WTOP reporters Jack Moore and Megan Cloherty covered the 2018 trial that led to the conviction of Daron Wint for the horrific case that’s become known as the Mansion Murders. Now they’re turning that experience into a ten-episode podcast, called 22 Hours: An American Nightmare. At a moment when true-crime podcasts saturate the market, Moore believes 22 Hours stands out for its thorough examination of the victims’ final hours, along with its account of the trial from start to finish.
“This was a case that captivated and horrified the region,” he says. “It really strikes at that primal fear that every person, every family has of becoming a victim in your own home. We know how the story ends, so now we can go back to the beginning and tell it in a much complete way. This isn’t a whodunit. It’s really more of a how and why.”
The podcast includes some fresh reporting, including an interview with Savopoulos family housekeeper Nelly Gutierrez. “She tells us in excruciating detail her memories of that day,” Moore says. “She also provides a theory for how Daron Wint would have been able to get inside the house, which remains a mystery to this day.”
Moore and Cloherty have currently recorded about half of the episodes. One thing they’re hoping to include in the remaining batch: actual recordings of the Wint trial. DC Superior Court does not release such recordings, but the reporters have petitioned to have the policy reconsidered. “It’s an open question whether we will get those recordings in time,” Moore says. “But if we do, listeners will be able to hear, for the first time, Daron Wint in his own words when he took the stand in his trial.”
The first episode is now available on streaming services, with a new one set to premiere each Monday.
Kalina Newman is an editorial fellow for Washingtonian. Previously, she covered metro news for the Boston Globe. Her work has appeared in ARLnow, DCist, and the Washington City Paper. Kalina graduated from Boston University in 2019 with a degree in journalism.
