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Ten years after convincing a jury to convict Daron Wint in the killings of a D.C. power couple, their 10-year-old son and a housekeeper, the prosecutors in the case are sharing the strategy, surprises and second-guessing going on behind the scenes.
Firefighters found the bodies of Savvas and Amy Savopoulos, their son Philip and housekeeper Vera Figueroa inside the family’s burning mansion near the Washington National Cathedral on May 14, 2015. Investigators said multiple people had tortured the family and Figueroa for 22 hours before killing them and setting the home on fire.
But it quickly became clear through DNA evidence, security camera footage, call logs and witness testimony that only one man was responsible. That man, Daron Wint, is now in prison serving four life sentences for the crime.
Laura Bach and Chris Bruckmann sat down with reporter Megan Cloherty on the “22 Hours: A Second Look” podcast for an in-depth interview about their experience. Bach is the deputy chief of the homicide section of the U.S. Attorney’s Office of the District of Columbia. Bruckmann is now at the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, where he’s the supervisory trial counsel.
One might think that six years after the trial of Wint, some particulars of the case may be fuzzy, but the details came back quickly for both of the seasoned prosecutors. One of the shocking aspects of the case came to light on the first day, when his attorneys announced Wint was placing the blame on his brothers.
“We knew of the possibility of him blaming his brothers because of the DNA. But I think … even though we knew it was theoretically possible, we were really quite surprised that they blamed Stefan,” Bruckmann said.
And while it was a surprise when his attorneys called Wint to the stand, Bruckmann said they realized he’d testify in his own defense on day one of the trial.
“As soon as the opening happened, we both looked at one another like, ‘Oh my gosh, this guy’s gonna testify!'” Bach said. “Because there was no one else who could say that the brothers were involved, and the detail that they gave in their opening, we were, I mean, 100% certain that he was going to testify.”
Bruckmann shared how he nearly broke down when one family member was on the stand, describing the family’s burned home she still visited on Woodland Drive NW as her graveyard.
For Bach, the most difficult witness to interview was Wint himself. There was no grand jury testimony or previous interview of the defendant to work from before beginning her line of questioning. Bach, who is known for taking calculated chances in the courtroom during cross-examination, said she was aware that younger attorneys came to Courtroom 203 to see her in action.
“I remember when she was done, I grabbed a couple of the interns who had been helping us out, and dragged them out into the hallway, and just made sure that they understood they could practice law for 40 years and never see something like that again. It was absolutely incredible,” Bruckmann said.
On the podcast, both prosecutors discussed how they spent the one evening they had to find the man who Wint testified would provide his alibi during the killings, and formulate a strategy to dismantle Wint’s timeline.
What struck them both was Wint’s lack of remorse.
“In every violent crime trial I have ever been a part of, the defendant always says something in sentencing about how they feel so awful about what happened to the victim, even if they’re still denying having done it,” Bruckmann said. “They’ll say, ‘What happened to Mr. So-and-So was awful. That should not happen to anybody. It wasn’t me. But I do feel terrible for what happened to him,’ even if only from their own self interest of trying to make themselves look good to the judge. And Daron Wint didn’t do that, either with his own mouth or even through his attorneys.”
Hear the full conversation on the podcast, “22 Hours: A Second Look,” season four of the award-winning American Nightmares series.
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