GUILTY DC - Savvas Savopoulos, family & Veralicia Figueroa murdered; Daron Wint Arrested #23

[bessie]

Who is Washington murder suspect Darron Dellon Dennis Wint ?
By Greg Botelho, CNN
Updated 8:55 PM ET, Fri May 22, 2015

(CNN)He's a once-aspiring Marine with a history of run-ins with the law. A one-time community college student convicted three times in New York, including for second-degree assault. A former American Iron Works worker now charged with murder in the death of the man who led that company -- Savvas Savopoulos -- and his family.
Meet Darron Dellon Dennis Wint.

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Daron Wint, Suspect in Woodley Park Quadruple Slaying, in Custody
By NBC Washington and News4
Updated at 1:46 PM EDT on Friday, May 22, 2015

The man suspected of brutally killing a family of three and their housekeeper in a northwest Washington, D.C., mansion last week was arrested late Thursday night in a traffic stop across town, capping a manhunt that had expanded to New York.
Daron Dylon Wint, 34, who had once worked for the company run by one of the victims, is scheduled to make his first court appearance Friday afternoon.

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Charging Document
DC Mansion Warrant
Return After Search of Ford
Return After Search of White Chevy
Return After Search of BMW
DW Preliminary Hearing Transcript

Other Documents

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[bessie]

ADMIN NOTE: The victims are not on trial here. Do NOT sleuth their surviving family members, nor post opinions which implicate the victims by their actions/behavior, UNLESS so indicated by LE.

Thanks.

 

[Harmony 2]

twitter roll:
#mansionmurders hashtag on Twitter
Meagan Fitzgerald (@MeaganNBCDC) | Twitter
Keith L. Alexander (@keithlalexander) | Twitter
Jodie Fleischer (@jodienbc4) | Twitter
Melanie Alnwick (@fox5melanie) | Twitter

 

[Harmony 2]

Testimony reveals new twist in Mansion Murders trial

 

[WilsonVB]

Testimony reveals new twist in Mansion Murders trial

So apparently it is now verified that it was not Daron Wint running from the burning Porsche.

Edit - Apparently that is not new news. That is a recap of witness testimony. Sorry about any confusion I might have caused.

 

[CoreyRocks]

Testimony reveals new twist in Mansion Murders trial

This short clip mentions the trial will resume tomorrow morning. I thought I heard that they take off on Friday, to handle other cases, as this trial takes up most if their time.

 

[Seattle1]

This short clip mentions the trial will resume tomorrow morning. I thought I heard that they take off on Friday, to handle other cases, as this trial takes up most if their time.

Court calendar indicates that report was in error.

 

[Seattle1]

Melanie Alnwick FOX 5 DC added 2 new photos.

7 hrs ·
Brief update on the #MansionMurders trial. The last day of testimony for this third week was all about DNA.

First, the jury got a little science lesson about what DNA is, how it can be left on and collected from items, and how it is analyzed. ATF forensic biologist Emily Head said that heat, like that from a house fire, can degrade DNA, but can’t change it to appear to be someone else’s.

The ATF lab was given known DNA samples from Savvas Savopolous, Amy Savopolous, Philip Savopolous, Vera Figueroa, Katerina Savopolous, Abigail Savopolous, Nellie Gutierrez, Daron Wint, Derrell Wint, Jordan Wallace, and the Domino’s delivery driver and Domino’s supervisor.

DNA profiles of ATF staff and investigators on the scene are also available for comparison.

175 items were submitted to the lab for analysis. Not many had results… but the ones that did, were

DNA matching Daron Wint was detected on the handle of a kitchen knife that was found propping open a basement window of the home. The probability it would would be someone other than Daron’s is 1 in 10 Billion.

DNA matching Daron Wint was detected on the neck and tag area of a green construction vest found in the burned Porsche. It was mixed with DNA that matches Savvas Savopolous. The match probability on those samples is 1 in 40 Million and 1 in 10 Million.

Then there’s the infamous pizza crust. DNA matching Wint was found in two spots. First, on an unchewed end of the crust, .. the probability 1 in 10 Quintillion. The end that had a bite taken out of it returned DNA for a mix of two people.

Ms. Head testified that Wint’s DNA was a “major contributor”, again with a probability of 1 in 10 Quintillion; the other DNA sample was not suitable for comparison.

BTW, the jury was shown pictures of the pizza boxes, and the pizza crust. Both were upstairs in the Savopoulous’ home.

On a bloody baseball bat - Ms. Head found two samples. One for Amy Savopolous, the other for Savvas Savopolous.

Philip Savopolous’ DNA was detected on a leather strap hanging off the handle of a samurai sword. No other DNA was on the sword. Prosecutor Christopher Bruckmann asked Ms. Head if fire might degrade DNA. She said yes, that she would not expect to see DNA on an item from a room that was engulfed in flames.

Vera Figueroa’s DNA was detected near the knob and handle of a black baseball bat located in the family’s living room.

What could be problematic… was the finding of “accidental” DNA detected on other items.

DC evidence technician Officer Adrian Lancaster was involved in the collection of many items of evidence. His DNA was detected in swabs taken from the driver door handle on the exterior of the red Mosler sports car, on blue cables that had been cut, and the top of a red gas can. Lancaster testified that when he was collecting the evidence - there was no electricity in the home and he was sweating.

Another ATF agent’s DNA ended up on a pair of scissors that were hanging in a hallway closet. Steve Weitz, a supervisor at the ATF forensics lab, said he didn’t touch the scissors - and Ms. Head testified that his DNA could have accidentally transferred from a sneeze or cough.

Emily Head’s own DNA was detected on a towel collected from the bathroom of Bedroom 2. Head testified that during sampling, the swab broke off. She, in accordance with accepted lab practice, then used the tip of the swab, and believes that the sleeve of her lab coat may have accidentally brushed the area that was sampled. Her DNA was mixed with another person’s… but that other sample couldn’t be indentified.

During cross-examination, defense attorney Jeffrey Stein put the jury through a tedious discussion of DNA quantities.. such as Ms. Head’s DNA sample on the towel being 1/2 of a nanogram. - and the quantity of the DNA from Daron Wint on the kitchen knife.. being less than 1/2 a nanogram.

Jurors were growing bored and impatient, one even staring incredulously at Stein as he asked Ms. Head to calculate the exact percentage of her DNA contribution to the mixed sample detected on the bathroom towel, and then a discussion of alleles and potential hidden sister alleles.(Got that?)

Eventually Stein got to his point. There were 5 accidental transfers of DNA on items collected from the house. Daron Wint’s DNA on the handle of the kitchen knife was a micro quantity. Ms. Head agreed that DNA can be transferred without skin contact, and that “there is no way to determine how, or when, DNA is transferred to an item”

At that, the jury took a much needed lunch break.

My colleague Paul Wagner FOX 5 DC is covering the afternoon testimony. We expect, as in Wednesday’s testimony, that prosecutors will drill further into how DNA gets on an item, and how it doesn’t. During Wednesday’s testimony, Agent Weitz said he had no idea how his DNA got on the scissors. But, prosecutor Christopher Bruckmann pointed out.. “you were in the house.”

Fox 5 DC

PS: no making fun of my trial notebook sketches

 

[Seattle1]

Paul Wagner‏Verified account @Fox5Wagner
A new twist in Mansion Murders case. A DNA expert with bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms says the DNA of 2 people was found on a chewed piece of pizza found inside the Savopoulos home after the murders. Daron Wint’s & another “minor contributor not suitable for comparison”.

2:04 PM - 27 Sep 2018

 

[OTPTarheel2018]

Do you think DW and his accomplices, if he had any, wore those white Tyvek coveralls you can buy at Home Depot for less than $15??

JMO and wondering...

 

[JerseyGirl]

The Mansion Murders, Episode 10: Week 3 trial recap

 

[Sunshine99]

Proof of accomplices: Bloody footprint found on Amy Savopoulos jeans did not match Daron wint.(I am assuming they mean size wise also-no match= some one else)."Amy Michaud, a forensic chemist at ATF, testified the white pants worn by Amy Savopoulos had blood on them and there also appeared to be what she called a "footwear impression." Under questioning from public defender Judy Pipe, Michaud revealed that analysts compared the footprint to Wint's shoes and were not a match." Quote taken from WTOP Live Blog Savapoulos family killings.

 

[taylorss]

DNA, Facebook usage and a sword among the evidence as D.C. quadruple murder trial continues

Sounds like this reporter isn’t totally buying the prosecution case (not to say he thinks DW is not guilty) -

“Prosecutors now contend Wint, who once worked for a Savopoulos family business, restrained, beat, stabbed and strangled all four people by himself, using Philip as leverage to force the adults to cooperate...

Prosecutors say the motive for the kidnapping and killings was robbery, but crime scene photos show many valuables left in the house including a Rolex watch, wallets, cash and several large unopened safes in the house and garage.”

 

[MollyDDD]

A newbie here, but very interested in this case.
I don’t get it, the SS family was very wealthy, so why only $40,000.00? And even more puzzling, wouldn’t one think SS would have given DW anything he wanted before his family was beaten and tortured?

 

[Seattle1]

Do you think DW and his accomplices, if he had any, wore those white Tyvek coveralls you can buy at Home Depot for less than $15??

JMO and wondering...

I'm thinking not because they seemed to be very careful to keep hands/fingers covered at all time as no fingerprints were found in the residence or inside of the Porsche. Wint(s) also left no clothing behind, and only DNA was on the construction vest and hard hat.

 

[Seattle1]

The Mansion Murders, Episode 10: Week 3 trial recap

Podcast at link is very interesting, and more info than reported in MSN. MOO
Thanks for posting!

 

[OTPTarheel2018]

I'm thinking not because they seemed to be very careful to keep hands/fingers covered at all time as no fingerprints were found in the residence or inside of the Porsche. Wint(s) also left no clothing behind, and only DNA was on the construction vest and hard hat.

I’m wondering if the tape like substance recovered by ATF from DW burned minivan was Tyvek or duct tape or something else entirely?

And hair falls out of a person’s head often. Why no hair? Did DW vacuum the S house and take the vacuum contents with him?

“It’s normal to shed between 50 and 100 hairs a day.” -American Academy of Dermatology

Do you have hair loss or hair shedding? | American Academy of Dermatology

The fire didn’t burn everything.

JMO and wondering

 

[taylorss]

A newbie here, but very interested in this case.
I don’t get it, the SS family was very wealthy, so why only $40,000.00? And even more puzzling, wouldn’t one think SS would have given DW anything he wanted before his family was beaten and tortured?

Welcome! Yeah those are some of the key questions!

One response though, as someone pointed out earlier (last thread?), there was IIRC $13k in cash found in a file cabinet that also held several of S family’s guns - they would’ve been reluctant to direct DW to that money because they didn’t want him to have those guns.

 

[SeesSeas]

snip:

And hair falls out of a person’s head often. Why no hair? Did DW vacuum the S house and take the vacuum contents with him?

“It’s normal to shed between 50 and 100 hairs a day.” -American Academy of Dermatology

Do you have hair loss or hair shedding? | American Academy of Dermatology

Although it's normal to shed lots of head hair every day, not much of that hair falls out from a head full of braids or dreadlocks.
Apparently not much hair evidence, but there is a hair:
Mansion Murders: Prosecutors and defense argue about hair DNA evidence
UPDATED: SEP 26 2018 08:39PM EDT
During a long and vigorous bench conference, it was clear the prosecution was going to have Michaud testify there was in the evidence, “a human head hair that originated from an African American.”

 

[MollyDDD]

Welcome! Yeah those are some of the key questions!

One response though, as someone pointed out earlier (last thread?), there was IIRC $13k in cash found in a file cabinet that also held several of S family’s guns - they would’ve been reluctant to direct DW to that money because they didn’t want him to have those guns.

Yes, and I suppose that was a smart move, however, why were they held, beaten, tortured for 10+ hours? I cannot imagine he refused to give DW the $40,000.00 that he wanted immediately, if not once the torture started!
It is rather surprising the DW didn’t have a gun in his possession. It just does make sense that one man, unarmed, broke into a multimillion dollar home, which one would assume would have a security system, asked for $40K and managed to bound up four people and then after getting the money, burned the house down! It just doesn’t make sense. IMO he had help. Unless of course, he had the wife duct tape the husband, and the maid to the chairs while he held the sword to Phillip’s neck. Then Phillip and then he duct taped her. Someone else brought the gas cans, and someone else ate the pizza. It’s just a horrid, brutal, heartless and puzzling crime. I pray justice is done.