GUILTY DC - Savvas Savopoulos, family & Veralicia Figueroa murdered; Daron Wint Arrested #24

[watergirl62]

Actually, it is nice to see this thread get bumped. Thanks for sharing the new podcast, scdiv.

I listened to the older one but that was a long time ago. I was on walkabout for awhile, so am catching up again.

 

[taylorss]

Yes thank you again scdiv! This case is a miserable reminder of all that’s bad in the world ... but i personally am still addicted to info about it.

here’s another bit from the podcast: why did DW choose the loving and lovely Savopoulos family?

this part is totally MOO! The podcast talked a lot about DW’s obsession with very fancy expensive cars - apparently his phone history was stuffed full of his searches for different makes and models, including the Porsche 911(? Iirc) that Amy Savopoulos drove.

We all know Savvas also had a thing for top-dollar cars. IMO seems likely that when DW worked at AIW he spotted Savvas driving one or more cars that caught his attention. (MOO - i have no info on what Savvas drove in those years!) Altho DW surely encountered many men who were not bitter, unhinged losers like himself, I’d speculate the super-car collection is what made his jealousy fixate on Savvas.

Building on this, again MOO, there is also the Q of what DW intended to do when he approached the Savopoulos home that day, as far as we can tell without a weapon and with his van parked 2.5 miles away. The extent of his plans is unknowable of course, but I’d speculate that at min he was intending to steal one of their cars.

 

[taylorss]

Deranged as DW’s conduct was in committing this freakish crime, it always struck me as another giant leap beyond the pale for him to try to pin the blame on his own brothers.

Apparently he justified that (blabbing to a jailhouse informant IIRC) by saying that his brother Darryl had turned him in. Darryl worked with DW, as you all probably remember, to try to line up a lawyer and turn himself in a way that would maximize his chance of survival. Instead of being grateful to his brother for taking the time and risk to help him out, DW resented and tried to blame him.

The podcast makes clear that’s typical of how DW’s twisted mind worked - his explosive, knife-wielding rages were accompanied by delusional rants where he claimed to have been the one being victimized. They told an interesting story from a woman he used to work with - he once had a workplace disagreement with her that seemed to end fine. Then he went to the police and tried to have her arrested, claiming falsely that she’d punched him repeatedly in the face. !

Also re my earlier post, IMO knowing that DW was obsessed with fancy cars sheds light on the time he was busted across the road from AIW, long after he was fired, holding a machete. MOO speculation I’ll bet he was waiting for Savvas to drive his fancy car out, and maybe thinking to carjack him if the moment seemed right.

 

[taylorss]

I wonder if killer coronavirus is raging out of control in whatever hellhole prison DW is spending the rest of his miserable life in.

 

[BrownRice]

Thanks for the podcast! I’m so tired of one episode podcasts where the hosts basically get their info from Wikipedia and make campy jokes. I take long walks, so this will definitely be my companion this week.

This is one of those haunting cases I’ll never forget.

 

[BrownRice]

Im on episode 7 of the podcast. This is so well done, informative, and so sad. I thought I followed it closely here, but there’s a lot of new info.

 

[taylorss]

Im on episode 7 of the podcast. This is so well done, informative, and so sad. I thought I followed it closely here, but there’s a lot of new info.

yes, it’s great, isn’t it? She does such an impressive job - so much new info, and I too had thought I’d known everything at the time. Often podcasts are just a restatement of the known facts - this one way exceeds expectations.

 

[MajorHoople]

Man Convicted Of 2015 ‘Mansion Murders’ Seeks New Trial

Published January 11, 2021

Man convicted of 2015 ‘mansion murders’ seeks new trial | WTOP

"The man convicted of killing three members of a D.C. family and their housekeeper in a case known as the “mansion murders” is seeking a new trial, saying the judge in his 2018 trial improperly blocked his lawyers from calling an additional witness that “robbed the defense from presenting a powerful piece of evidence.”

Daron Wint, 40, was convicted of premeditated first-degree murder in the May 2015 killings of Savvas and Amy Savopoulos; their 10-year-old son, Philip; and Veralicia Figueroa. All four were found beaten and stabbed to death inside the family’s Woodley Park home, which had been set on fire.

The 55-page brief, which lays out the legal basis for Wint’s appeal, was filed with the D.C. Court of Appeals on Dec. 22, nearly two years after he was sentenced to four consecutive life sentences in the killings. The brief was authored by three attorneys with the D.C. Public Defender Service, which represents Wint."

 

[Seattle1]

Man Convicted Of 2015 ‘Mansion Murders’ Seeks New Trial

Published January 11, 2021

Man convicted of 2015 ‘mansion murders’ seeks new trial | WTOP

"The man convicted of killing three members of a D.C. family and their housekeeper in a case known as the “mansion murders” is seeking a new trial, saying the judge in his 2018 trial improperly blocked his lawyers from calling an additional witness that “robbed the defense from presenting a powerful piece of evidence.”

Daron Wint, 40, was convicted of premeditated first-degree murder in the May 2015 killings of Savvas and Amy Savopoulos; their 10-year-old son, Philip; and Veralicia Figueroa. All four were found beaten and stabbed to death inside the family’s Woodley Park home, which had been set on fire.

The 55-page brief, which lays out the legal basis for Wint’s appeal, was filed with the D.C. Court of Appeals on Dec. 22, nearly two years after he was sentenced to four consecutive life sentences in the killings. The brief was authored by three attorneys with the D.C. Public Defender Service, which represents Wint."

Thanks for the update @MajorHoople.

I think we've been waiting on this... DW had an explanation for everything but the Court blocking Wint's lawyers from calling witnesses makes me want to read the brief! I don't believe Wint going anywhere, ever.

ETA: add link to brief
https://wtop.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/279277.pdf

 

[Seattle1]

Jan 11, 2021

With Darrell Wint’s testimony and other evidence, prosecutors sought to provide an alibi for the younger brother during the two days the victims were taken captive, tortured and murdered.

Among the evidence prosecutors showed the jury: the testimony of a friend who told jurors Darrell Wint was at his house in Gaithersburg, Maryland, watching his friend’s original music video that was uploaded to YouTube on the same day the crime unfolded, accompanied by a timestamp from the music-streaming platform for the “Hater’s Hate” video.

However, Daron Wint’s attorneys argued another witness would have “strongly cast doubt” on that part of Darrell Wint’s alibi, because a woman who lived at the house said Darrell Wint usually called or texted before he stopped by, and the phone records show the only calls or text between the two were several days after the killings.

The additional witness and phone records “would have offered a critical refutation of the Gaithersburg alibi the government advanced for Darrell,” Wint’s lawyers wrote in the brief.

However, D.C. Superior Court Judge Juliet McKenna blocked defense attorneys from calling the witness at the end of the trial, in part, because the defense had already presented its case.

McKenna, who’s now the presiding judge of the court’s criminal division, ruled that the woman’s testimony was equivocal and wouldn’t have necessarily rebutted Darrell Wint’s alibi. She also concluded that the specifics of Darrell Wint’s alibi did not constitute a “new matter” legally speaking, because defense attorneys had raised questions about Darrell Wint’s whereabouts from the beginning of the trial. Therefore, the defense was not entitled to an additional “surrebuttal” phase of the trial, the judge ruled.

Man convicted of 2015 ‘mansion murders’ seeks new trial | WTOP

 

[MajorHoople]

Thanks for the update @MajorHoople.

I think we've been waiting on this... DW had an explanation for everything but the Court blocking Wint's lawyers from calling witnesses makes me want to read the brief! I don't believe Wint going anywhere, ever.

ETA: add link to brief
https://wtop.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/279277.pdf

I'll be surprised if Darrell Win is granted a new trial. Although I must confess I'm not an expert on the case.

 

[cujenn81]

There’s a really great podcast about this case called 22 Hours and they did an update episode about the appeal.

This is the gist of it —

1. DW’s defense pointed the finger at his brother at trial.

2. The brother said he was celebrating the release of a friend’s rap video on YT in Maryland.

3. The prosecution called the brother and his friend to testify during the rebuttal. Neither the brother nor his friend could recall the exact date he was at the friend’s house but knew it was the same day the video was posted on YT. (Per YouTube, it was the same day as the murders.)

4. The friend’s GF testified before the Grand Jury and said she didn’t know the exact date either but that he would usually text or call when he was at the door. Per the phone records, the only text they could find between the brother and the friend’s GF occurred several days after the murders.

5. The prosecution didn’t call the GF to testify during the trial but the defense expected them to and had planned to cross-examine her about the text — to try to raise doubt about the brother’s alibi.

6. When the prosecution rested without calling the GF, the defense requested a sub-rebuttal so that they could call her to testify.

7. The judge denied the request stating that they could have called the GF to testify themselves had her testimony been that important to their defense.

 

[SleuthyLou]

THIS GUY. No case has haunted me as much as this one has. I think about the two surviving family members often and hope that DW doesn’t get off the hook on this case. Such a tragic event. Thank you for updating this thread.

 

[scdiv]

Here is the podcast update. You can listen to the new episode 13: The Appeal at the link below.

JANUARY 14, 2021: An update in the case at the heart of 22 Hours: An American Nightmare. Daron Wint’s lawyers have filed an appeal seeking to throw out his conviction and asking for a new trial. Hosts Megan Cloherty and Jack Moore head back into the studio to discuss the latest development.

"22 Hours: An American Nightmare" can also be found on PodcastOne and Apple Podcasts.

22 Hours: An American Nightmare podcast | WTOP

 

[taylorss]

After all this time, I still really want to read the trial transcripts! Not enough to pay thousands of bucks for them of course, but I sure wish they’d show up online somewhere.

 

[alexa1980]

This case has taken so much out of me. I went to college w/ Amy and Savvas. I did not know Savvas but we have a couple mutual friends. I knew Amy casually and we also had a few mutual friends. If you live and know the DC area, where they lived is a very very nice part of town. To think that Wint could go in there and do this still shocks me.

IMO it all would have fallen apart the morning of the fire if Vera's husband, Wallace and the guy from the sprinkler system had run into each other. They would have easily put 2 and 2 together and called the police. Once the cops got there it would have been over for Wint. He would have had no where to hide. That was literally a matter of 30 minutes and everyone could have been saved.

As for the crime itself, he did it by himself. There is not one piece of evidence that supports anyone else being there. Imagine coming home like we always do everyday and having someone come up and whack you in the head. I believe that's what went down. We know Savvas was attacked violently because his blood was found on the kitchen door handle.

The worst part for me is wondering what went on that night... you can hear on one of the voice recordings Phillip screaming. Then once the money was dropped off each was killed, most likely one by one. Each victim was seeing and hearing the other die in a brutal way. Imagine seeing your loved one being stabbed with a sword, or being hit with a bat in the head. I can't even begin to think about how awful this was.

Then once Wint got what he wanted look at how he acted... going to NY and acting like a big shot. Spending blood money on his GF, paying her rent, taking her shopping, getting lottery tickets and taking her to dinner. I just can't get over how and why someone would do such a cruel thing.

I honestly hope Wint gets killed in jail- in a brutal way. I hope someone beats him to death. That is how little I think of him. He is a coward and the worst kind of sociopath.

 

[alexa1980]

I would also like to say well done and great job by Bach and her team. Also Detective Owens who was behind the scenes in this case all along but will never talk to the media, he did an outstanding job bringing Wint to justice.

 

[Seattle1]

This case has taken so much out of me. I went to college w/ Amy and Savvas. I did not know Savvas but we have a couple mutual friends. I knew Amy casually and we also had a few mutual friends. If you live and know the DC area, where they lived is a very very nice part of town. To think that Wint could go in there and do this still shocks me.

IMO it all would have fallen apart the morning of the fire if Vera's husband, Wallace and the guy from the sprinkler system had run into each other. They would have easily put 2 and 2 together and called the police. Once the cops got there it would have been over for Wint. He would have had no where to hide. That was literally a matter of 30 minutes and everyone could have been saved.

As for the crime itself, he did it by himself. There is not one piece of evidence that supports anyone else being there. Imagine coming home like we always do everyday and having someone come up and whack you in the head. I believe that's what went down. We know Savvas was attacked violently because his blood was found on the kitchen door handle.

The worst part for me is wondering what went on that night... you can hear on one of the voice recordings Phillip screaming. Then once the money was dropped off each was killed, most likely one by one. Each victim was seeing and hearing the other die in a brutal way. Imagine seeing your loved one being stabbed with a sword, or being hit with a bat in the head. I can't even begin to think about how awful this was.

Then once Wint got what he wanted look at how he acted... going to NY and acting like a big shot. Spending blood money on his GF, paying her rent, taking her shopping, getting lottery tickets and taking her to dinner. I just can't get over how and why someone would do such a cruel thing.

I honestly hope Wint gets killed in jail- in a brutal way. I hope someone beats him to death. That is how little I think of him. He is a coward and the worst kind of sociopath.

@alexa1980 - I'm very sorry that your friends were tortured and massacred by an evil psychopath. While the daily news is full of crime, it's so very different when you personally know the individuals in the headlines. The brutality of this crime hurts my heart and my head...

 

[alexa1980]

@alexa1980 - I'm very sorry that your friends were tortured and massacred by an evil psychopath. While the daily news is full of crime, it's so very different when you personally know the individuals in the headlines. The brutality of this crime hurts my heart and my head...

Thank you.. Before the case went to trial I had heard from a friend of mine ( who went to University of Maryland ) that Savvas had been stabbed all the way through his body. I don't know where this person got the info from but I was told not to say anything and didn't. As it turned out it was true.

But there are still things that went on that have not been mentioned. Dr Nikki Mourtzinos' testimony isn't available online. The only wounds to the victims that we heard about were the ones that killed them. But there were more, some that I know about but will keep to myself because it is what I was told - but I believe it.

All of the victims suffered tremendously. Vera was there just doing her job. I hope her family can come to some kind of closure. Bach mentioned that her husband was really struggling. I said a prayer for her kids too. She had two kids as well.

 

[Skigirl]

I can't imagine having known anyone in the family. It haunts me enough as it is without having known any of them.

I heard through 6th degree of separation that the family had a panic room -- do you know if that's true? It's just mind-boggling to me that a security-conscious family like theirs could have so many of the aspects of their system fail them. Security tapes not stored in the cloud and destroyed...panic room inaccessible...none of the people who might have thought something had gone wrong getting over the threshold of suspicion to call the police. This case shows that if someone who means you harm gets lucky, there's almost nothing you can do.

This case has taken so much out of me. I went to college w/ Amy and Savvas. I did not know Savvas but we have a couple mutual friends. I knew Amy casually and we also had a few mutual friends. If you live and know the DC area, where they lived is a very very nice part of town. To think that Wint could go in there and do this still shocks me.

IMO it all would have fallen apart the morning of the fire if Vera's husband, Wallace and the guy from the sprinkler system had run into each other. They would have easily put 2 and 2 together and called the police. Once the cops got there it would have been over for Wint. He would have had no where to hide. That was literally a matter of 30 minutes and everyone could have been saved.

As for the crime itself, he did it by himself. There is not one piece of evidence that supports anyone else being there. Imagine coming home like we always do everyday and having someone come up and whack you in the head. I believe that's what went down. We know Savvas was attacked violently because his blood was found on the kitchen door handle.

The worst part for me is wondering what went on that night... you can hear on one of the voice recordings Phillip screaming. Then once the money was dropped off each was killed, most likely one by one. Each victim was seeing and hearing the other die in a brutal way. Imagine seeing your loved one being stabbed with a sword, or being hit with a bat in the head. I can't even begin to think about how awful this was.

Then once Wint got what he wanted look at how he acted... going to NY and acting like a big shot. Spending blood money on his GF, paying her rent, taking her shopping, getting lottery tickets and taking her to dinner. I just can't get over how and why someone would do such a cruel thing.

I honestly hope Wint gets killed in jail- in a brutal way. I hope someone beats him to death. That is how little I think of him. He is a coward and the worst kind of sociopath.