In the new true crime podcast, 22 Hours: An American Nightmare, WTOP reexamines the complicated trail of evidence that led police to Daron Wint -- and resulted in his conviction on four counts of first-degree murder. See photos.
Firefighters discovered the bodies of Savvas Savopoulos, 46, his wife Amy, 47, their 10-year-old son Philip, and the housekeeper, Veralicia Figueroa, 57, when they responded to a blaze at the house. The two Savopoulos daughters were away in boarding school at the time. Investigators continued to collect evidence at the house for weeks.
(Getty Images/Chip Somodevilla)
Getty Images/Chip Somodevilla
FILE – In this May 22, 2015 file photo, police continue working at the Savopoulos’ fire-damaged multimillion-dollar home in northwest Washington.
(AP/Jacquelyn Martin)
AP/Jacquelyn Martin
Police investigators working a the home on Woodland Drive.
Police working at the scene.
A woman walks her dogs past the 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.
Investigators inspect the fire-damaged multimillion-dollar home in northwest Washington home, Wednesday, May 20, 2015, several days after the bodies of the victims were discovered inside.
Police remained stationed outside the Savopoulos house on Woodland Drive for weeks.
(WTOP/Nick iannelli)
WTOP/Nick iannelli
Police maintained a perimeter around the house on Woodland Drive for weeks after the killings.
(Getty Images/Chip Somodevilla)
Getty Images/Chip Somodevilla
Crime scene tape sets a perimeter around the Savopoulos house.
(Getty Images/Chip Somodevilla)
Getty Images/Chip Somodevilla
Red crime scene tape seals the front door.
(Getty Images/Chip Somodevilla)
Getty Images/Chip Somodevilla
A television reporter waits to go live across the street. The shocking crime garnered international media coverage.
(Getty Images/Chip Somodevilla)
Getty Images/Chip Somodevilla
Smashed windows and heavy fire damage scarred the Savopoulos house, which was once valued at some $4.5 million.
(Getty Images/Chip Somodevilla)
Getty Images/Chip Somodevilla
Police maintained a strict perimeter around the house for weeks.
(Getty Images/Chip Somodevilla)
Getty Images/Chip Somodevilla
Smashed windows and heavy fire damage scarred the Savopoulos house, which was once valued at some $4.5 million.
(Getty Images/Chip Somodevilla)
Getty Images/Chip Somodevilla
Television reporters and photographers swarmed Woodland Drive after the murders.
(Getty Images/Chip Somodevilla)
Getty Images/Chip Somodevilla
Former D.C. Police Chief Cathy Lanier speaks at a press conference at police headquarters May 21, 2015 in Washington, D.C., after Daron Wint is announced as a suspect in the killings. Lanier and D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser asked the public for help in locating Wint.
(Getty Images/Win McNamee)
Getty Images/Win McNamee
D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser, right, and then-assistant D.C. Police Chief Peter Newsham of Washington, D.C., at a May 2015 news conference. A large photo of Daron Wint — identified as the prime suspect in the killings — sits on easel next to them.
(Getty Images/Win McNamee)
Getty Images/Win McNamee
This photo from Daron Wint’s Facebook page was released by police in 2015 when he was first announced as a suspect in the slayings and introduced as evidence during his trial. At the time of the murders, Wint hadn’t held down a full-time job for a few years and was spending hours in the gym. Prosecutors said Wint, acting alone, could have easily overpowered three adults and a child.
The casket of Savvas Savopoulos is carried during a funeral service at the Saint Sophia Greek Orthodox Cathedral June 1, 2015 in Washington, DC. The funeral took place nearly two weeks after Daron Wint was arrested.
(Getty Images/Mark Wilson)
Getty Images/Mark Wilson
Surviving daughters Katerina Marie Savopoulos (R) and Abigal Marie Savopoulos (L) folllow behind the casket of their 10-year old brother Philip Savopoulos after a funeral service the Saint Sophia Greek Orthodox Cathedral June 1, 2015 in Washington, DC.
(Getty Images/Mark Wilson)
Getty Images/Mark Wilson
Savvas Savopoulos was a successful businessman, the CEO of a construction and metal-working company called American Iron Works. The company was previously owned by Savvas’ father, an immigrant, from Greece, who came to the United States to build a family and a future. By the time Savvas took over in the early 2000s, American Iron Works had become a multimillion-dollar company.
Amy Savopoulos was a devoted mother of three. The couple also had two teen daughters who were away at boarding schools at the time of the fire. Amy would write them letters every week, signing each one “xoxo Mom.” Friends recalled her as funny, vibrant, down to earth and dedicated to raising her children and philanthropic causes.
Philip, loved Harry Potter and Hot Wheels. His sisters said he was wise beyond his years and thoughtful. He attended a private school in D.C. St. Albans, which is on the grounds of the National Cathedral. Every week when Philip would talk to his two older sisters on the phone, he’d ask them what was going wrong in their lives — so he could pray for them at chapel. Philip dreamed of being a Formula One race car driver.
Veralicia Figueroa, who went by Vera, was remembered as a nurturing soul. A wife and mother herself, she had worked for several years as the Savopoulos family’s housekeeper. Figueroa had two adult children in El Salvador where she was originally from and was planning on retiring soon and moving back home to be close to them.
While the family was held hostage, they communicated — via phone calls and text messages — with several people, who had no idea what was happening inside 3201 Woodland Drive. In this text message, Amy Savopoulos asks the other family’s housekeeper, Nelly Gutierrez, not to come to the house.
(Courtesy U.S. Attorney's Office)
Courtesy U.S. Attorney's Office
Nelly Gutierrez, who owns a small cleaning business and worked for the Savopoulos family for nearly 20 years, says she still struggles with guilt over the murders of the family and Vera Figueroa, after learning the family had tried to reach her while they being held captive.
(WTOP/Megan Cloherty)
WTOP/Megan Cloherty
It was a case nightmares are made of: A D.C. power couple, their 10-year-old son and housekeeper were held hostage for nearly 24 hours and then murdered before their mansion was set ablaze.
The killings of the Savopoulos family and Vera Figueroa in May 2015 were among the most shocking crimes in recent D.C. history. Three years later, the man charged in their killings, Daron Wint, finally faced a jury. During his dramatic trial last fall, the accused killer proclaimed his innocence and tried to cast the blame on his two brothers.
In the new true crime podcast, 22 Hours: An American Nightmare, WTOP reexamines the complicated trail of evidence that led police to Daron Wint — and resulted in his conviction on four counts of first-degree murder.