in the 13200 block of Ridge Drive in Rockville, according to Montgomery County Police.

“It was most possibly done by a knife or a sharp object,” Police spokesperson Natasha Plotnikov told Montgomery Community Media Tuesday.

Investigators say the Vilardos were in the Charles Town, W. VA, area on Saturday evening, where they had dinner with friends. The couple came home that evening, which is the last time they were known to be alive.

Family members of the developer and hotel executive and his wife – both found slain Sunday at their home – say they know of no one who would want to hurt the couple.

Officers responded to the home at 12:18 p.m. Sunday. Julianne Vilardo was found dead inside the home. The body of Richard Vilardo was found just outside the rear of the house. Police said each suffered “trauma to the upper portion” of their bodies.

On Monday afternoon, detectives said they believe suspects entered the Vilardo home through a window. The glass was not broken, and the latch may not have been engaged.

“We are heartbroken over this senseless tragedy,” the couple’s family said in a statement. “Dick and Jody Vilardo were a warm and loving couple,” and family members “know of no one who would wish them harm.”

Investigators say the Vilardos had agreed to meet family Sunday morning. “When the couple was late, family went to the home and found both victims deceased; family called police.”

Richard Vilardo was a co-founder of Pinnacle Hotel Management, a Florida based company that developed and managed Marriott and Hilton hotels, reports The Washington Post.

“I am heartbroken,” said Steven J. Fairbanks, one of Pinnacle’s principals, told the newspaper in a statement.

Vilardo’s biography on the Pinnacle website says before forming RDA and Pinnacle in 1996 and 1997, he was a principal in a Chevy Chase-based investment banking firm. Projects developed by the firm included a 600-room full-service Marriott hotel and two limited service properties in suburban New York and the Bethesda Residence Inn. Vilardo and Franklin still retain an ownership interest in that property.

Anyone with information regarding the deaths of Richard and Julianne Vilardo is asked to contact the Montgomery County Police at 301.279.8000.

For those who want to remain anonymous and be eligible for up to a $10,000 reward, call Crime Solvers of Montgomery County toll-free at 1-866-411-TIPS (8477).

»Photo of Vilardo home from Montgomery County Police; photo of Richard Vilardo from Pinnacle Hotel Management website.

READ ALSO:

• UPDATED: Slain Couple Named as Bethesda Hotel Developer, Wife
• Police: Bodies of Rockville Couple Found, Homicide Suspected