Two Were Strangled in Mansion Murders: Reports

PHOTOS: Daron Wint photos courtesy of DC Police

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Two of the four murdered in the so-called Mansion Murders were strangled, a detective revealed in a court hearing Monday in Washington, D.C., according to The Washington Post.

Detective Jeffrey Owens told a courtroom Monday at a hearing for suspect Daron Wint, 34, that Savvas Savopoulos, 46, and housekeeper Veralicia Figueroa, 57, were both strangled. The two were found, along with Amy Savopoulos, 47, and son Philip, 10, when firefighters arrived to put out a fire at the family home on May 14.

NBC-4 reports that Amy Savopoulos was stabbed to death and that Philip was burned to death.

Wint, who previously worked for a company headed up by Savopoulos, is charged in their deaths.

The Post reported that Judge Rhonda Reid-Winston ordered Wint to remain in jail, saying there was “probable cause” that he committed first-degree murder and that he was involved in “holding these people against their will.”

The judge cited Wint’s DNA on pizza crust found at the home as well as a construction vest found with his DNA on it, as well as $30,000 that authorities found in his possession when he was arrested.

Two Savopoulos daughters were away at boarding school when the murders occurred; daughter Abigail was in court Monday taking notes and looking intently at suspect Wint, according to the Associated Press. The Post reported that she sat next to her grandfather, Amy Savopoulos’ father.

The murders took place in the family’s multimillion-dollar mansion, where firefighters were called to put out a blaze at the home in the 3200 block of Woodland Drive NW. The area is an exclusive neighborhood near the National Cathedral that includes the home of Vice President Joe Biden.

Detective Owens said Monday that DNA found on the construction vest in a Porsche owned by the family matches Wint. The car was found in New Carrollton, Md., where it had been set on fire.

Owens also said that a knife found behind the home as well as a baseball bat are being examined as possible murder weapons, The Washington Post reported.

Police surmised the family was killed before what they called the intentionally set fire. Three of the four bodies showed signs of blunt force trauma injuries, D.C. Police Chief Cathy Lanier has said.

Wint is expected back in court Sept. 25, the Post reported.

Read the entire Washington Post story here.