Robbery and murder
The perpetrators stole $40,000 () in cash from the family after an assistant, Jordan Wallace, delivered it to the house. They also stole the family's blue Porsche 911, Porsche, which was later found burned in a church parking lot in Maryland. On May 14, 2015, the Savopoulos house in Northwest (Washington, D.C.), Northwest Washington was spotted ablaze and firefighters were called. They discovered the three bodies of the Savopoulos family and their housekeeper. The police determined the fire was intentionally set, and the victims had blunt-force and stab wounds, leading them to label the deaths homicides.Victims
The Savopouloses were a prominent, upper-class family in the Woodley Park (Washington, D.C.), Woodley Park neighborhood of Northwest Washington. Savvas Savopoulos was the CEO and president of American Iron Works, a construction company that played a role in building the Capital One Arena, Verizon Center. Savopoulos helped fund the National Child Research Center and served on its board. The family were active parishioners of Saint Sophia Cathedral (Washington, D.C.), Saint Sophia Greek Orthodox Cathedral. The slain victims were: * Savvas Phillip Savopoulos, age 46, a prominent area businessman * Amy Clare Savopoulos (''née'' Martin), age 47, Savvas's wife * Philip Savvas Savopoulos, age 10, their son * Veralicia Figueroa, age 57, their housekeeper Two teenage daughters, Abigail and Katerina Savopoulos, were not present at the scene when the four were killed, as they were away at boarding school.Perpetrator
Daron Dylon Wint (born November 27, 1980) was identified by police as the prime suspect in the case. He was found by matching his DNA to that found on the crust of a Domino's Pizza, Domino's pizza delivered to the house on May 13, while the family was apparently captive. He was a certified welder who formerly worked at American Iron Works, leading police to believe the murders weren't random. Wint is originally from Guyana and immigrated to the U.S. in 2000. He was a United States Marine Corps recruit but was discharged before his training was complete for medical reasons. He had a long rap sheet of criminal charges; he was convicted in 2009 of second-degree assault in Maryland and sentenced to 30 days in jail, and also pleaded guilty to the crime of malicious destruction of property in 2010 as part of a plea deal, in which a second charge, burglary, was dropped. He has also been charged in the past with theft, assault, a sexual offense, and weapons possession. After Wint's DNA was matched, a warrant was issued for his arrest on a charge of first-degree murder. Wint was found and arrested on May 21, 2015, in northeast Washington DC, a week after the murders, and was subsequently charged with first-degree murder. Prosecutors believed Wint had help killing the victims and did not act alone, but Wint was the only person charged in the deaths.Reactions
Attorney Robin Ficker said that Wint did not seem violent when he defended him in earlier cases. "My impression of him — I remember him rather well — is that he wouldn't hurt a fly. He's a very nice person," Ficker said. He then characterized Wint as "kind and gentle" and added that authorities have arrested "the wrong guy" in the Savopoulos case, claiming, "They've made a big mistake here." Ficker also said that Wint's family had told him "that he doesn't like pizza and never eats pizza", referring to the matching of Wint's DNA to that found on a pizza crust at the crime scene.Trial
The trial date for Daron Wint was set on February 3, 2017, to begin September 4, 2018. The trial began with opening statements on September 11, 2018. On October 25, 2018, the defendant was found guilty of 20 counts of kidnapping, extortion, and murder. On February 1, 2019, Wint was sentenced to four life terms in prison without the possibility of parole. Wint appealed his conviction in December 2020, seeking a new trial on the grounds that the judge improperly blocked his lawyers from calling an additional witness. On December 15, 2022, the District of Columbia Court of Appeals, D.C. Court of Appeals largely affirmed Wint's conviction and denied Wint a new trial. The appeals court noted that Wint was improperly denied the opportunity to introduce some exculpatory evidence, but it did not reverse the trial results in light of "the overwhelming weight of other evidence against appellant."See also
* Cheshire, Connecticut, home invasion murders * Logan murder * Crime in Washington, D.C.References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Washington, D.C., quadruple murder Family murders in the United States 2015 in Washington, D.C. Arson in Washington, D.C. Arson in 2015 Deaths by stabbing in Washington, D.C. May 2015 crimes in the United States Mass murder in Washington, D.C. Murder trials in the United States Mass murder in 2015 2015 murders in the United States Trials in Washington, D.C. 2010s trials 21st-century American trials 2015 fires in the United States Knife attacks in the United States Stabbing attacks in 2015 Mass murder in the United States in the 2010s Robberies in the United States Arson attacks on vehicles in North America Residential building arson attacks in the United States Attacks on buildings and structures in Washington, D.C. Attacks on buildings and structures in 2015 Torture in the United States Hostage taking in the United States Deaths by beating in the United States