BURNING DOWN THE HOUSE -- SAVOPOULOS/FIGUEROA MURDERS, D.C.

[Cutz]

I can't think of any legitimate business practice that involves leaving 40k in cash outside someone's door. That's absolutely insane to me. Any purchases that large go on credit accounts. Maybe I could see buying a car or something for personal use for cash, not paying interest, but that'd be a rare occurrence I'd think. And I'd put the cash in someone's hand. Definitely sounds like ransom money to me. Poppa Sav said "Leave the money on the doorstep and get the hell outta here." Ugh... ransoms. I would rather call 911 and go down swinging than meet demands from a criminal who is more likely to kill me than not.

That bit about the DNA from pizza is crazy tho. I'm gonna have to eat all my crust when I'm committing felonies.

[HairOfTheDog]

HotD, Thank God the two college age girls were not at home. It's grotesque enough. In fact, I find it hard to imagine anyone being as cruel as this criminal. In the taped message where Mr.S is asking the housekeeper not to come the next day, I can hear a very upset child's voice in the background. LE thinks he was kept separate, and tortured so his parents could hear his pain and be manipulated as they were tied and helpless in another room.

Yeah, it's definitely a blessing that the daughters were away at school, Zero.

I did hear the boy in the background of the voice mail. It's very very sad knowing what that little boy went through (well, we know some of it, at least).

I can't think of any legitimate business practice that involves leaving 40k in cash outside someone's door. That's absolutely insane to me. Any purchases that large go on credit accounts. Maybe I could see buying a car or something for personal use for cash, not paying interest, but that'd be a rare occurrence I'd think. And I'd put the cash in someone's hand. Definitely sounds like ransom money to me. Poppa Sav said "Leave the money on the doorstep and get the hell outta here." Ugh... ransoms. I would rather call 911 and go down swinging than meet demands from a criminal who is more likely to kill me than not.

That bit about the DNA from pizza is crazy tho. I'm gonna have to eat all my crust when I'm committing felonies.

I think Nelly is off about the the $40k being a planned business transaction; I think it was ransom negotiated the morning of the fire too.

DC Police said today that Wint wore gloves for the crimes and when he handled the pizza. But (like a true genius) he failed to consider that saliva would be left on uneaten crust. Saliva is one of the best sources for solid DNA samples.

The latest from multiple sources/reports indicate that:
-Wint is from Guyana and moved to the US.
-He graduated from high school and from community college in Maryland.
-He was discharged from the US Marines for medical reasons after only a few weeks and then worked as a certified welder, at one time employed at Savopoulos' American Iron Works company.
-Wint's father was frightened of him and had placed a year-long protective order against him in the past, based on threats Wint made about killing his family.
-The girlfriend Wint was staying with in New York after he fled said he told her that he was going to turn himself in, but police don't seem to think he will. According to police, the girlfriend is not a suspect and is being questioned but has not been arrested.

[Duchess]

This story gets worse by the day. It's so hard to think of that little boy being tortured and of his parents who must have been out of their minds with horror of it all.

[HairOfTheDog]

This story gets worse by the day. It's so hard to think of that little boy being tortured and of his parents who must have been out of their minds with horror of it all.

It's really painful to imagine what they were all going through.

I don't believe there was any reason, other than perverse pleasure, for Wint and/or anybody else to torture the boy or the women.

I think that the very real threat and ability to harm the child would have gotten the perpetrator what he wanted from Mr. Savopoulos without resistance.

If Wint is the guy, he's an animal and he has little to lose by killing again. It's disappointing that he hasn't been apprehended yet.

[blueberryhill]

Wint has been apprehended and LE affirmed that he had worked for the Iron Works Company, thus, it was not random (as we figured) and motive was the money.

[ZEROSPHERES]

Wint has been apprehended and LE affirmed that he had worked for the Iron Works Company, thus, it was not random (as we figured) and motive was the money.

Thanks BBH. This is welcome news.

This guy is real creepy. Mr.S must have had blinders on when dealing with him when Wint's own family had a restraining orders on him.

Court records show that in 2010, Wint was charged after police found him sitting behind the dumpster of a gas station near American Iron Works with a two-foot-long machete in his backpack and a pellet gun. He pleaded guilty only to holding an open container of beer, and he spent one day in jail.


http://www.washingtonpost.com/local/crim...story.html

[ZEROSPHERES]

I wonder if the three people helping him escape justice will be charged as Accessories after the Fact or if one or all were accomplices in the actual commission of the crimes?

[Duchess]

I'm so glad this POS has been apprehended. I waffled between hoping he'd be killed in the process and wanting him to suffer behind bars for the rest of his life. There's sometimes honor among thieves and even the worst of society frowns upon children being hurt/killed.

[HairOfTheDog]

Wint has been apprehended and LE affirmed that he had worked for the Iron Works Company, thus, it was not random (as we figured) and motive was the money.

That's good news, blueberry. It'll be interesting to learn more details directly from police and prosecutors.

Chief Lanier made a statement that a lot of inaccurate information has been leaked in this case. The leaked information I've seen in the media has been from "unidentified sources" and Nelly the Housekeeper. Hopefully, identified police sources will provide some verified information now that Wint is behind bars.

As for motive, Wint surely wanted the money. But, I don't know if that was his only motive or primary motive.

Wint's history indicates that he likes to target and threaten people by whom he feels wronged or disrespected, even his own family. I'm curious to find out when Wint left AIW in relation to his criminal record and the 2010 arrest outside the company, and why his employment there was terminated.

If Wint was fired from AIW, he might have blamed Savopoulos and was out to hurt him to the max. It's possible that revenge played a big part in why he chose to invade Savopoulos' home and chose to unnecessarily torture the family.

[HairOfTheDog]

Statement from the Savopoulos Family

“We are thankful to law enforcement who have worked so diligently to bring about an arrest in this case. While it does not abate our pain, we hope that it begins to restore a sense of calm and security to our neighborhood and to our city. We are blessed to live in a community comprised of close circles of friends who have supported us and grieve with us.

We are grateful, as well, to the men and women of the fire department for their professionalism and caring. Our family, and Vera's family, have suffered unimaginable loss, and we ask for the time and space to grieve privately."

It sounds like the Savopoulos' daughters, parents, and other family members have a lot of support from each other and the community; good to hear. Coping with such immense loss has gotta be an incredible challenge.


The funeral is scheduled to be held Monday, June 1^st at St. Sophia Cathedral ^ where the family reportedly worshiped. The church is about a five-minute drive from the family home.

Sources:
http://www.wjla.com/articles/2015/05/d-c...z3as08vZ1y
http://patch.com/district-columbia/georg...members-0/

[HairOfTheDog]

I wonder if the three people helping him escape justice will be charged as Accessories after the Fact or if one or all were accomplices in the actual commission of the crimes?

Me too.

The male driving the white box truck containing $10,000 is Wint's brother.

I haven't seen any details yet about the other male in the truck or the two females in the car with Wint.

At the very least, they had to know they were aiding a fugitive.

The police statement of arrest indicates that they've not ruled out the possibility of other suspects being involved in the crimes against the Savopolous' and Figueroa.

[HairOfTheDog]

Information Directly from DC Police

The Charging Document for Wint is a very interesting read, IMO.

It breaks down the official police investigation justifying Wint's arrest for first degree murder and how police believe things went down. Here it is: http://www.scribd.com/doc/266278174/Daro...-Documents

These takeaways were of most interest to me:
1. There was a witness who saw a black male in a green construction vest speeding in the Porsche before the car fire.

2. The bucket seen being carried in the church surveillance video was at the scene of the car fire, as was a green construction vest. Police found several green construction vests inside the Savopoulos garage.

3. The pizza was delivered on Wednesday night in the 9 p.m. hour. It was ordered by a woman who police believe was Amy Savopoulos. She told Domino's that she was caring for a sick child and that the delivery person should ring the bell and leave the pizza -- she charged it to a credit card. The pizza delivery person told police the house was dark when he/she dropped the pizza.

4. There are major inconsistencies in Mr. Savopoulos' personal assistant's account of the $40,000 transaction and drop-off. He "lied", the document states. The money was reportedly left inside a red sports car in the garage.

5. 10-year-old Phillip was in fact in the room where the fire was started, alone. He died of thermal and sharp force injuries.

6. The three adults were found together in another room. They died of sharp force injuries and blunt force trauma.

7. The three Savopoulous family members were pronounced dead at the scene. Vera Figueroa showed signs of life so she was rushed to the hospital. She was pronounced dead there.

8. Police believe the crimes required more than one person to facilitate.

[Duchess]

There are major inconsistencies in Mr. Savopoulos' personal assistant's account of the $40,000 transaction and drop-off. He "lied", the document states. The money was reportedly left inside a red sports car in the garage.

I can't come up with any innocent reason why the PA would lie. The police wouldn't have spoken to him until after the murders and he should have been bending over backwards in an effort to help with any information.

[Duchess]

...and while I don't think forty grand is anything to turn your nose up at, I don't think that's an exceptionally high amount of money if it were intended as a ransom.

[HairOfTheDog]

I think it's very odd that the P.A. lied to police too.

I mean, it's not like he coulda forgotten or been confused -- he was interviewed within hours of getting the money and dropping it off.

I'm curious to know about the AIW employee who went to the bank with the P.A. on Thursday morning and withdrew the money.

Why would the P.A. first claim not to know what was in the envelope, then claim he knew he had a lot of money because the AIW employee handed him the $40k cash straight from his pockets (no envelope)? And why would the P.A. first claim that he found the key to the red sports car in the garage and unlocked it so he could put the cash in there and then later claim the car was unlocked? Very bizarre.

$40k is not a lot of money to people of means, but to somebody who's flat broke it's a lot of money. But, I agree with you. In terms of ransom, it's pittance. I think that's possibly the max amount that the banker told Mr. Savapoulos he could release to someone other than Mr. Savapoulos himself when Mr. S called the bank on Thursday morning.

[Duchess]

CNN is reporting that according to the police documents they have seen the PA changed his story regarding several things and he did so more than once.

LE must be all over this guy like white on rice.

[Jimbone]

LE must be all over this guy like white on rice.

That's racist.

[HairOfTheDog]

LE must be all over this guy like white on rice.

No doubt.

I hope the P.A. wasn't involved with Wint and that he lied initially to cover his ass for some stupid action (rather than criminal conspiracy).

I also hope he didn't pilfer any of the $40k, thereby unknowingly jeopardizing 4 lives.

Aside from the lies to police, all I know about the P.A. is that he was let go from a Go-Kart racing company back in March. The Savopoulos' were very much into Go-Kart racing and it's presumed that Mr. Savopoulos met the guy there and then hired him as a driver and personal assistant a couple of months ago.

The P.A. posted pics to his Instagram of the insides of the Savopoulos Porsche, their Bentley and their Range Rover. He included captions about what a great job he had.

This is reportedly a pic he posted of the interior of the Porsche; the Porsche which was later torched after the home invasion.


Story and more pics here: http://www.myfoxdc.com/story/29129466/sa...-assistant

[HairOfTheDog]

When police arrested Daron Wint on Thursday night, he was leaving a Howard Johnson's motel in a car driven by a woman. Another woman was also in the car and they were following Wint's brother and another male in a white box moving truck.

It doesn't seem that the two men and two women traveling with Wint were charged with anything and all were let go on Friday.

D.C. police say they have released four people who were detained at the same time that the suspect in the slayings of a wealthy family was taken into custody. Police did not identify the four people or say how long they were detained.

Experts say the releases don't mean they're in the clear, and they could still lead police to valuable information, reports CBS News correspondent Julianna Goldman. Prosecutors say they expect to bring more charges in coming weeks.

Police have said in charging documents that they believe Wint had help from others holding the Savopouloses captive inside their northwest Washington mansion for at least 18 hours. But no other suspects have been (publicly) identified.

[Duchess]

Earlier today I heard the suspect's former attorney say that he and the man's family believe the cops have the wrong person. It couldn't be this man because he's not a violent individual and he doesn't like pizza.