Daron Wint, the lone suspect in the gruesome killings of a Washington family and their housekeeper last May, was finally indicted Wednesday on 20 counts including first-degree murder, kidnapping, burglary, and arson. Wint, 35, was charged in the deaths of businessman Savvas Savopoulos; his wife, Amy; their 10-year-old son, Philip; and Veralicia Figueroa, who were found dead May 14 after the Savopouloses’ stately house in a leafy enclave of Northwest DC was set on fire.
The murder charges against Wint call the slayings “especially heinous, atrocious, and cruel.” The indictment from the US Attorney’s office alleges that Wint beat the victims with a baseball bat and other blunt force objects, and also stabbed them with sharp objects. Savvas and Amy Savopoulos also had two teenage daughters, who were not home during the break-in.
During the investigation, officials said a samurai sword from Savvas Savopoulos’s martial-arts collection may have been one of the murder weapons.
Prosecutors say Wint, who once worked for Savopoulos’s company, American Iron Works, entered the house on May 13 with the intent of assaulting and robbing the occupants, which led to a kidnapping incident that stretched into the next day. An extortion count against Wint alleges he tried to obtain $40,000 from the family under the threat and actual use of violence.
Wint was identified as the prime suspect when investigators collected his DNA from a piece of pizza crust left over from pies he allegedly forced Amy Savopoulos to order from Domino’s. He was arrested two days later after the family’s blue Porsche was found torched in New Carrollton with a vest also containing Wint’s DNA inside.
For now, Wint remains the only person charged, but prosecutors, who have believed from nearly the outset that others may have been involved in the killings.
The Savopouloses’ French estate-style home was heavily damaged in the blaze that followed the family’s deaths. The 10,828-square-foot house was put up for sale in early November and came under contract within a week for $3 million.
Wint will appear Friday in DC Superior Court. Washington-area defense attorney Robin Ficker, who said on CNN last June that Wint should have been ruled out as a suspect because he “didn’t eat pizza,” is not listed as one of Wint’s attorneys.
Benjamin Freed joined Washingtonian in August 2013 and covers politics, business, and media. He was previously the editor of DCist and has also written for Washington City Paper, the New York Times, the New Republic, Slate, and BuzzFeed. He lives in Adams Morgan.
