From the get-go, investigators said it would have taken more than one person to pull off such an elaborate crime. Court documents support this investigative hunch. However, only one person has been charged.
Savvas Savopoulos, 46, and his wife, Amy Savopoulos, 47, were among the four people found dead in a D.C. home Thursday, May 14. Also among the dead were their child, 10-year-old Phillip and their housekeeper, Veralicia Figueroa, 57.
(Credit Tony Powell/Washington Life/Polaris)
Credit Tony Powell/Washington Life/Polaris
D.C. police released this images of Daron Wint in May of 2015. He was indicted Wednesday on 20 counts for slayings of the Savopoulos family. He is charged with first-degree murder, kidnapping, extortion, theft, burglary and arson.
(The Associated Press)
The Associated Press
Police continue working at a fire-damaged multimillion-dollar home in northwest Washington home, Friday May 22, 2015, where 46-year-old Savvas Savopoulos, his 47-year-old wife, Amy Savopoulos, the couple’s 10-year-old son Philip, and housekeeper Veralicia Figueroa were found dead May 14. U.S. marshals and police arrested a dangerous ex-convict and took his five companions into custody, safely ending a multistate manhunt in the slayings of a wealthy Washington family and their housekeeper. The fugitive task force tracked Daron Dylon Wint to New York and back before they caught up with him late Thursday
(AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)
AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin
Investigators inspect the fire-damaged multimillion-dollar home in northwest Washington home, Wednesday, May 20, 2015, where four people were found dead May 14. Police Chief Cathy Lanier earlier identified two of the victims found dead as 46-year-old Savvas Savopoulos and his 47-year-old wife, Amy Savopoulos. Police believe the other two victims are the couple’s 10-year-old son and a housekeeper. Police say the deaths are being investigated as a homicide.
(AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta)
AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta
Washington police secure the vicinity around the fire-damaged multimillion-dollar home in northwest Washington, Wednesday, May 20, 2015, where four people were found dead May 14. Washington Police Chief Cathy Lanier earlier identified two of the victims found dead as 46-year-old Savvas Savopoulos and his 47-year-old wife, Amy Savopoulos. Police believe the other two victims are the couple’s 10-year-old son and a housekeeper. Police say the deaths are being investigated as a homicide. .
(AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta)
AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta
Construction crews tear down a posh D.C. house that was the scene of a 2015 quadruple homicide on Friday, April 21, 2017. The house sold for $3 million months after Savvas and Amy Savopoulos, their son Philip and housekeeper Vera Figueroa were killed.
(WTOP/Megan Cloherty)
WTOP/Megan Cloherty
Construction crews begin to tear down a posh D.C. house that was the scene of a 2015 quadruple homicide on Friday, April 21, 2017. The house sold for $3 million months after Savvas and Amy Savopoulos, their son Philip and housekeeper Vera Figueroa were killed.
(WTOP/Megan Cloherty)
WTOP/Megan Cloherty
Construction crews begin to tear down a posh D.C. house that was the scene of a 2015 quadruple homicide on Friday, April 21, 2017. The house sold for $3 million months after Savvas and Amy Savopoulos, their son Philip and housekeeper Vera Figueroa were killed.
(WTOP/Megan Cloherty)
WTOP/Megan Cloherty
Construction crews begin to tear down a posh D.C. house that was the scene of a quadruple homicide on Friday, April 21, 2017. The house sold for $3 million months after Savvas and Amy Savopoulos, their son Philip and Vera Figueroa were killed.
(WTOP/Megan Cloherty)
WASHINGTON — It’s a case that stands out for its brutality, and now three years to the day after three members of a D.C. family and their housekeeper were found inside their burning home, the man charged in their killings will go to trial in four months.
It was the afternoon of May 14, 2015, when fire engines roared toward Savvas and Amy Savopoulos’ home near the National Cathedral. First responders found the couple and their 10-year-old son, Philip, dead inside. Their housekeeper, Vera Figeroa, 57, died later that day at the hospital.
Investigators say the four were held hostage in the mansion on Woodland Drive in Northwest D.C. beginning on May 13. An autopsy determined they all died of blunt and sharp force trauma. However, Philip also had thermal injuries, indicating he was still alive when the home was set on fire.
Days later, on May 21, then-25-year-old Darron Wint was arrested and later charged with the murders as well as making off with $40,000 in ransom money after his DNA was discovered on a pizza crust left at the scene.
He had once worked for Savopolous’ American Iron Works company in Hyattsville, Maryland.
From the get-go, investigators said it would have taken more than one person to pull off such an elaborate crime. Court documents support this investigative hunch. However, Wint remains the only person charged.
Preliminary hearings have indicated the motive was to rob 46-year-old Savvas Savopoulos, the CEO of two businesses with a penchant for racing luxury cars.
Wint’s trial is slated to start Sept. 5. He has been in and out of court since 2015, as his representation has changed several times and he waived his right to a speedy trial. At his latest hearing in April, Wint confirmed he had a chance to review the DNA evidence, which appears to be the crux of the government’s case against him.
As WTOP previously reported, investigators said Wint’s DNA was also found on a neon green construction vest that had been left inside Amy Savopoulos’ stolen Porsche. An overview of forensic evidence prepared by prosecutors mentioned a possible DNA link between Wint and a knife found in the basement of the burned house.
Investigators also said their evidence includes a piece of duct tape recovered from the driveway and a hair sample found in a piece of bedding.
