Father of suspect in D.C. mansion murders speaks out
WASHINGTON, D.C. -The father of the man charged in the slayings of four people in a Washington, D.C. mansion calls the crime "egregious and heartless."
The Washington Post reports that Dennis Wint said in a statement Tuesday that it pains him that his son, Daron, is charged, but he doesn't discuss his son's guilt or innocence.
Daron Wint, 34, is charged with first-degree murder in the deaths of 46-year-old Savvas Savopoulos; Savvas' 47-year-old wife Amy; their 10-year-old son, Philip; and the Savopoulos family's housekeeper, Veralicia Figueroa.
Authorities say in court papers that they believe Daron Wint had help from others holding the Savopouloses captive inside their mansion for at least 18 hours before they were killed, but no other suspects have been identified.
Dennis Wint says his family and friends grieve the "tragic and senseless loss" but they didn't know the victims. He also says "we hope that whoever committed these heinous crimes - my son included - will suffer the consequences of their actions."
Daron Wint was arrested Thursday, May 21 in Washington, a week after the slayings. He had previously worked for Savvas Savopoulos' company.
While being held captive, police say Savvas Savopoulos - a business executive - and his wife told others to stay away - even ordering a pizza deliverer to leave two pies at the door - as they frantically arranged for $40,000 in cash to be dropped off at the home.
But once the money was left on the seat of a red sports car in the family's garage, Daron Wint struck and stabbed Savvas Savopoulos, the CEO of the American Iron Works company where he had once worked as a welder, Wint's charging document said.
After Amy and Philip Savopoulos and Figueroa were killed, the house was set on fire with matches and a flammable liquid.
The fire began on the queen-sized mattress where 10-year-old Philip Savopoulos' body was found stabbed and burned, authorities said.
Firefighters found the adults' bodies in the next room. Evidence shows the women suffered "blunt force and sharp force trauma" before the $4.5 million mansion was set on fire.
Authorities linked what may have been two different men to Amy Savopoulos' blue Porsche 911 the day of the killings. One, "with short, well-groomed hair," was spotted driving erratically away from the crime scene. Another, wearing a dark hoodie, was videotaped carrying a bucket near where the Porsche was set on fire later that day.
The pizza gave Wint away, authorities said. His DNA was found on the crust of a partially eaten slice of pepperoni, one of two pies ordered the night of May 13 while the family and the housekeeper were "being held against their will," an affidavit said.
A woman believed to be Amy Savopoulos paid for the pizzas by credit card and told the delivery person to leave the food on the porch, because she was "nursing her sick child" and would not come to the door, the document says.
Wint was ultimately tracked down by U.S. Marshals and arrested with two other men and three women. The others have since been released from custody and no charges were filed against them.
Wint has a criminal history. He was arrested three times for assault in 2006 and 2007, serving a 10-month sentence in New York, and then convicted of assaulting a girlfriend in Maryland in 2009.
In 2010, he pleaded guilty to malicious destruction of property after he allegedly broke into a woman's apartment, stole a television, vandalized her car and threatened to kill her infant daughter. Also in 2010, Wint was arrested carrying a 2-foot-long machete and a BB pistol outside the American Iron Works headquarters, but weapons charges were dropped after he pleaded guilty to possessing an open container of alcohol.