SEMINOLE COUNTY, Fla. — New evidence was released Thursday that a jury could potentially hear in the case of a Seminole County man accused of killing his parents and brother over money spent on an online Bulgarian call girl.
The trial of Grant Amato is a little more than a month away and new records released show a handful of his jail emails, as well as a voicemail message left for an attorney.
The phone call is critical to prosecutors who still don't have the physical evidence that ties Amato to the slayings.
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But what they do have is a motive and more of that circumstantial evidence surrounding was just released.
Prosecutors said the woman, named Silvie, is the motive behind the murders of Chad, Margaret and Cody Amato in their Chuluota home in January.
They believe Grant Amato became obsessed with her, paying more than $200,000 to connect with her online and when he was forced to cut off that connection, he killed his mom dad and brother in order to get their money to continue the relationship.
"Hi, yes, my name is Grant Amato," he said while at the jail, in a voicemail for attorney Dominick Salfi released by the State Attorney's Office. "I wanted to leave a message for Dominick Salfi, the trust attorney for Margaret and Chad Amato estate um, and what I wanted to do is I would like for you to forward any and all documentation that you have regarding this case that you have to my attorneys."
Amato can't touch any inheritance left to him by his parents or through insurance claims while he is charged with their murders. He can't even use it to bond out of jail.
Amato's attorney's filed a motion Wednesday asking a judge not to allow a jury to hear about any trust or insurance claims he would benefit from as a result of his parents' deaths.
The public defender anticipates this will be used by prosecutors as an alleged motive in the killings.
Amato will be back in court in a couple of weeks to hear motions on whether the jury will be allowed to hear his password hint and how he stood to benefit from his parents’ murders.
Jury selection begins in July.
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