On Saturday a Rockville, Maryland man was arrested at the dock in Juneau aboard a cruise ship moored there, he was apprehended on a fugitive from justice warrant from that state, Juneau police say.

Montgomery police report that officers in Juneau contacted 31-year-old Scott Tomaszewski as he was disembarking the cruise ship Coral Princess with his father, mother, and 28-year-old sister, as they were leaving to go on a whale-watching trip.

Tomaszewski was wanted as a suspect in a early morning May 10th murder of two Maryland residents, Richard and Julianne Vilardo, as well as a burglary that took place in the same area. 

Evidence at the scene in Montgomery County pointed to the suspect using a knife to cut the screen from a first floor window, gaining access. Mulch was found on a pillow below the window. The couple’s bodies were discovered by their daughter on Ridge Drive just after noon the same day. The scene there was blood-soaked police say. Both victims had been brutally stabbed to death.

Montgomery police canvassed pawn shops after the murder, looking for items that had been stolen during the incident, that included a $7,300 Rolex, and a Cartier watch. They would find that Tomaszewski had pawned several pieces of jewelry that included a 1940s Coaldale High School class ring that was reported stolen during an Easter Sunday burglary that was also under investigation.

Both crime scenes were in the immediate vicinity of the Tomaszewski residence. The burglary scene was across the street, and the murder scene was right next door. Police report that the Vilardo home was also burglarized in 1998, when Tomszewski was house-sitting for the family. The house was also the scene of an attempted arson at the same time. Tomszewski was not considered a suspect in the case at that time.

During the burglary investigation Maryland police searched the Tomaszewski residence and found items that were taken from the Vilardo home during the murder, connecting him to that case as well.

Police say three Montgomery County investigators traveled to Juneau to arrest Tomaszewski on warrants connected to the two cases. A search of the luxury liner’s cabin, registered to Tomaszewski, would find blood-soaked money in Tomaszewski’s wallet. 

When questioned by police, Tomszewski confessed to the murder of the couple, the officers state.

Tomaszewski was arrested on charges of Murder I x2, armed robbery and burglary and remanded to the Lemon Creek Correctional Facility in Juneau. He is scheduled to appear in Juneau court on Monday. Montgomery prosecutors are preparing evidence to present to a Maryland Grand Jury. Tomaszewski is expected to appear on charges in a Maryland court as early as later this week if he waives extradition.

  arrest, burglary, julianne vilardo, maryland, montgomery county, murder, richard vilardo, rockville, scott tomaszewski, stabbing