Daron Wint, 34, of Lanham, Maryland, is accused of holding
construction business owner Savvas Savopoulos and the others captive
until he got $40,000 in cash, then killing them and setting fire to
their mansion, according to court documents.
Wint, who faces a charge of first-degree murder, was arrested late
on Thursday in the U.S. capital. Acting U.S. Attorney Vincent Cohen
Jr. said he was being held without bond.
A preliminary hearing was set for June 23.
"We will continue to investigate this case and bring all charges
that are appropriate in the coming weeks," he told reporters outside
District of Columbia Superior Court.
Wint was wanted in the deaths of Savopoulos, who owned a
construction materials company; his wife, Amy, 47; son Phillip, 10;
and housekeeper Veralicia Figueroa, 57.
A court affidavit said that the crime needed more than one person to
have been carried out.
When he was arrested, Wint was a passenger in a car that was
traveling alongside a truck. Police also arrested three men and two
women in the vehicles. Police Chief Cathy Lanier later told CNN they
had been released.
The bodies were found on May 14 inside the Savopoulos mansion in an
upscale neighborhood near the official residence of Vice President
Joseph Biden. The house had been set on fire.
The affidavit said Savopoulos, his wife and Figueroa died from being
struck and stabbed. Phillip died from "thermal and sharp force
injuries," it said.
[to top of second column] |
The four were held captive on the evening of May 13. Savopoulos had
an aide deliver $40,000 in cash to the house the next day, the court
document said.
Police found more than $10,000 in money orders in Wint's car and a
stack of $100 bills and more money orders in the truck, the document
said. Police have said Wint had worked for Savopoulos' company,
American Iron Works.
Police identified Wint from DNA found on the crust of a pizza that
had been delivered to the house late on May 13, the affidavit said.
During the arraignment, defense attorney Natalie Lawson said the
government's case was "based on speculation and guesswork."
Prosecutor Emily Miller said: "Simply put, the defendant's DNA was
on pizza left in a room with three dead adults."
(Additional reporting by Ian Simpson; Editing by Doina Chiacu)
[© 2015 Thomson Reuters. All rights
reserved.]
Copyright 2015 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published,
broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
|