Suspect in 4 D.C. killings identified after DNA is found on pizza sent to burned home

WaPo ^ | May 20 at 11:45 PM | By Peter Hermann, Keith L. Alexander and Clarence Williams

[Red Badger]

D.C. police said late Wednesday that they have identified a suspect in the killings of Savvas Savopoulos, his wife, young son and housekeeper, who authorities believe were held captive in the family’s Northwest Washington home.

Police said they had obtained a warrant for the arrest of Daron Dylon Wint, who they said is 34 and is from Maryland. They said they do not know his whereabouts.

The stunning break in the case came after police matched Wint to DNA found on the crust of a Domino’s pizza that had been ordered to the house the night of May 13, as the victims were being held, according to three law enforcement officials with knowledge of the investigation

The next morning, Savvas Savopoulos’s personal assistant dropped off a package containing $40,000 in cash at the home, according to the officials and police documents.

Hours later, the multimillion-dollar house was on fire, and the four occupants were dead. When firefighters arrived that afternoon, the cash was gone, as was a blue Porsche owned by the family. The vehicle was found later that day, torched in a church parking lot in Prince George’s County.

Information about the money drop adds a perplexing new dimension to a case that has riveted Upper Northwest Washington as well as the District’s business and society circles with which the couple had been intimately involved. Savvas Savopoulos, 46; Amy Savopoulos, 47; their 10-year-old son, Philip; and housekeeper Veralicia Figueroa, 57, all were killed.

Law enforcement officials, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because the investigation is ongoing, said detectives think that the family and housekeeper had been held overnight in the home near the vice president’s mansion and that at one point they may have been bound.

[trebb]

Be too fussy to eat the crust and it will bite you.

Man gets bitten by crust!

[smalltownslick]

Or it was a plot involving the assistant.

[American Infidel]

How did this murdering black thug know the money was being delivered???? The $40,000 question!

I am hardly a detective, and this may all be way off base but it sounds like a last ditch effort on the part of the patriarch of the family to buy off the criminal in exchange for his family's safety.

Criminal breaks in and takes the family hostage. The quick-thinking father/husband tries to buy-off and convince the criminal that it would be more advantageous to keep the family alive.

In exchange for sparing the family, cash can be delivered to the house by an assistant. The criminal lets the captive use his phone to tell the other housekeeper not to come over and to reach out to an assistant to come up with a cover story to get the cash delivered to the house. This seems like enough to at least buy some time.

Theoretically; this should be enough to give the criminal a good head start, to get far away from the scene of the crime and hopefully be enough incentive to spare the lives of the captives.

Unfortunately; there truly is no honor among thieves so the perp decides to take the cash and tie up all loose ends by killing everyone. Both infuriating and terribly sad.

[Red Badger]

Seems unlikely, but anything can happen..............

[Albion Wilde]

The next morning, Savvas Savopoulos’s personal assistant dropped off a package containing $40,000 in cash at the home...

In the scheme of things, this is a paltry sum of money for someone's life. The killer traded his entire future for what he could have made at a low-wage job in less than three years. It's not even enough to escape to another country and live a new life, not even to mention the lost lives of the three productive adults and the whole future of the child. It's amazing what losers will do literally for pennies.

[Red Badger]

Life is cheap for those who do not fear God..............

[ABN 505]

I am right behind you George, this State has more liberal moonbats in it than the rest of New England combined.

[Albion Wilde]

Take a look at the neatly-kept house this piece of crap's father lives in. Absolutely no "he's just a poor kid from the ghetto" excuse, since houses like this in the DC suburb of Lanham cost $300,000 or more. The piece of crap has obviously spent a lot of time in the gym, and has the gall to wear a big Christian cross around his neck, according to photos in the DailyMail. I suppose there is the outside chance he merely delivered a pizza; but no, if the DNA was found on the pizza crusts themselves, then it was saliva and he was there eating it. Maybe they even have his voice on the phone ordering it.

[Albion Wilde]

ping to the above post

[LadyBuck]

$300k for THAT DC Split?

The real estate world has gone hellinahandbasket.

Nothing wrong with the house, per se. Looks well maintained.

Does not scream ghetto in any way, though...and there goes THAT narrative.

[darkangel82]

Looks similar to some houses on our street, but they’re not worth 300k. Half of that, maybe.

[Conscience of a Conservative]

The speed with which they processed the DNA evidence is impressive. It was undoubtedly a top priority, but still the technology has advanced.

Yes, very impressive. Also, the fact that the guy's DNA was in "the system" raises the question of what else is on this perp's arrest/conviction record.

[Osage Orange]

Considering they had his DNA on file...means he's been arrested before....OR something else is going on here.

Are the murdered couple politically connected?

[MaxMax]

Yours is the most logical explanation I’ve found. Thanks.

[spodefly]

The black "thug" had a pizza before murdering a 10 year old child and the child's parents and burning their house to the ground. Thugs murdering families and burning their houses down with the victims inside is not as rare as one might think.

[Albion Wilde]

DC is one of the most expensive housing markets in the country, other than silicone valley and downtown manhattan.

[Albion Wilde]

see post 56

[Cboldt]

The perp thought he’d get away with it. Many murders go unsolved. Something like 40%, IIRC.

[Cboldt]

-- silicone valley --

I see what you did there ...

[Albion Wilde]

What? Silicone Valley is a hugely expensive real estate market and it is the very well known nickname for the headquarters of the high-tech computer firms on the west coast. Did you think I meant something else?