22 Hours: An American Nightmare - Episode 4: The Pizza Crust

EPISODE 4: THE PIZZA CRUST
The Savopoulos house was held in evidence for three weeks as crime scene investigators combed for clues. In the end, five pieces of forensic evidence linked Daron Wint to the killings, including a sliver of his DNA on the crust of a pizza that had been delivered to the house the night before. But was the forensic evidence a slam dunk?

Photos

The blue Porsche belonging to Amy Savopoulos was driven from the family's house after the mansion was set ablaze. It was later found burning in the back of a church parking lot in New Carrollton, Maryland. Inside, investigators found a construction vest with Daron Wint's DNA on it. (Courtesy U.S. Attorney's Office for D.C.) — The blue Porsche belonging to Amy Savopoulos was driven from the family’s house after the mansion was set ablaze. It was later found burning in the back of a church parking lot in New Carrollton, Maryland. Inside, investigators found a construction vest with Daron Wint’s DNA on it. (Courtesy U.S. Attorney’s Office for D.C.)

The same parking lot in Prince George's County where the Porsche was found burning seen in 2019. (WTOP/Megan Cloherty) — The same parking lot in Prince George’s County where the Porsche was found burning seen in 2019. (WTOP/Megan Cloherty)

Four years after Amy Savopoulos' Porsche was burned in the back of the church parking lot near, a charred patch of asphalt is still visible. (WTOP/Jack Moore) — Four years after Amy Savopoulos’ Porsche was burned in the back of the church parking lot near, a charred patch of asphalt is still visible. (WTOP/Jack Moore)

The blue Porsche belonging to Amy Savopoulos was driven from the family’s house after the family’s mansion was set ablaze and also set on fire. This is the video showing firefighters racing to the scene. (WTOP/Jack Moore)

The Savopoulos house is seen in this crime scene photo from D.C. police. Fire officials testified they broke out many of the house's windows to ventilate the fire that raged on the home's second floor. (Courtesy U.S. Attorney's Office for D.C.) — The Savopoulos house is seen in this crime scene photo from D.C. police. The house was held in evidence for several weeks as investigators searched for clues. (Courtesy U.S. Attorney’s Office for D.C.)

The entryway to the Savopoulos house. (Courtesy U.S. Attorney's Office for D.C.) — The entryway to the Savopoulos house. The overturned red briefcase belonged to Savvas, and those are Philip’s schools books scattered across the floor — evidence of a struggle. (Courtesy U.S. Attorney’s Office for D.C.)

The upstairs bedroom where the three adult victims were held. (Courtesy U.S. Attorney's Office for D.C. ) — The upstairs bedroom where the three adult victims were held. The tops of the walls are smeared in heavy black soot, evidence of smoke damage. The fire didn’t enter this room, but the smoke accumulated and tarred the walls and ceiling looking for escape. (Courtesy U.S. Attorney’s Office for D.C. )

This close-up of a chair leg shows duct tape residue where the victims were restrained while they were held captive inside the Savopoulos family's house for nearly 24 hours. (U.S. Attorney's Office for D.C.) — This close-up of a chair leg shows duct tape residue where the victims were restrained while they were held captive inside the Savopoulos family’s house for nearly 24 hours. (U.S. Attorney’s Office for D.C.)

The bloody scene in the bedroom where the three adults were found. If you look carefully, you can see two Domino's pizza boxes perched on a box near the window. (Courtesy U.S. Attorney's Office for D.C.) — The bloody scene in the bedroom where the three adults were found. If you look carefully, you can see two Domino’s pizza boxes perched on a box near the window. (Courtesy U.S. Attorney’s Office for D.C.)

The burned-out upstairs bedroom where the body of 10-year-old Philip Savopoulos was found. The fire burned so hot, it burned through the floorboards. Fire investigators told the jury the fire started on the bed. (Courtesy U.S. Attorney's Office for D.C.) — The burned-out upstairs bedroom where the body of 10-year-old Philip Savopoulos was found. The fire burned so hot, it burned through the floorboards. Fire investigators told the jury the fire started on the bed. (Courtesy U.S. Attorney’s Office for D.C.)

The room where the boy was found was a "complete flashover," a fire investigator testified. "This room got so hot that everything in this room burned." (Courtesy U.S. Attorney's Office for D.C.) — The room where Philip Savopoulos was found was a “complete flashover,” a fire investigator testified. “This room got so hot that everything in this room burned.” (Courtesy U.S. Attorney’s Office for D.C.)

At the top of the stairs, they found a whole box of 300-count Diamond brand green strike-top matches. It was lying next to a bunched-up sweater soaked in gas. (Courtesy U.S. Attorney’s Office for D.C.)

Courtesy U.S. Attorney’s Office for D.C.

A computer containing video footage from the house's surveillance system was removed from a utilty closet in the house's attic. Several hours after the family was taken captive, prosecutors said Daron Wint made Savvas Savopoulos send a string of emails to their security company asking questions about how the security system worked. In particular, he wanted to know if the video footage was stored off-site in the cloud. It wasn't -- all the footage was stored on a local hard drive. The computer was stolen from the house and never recovered. (Courtesy U.S. Attorney's Office for D.C.) — A computer containing video footage from the house’s surveillance system was removed from a utilty closet in the house’s attic. Several hours after the family was taken captive, Savvas Savopoulos made a series of calls to his security company asking questions about how the security system worked. In particular, he wanted to know if the video footage was stored off-site in the cloud. It wasn’t — all the footage was stored on a local hard drive. The computer was stolen from the house and never recovered. (Courtesy U.S. Attorney’s Office for D.C.)

The samurai sword perched on the toilet seat in the bathroom next to the burned-out bedroom. Investigators couldn't recover any forensic evidence from the knife blade. Extreme heat destroys DNA evidence. But investigators found blood -- belonging to Philip Savopoulos -- on a tassel on the handle. (Courtesy U.S. Attorney's Office for D.C.) — The samurai sword perched on the toilet seat in the bathroom next to the burned-out bedroom. Investigators couldn’t recover any forensic evidence from the knife blade. Extreme heat destroys DNA evidence. But investigators found blood — belonging to Philip Savopoulos — on a tassel on the handle. (Courtesy U.S. Attorney’s Office for D.C.)

A Domino's pizza box from one of the two pizzas delivered to the Savopoulos house while the vicims were being held captive inside. The order was made using Amy Savopoulos' credit card and instructions were given to the delivery driver to leave the pizzas on the front porch. Investigators found Wint's DNA on an uneaten crust of one of the pizzas, linking him to the killings. (Courtesy U.S. Attorney's Office) — The Domino’s pizza box from one of the two pizzas delivered to the Savopoulos house while the victims were being held captive inside. The order was made using Amy Savopoulos’ credit card and instructions were given to the delivery driver to leave the pizzas on the front porch. Investigators found Wint’s DNA on an uneaten crust of one of the pizzas, linking him to the killings. (Courtesy U.S. Attorney’s Office)

Investigators found Wint's DNA on an uneaten crust of one of the pizzas, linking him to the killings. (Courtesy U.S. Attorney's Office) — Investigators found Daron Wint’s DNA on an uneaten crust of one of the pizzas, linking him to the killings. (Courtesy U.S. Attorney’s Office)

A knife found propping open the window inside the house's basement also tested positive for Daron Wint's DNA Prosecutors suggested Wint may have used the knife to prop open the window to check to make sure the $40,000 ransom was dropped off by Savvas Savopoulos' assistant. (Courtesy U.S. Attorney's Office for D.C.) — A knife found propping open the window inside the house’s basement also tested positive for Daron Wint’s DNA Prosecutors suggested Wint may have used the knife to prop open the window to check to make sure the $40,000 ransom was dropped off by Savvas Savopoulos’ assistant. (Courtesy U.S. Attorney’s Office for D.C.)

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The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives declined our request to interview the analysts who worked on the Daron Wint case, but agreed to provide written responses to general questions. Read the agency’s response below.

22 Hours: An American Nightmare – Responses from the ATF lab by wtopweb on Scribd