Authorities: Ex-con had help in slaying of D.C. family
WASHINGTON - Court documents released in the case of a wealthy Washington, D.C. family who was brutally killed along with their housekeeper reveal authorities believe more than one person is responsible for the crime, and that an assistant to one of the victims lied repeatedly to investigators.
Forty-six-year-old Savvas Savopoulos; his 47-year-old wife, Amy; their 10-year-old son, Philip; and the Savopoulos family's housekeeper, Veralicia Figueroa, were found dead last Thursday, May 14 in the Savopoulos family's mansion, which is just blocks from the Vice President's residence. The home had been torched and the family's car was later found set aflame as well.
Thursday, authorities named ex-con 34-year-old Daron Dylon Wint - also known as Darron Dellon Dennis Wint - as a suspect in the case. In naming Wint a suspect, authorities said he is believed to have once worked for Savvas Savopoulos' business - American Iron Works.
Wint was taken into custody last night and is charged with first-degree felony murder while armed.
He appeared in court Friday where he kept his head bowed the whole time and only spoke to say his name when asked by the judge, who ordered there was enough probable cause to hold Wint until his next hearing.
According to the court documents, police believe Wint - and others - held the Savopoulos family captive along with their housekeeper from shortly after 6 p.m. Wednesday, May 13 through the afternoon hours of Thursday, May 14.
During that time, an assistant to Savvas Savopoulos was allegedly instructed to drop off a package containing $40,000 and leave the money in the garage. Authorities believe the family was held captive until the money was delivered.
The assistant - identified in court documents only as "W-1" - told police his job consisted of driving Savvas Savopoulos to and from work, as well as handling any daily assignments given to him.
According to the documents, the assistant first told police he received a call from Savvas Savopoulos on the morning of Thursday, May 14 and was instructed to pick up a package from American Iron Works, a construction-materials supplier company based in Hyattsville, Md., for which Savvas Savopoulos was the CEO. He said he was instructed to deliver the package to the Savopoulos residence.
The assistant said he followed the orders and arrived at American Iron Works, where he met with another employee. He said the two then traveled to a bank in Hyattsville where the assistant said the two obtained a manilla envelope containing money.
The assistant said he then drove to the Savopoulos residence and called Savvas Savopoulos on the way and was instructed to leave the envelope in a car inside the garage. The assistant told police he used a key in the garage to unlock the car.
According to the documents, authorities later determined there to be inconsistencies in the assistant's account. For example, authorities allege the assistant was inconsistent in describing the time at which he was told to retrieve the package, how he received the package and where he left the package.
The assistant admitted to police he lied about these details, according to the court documents. The assistant told police what really happened was that he retrieved the money from an employee at American Iron Works, placed the money in a red bag and then drove it to the Savopoulos' residence where he put the money in an envelope and placed it in an unlocked car in the garage after being told to do so via phone by Savvas Savopoulos.
Authorities have not publicly identified any other suspects in the killings, but the court documents indicate officials believe the crimes "required the presence and assistance of more than one person."
The court documents also reveal more information about the crime scene and the victims' cause of death.
Savvas Savopoulos; his wife, Amy; and their housekeeer, Veralicia Figueroa, were found unconscious in a second floor bedroom of the residence. All three appeared to have suffered trauma to their bodies. Their cause of death was ruled to be blunt force trauma and sharp force trauma.
The Savopoulos' 10-year-old son, Philip, was found on a bed in an adjacent bedroom, where the fire is believed to have been set. His cause of death was ruled to be thermal and sharp force injuries.
All four deaths were ruled homicides and several matches and a matchbox were found at the top of the stairs, authorities say. The smell of gasoline was also present, the documents say.
The affidavit also indicates that authorities found two Domino's pizza boxes in the home. Authorities say they determined Amy Savopoulos ordered the pizza on Wednesday, May 13 at approximately 9:14 p.m. and paid for it with a credit card.
Employees of Domino's Pizza told detectives the order had several odd requests, including an instruction to leave the pizzas on the front porch.
Skin cells found on a pizza crust in the Savopoulos' residence led them to identify Wint as a suspect, the documents also say.
Wint was arrested Thursday night following a multistate manhunt and after officers tracked him to a Howard Johnson Express Inn in College Park, Md.
A team realized Wint was probably in one of two vehicles in the motel parking lot: a car or a moving truck. The vehicles left together and the team followed as they took a U-turn and a strange route - seeming to be lost or trying to shake those who followed, Robert Fernandez, commander of the U.S. Marshal Service's Capital Area Regional Fugitive Task Force told the Associated Press on Friday.
Officers eventually got between the two vehicles in northeast Washington and took Wint, two other men and three women into custody, Fernandez said. Court documents indicate money orders were recovered from the vehicles and CBS News has learned that $10,000 in cash was also found.
CBS News has also learned the other five people taken into custody with Wint have not been charged, and they had been released as of Friday afternoon.
According to court documents, Wint identified himself using his brother's name at the time of his arrest.