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By
D.C. Witness Staff
- February 2, 2019
Court
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Daily Stories
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Homicides
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Suspects
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On Feb. 1, a judge sentenced Daron Wint to life without the possibility of release for his role in the deaths of three family members and a housekeeper.
Wint was found guilty in October of 2018 of felony murder while armed, kidnapping, extortion, and arson and other charges, for the murder of Amy, Savvas, and Philip Savopoulos, as well as their housekeeper, Veralicia Figueroa, on the 3200 block of Woodland Drive, NW in 2015.
According to court documents, the District of Columbia Fire and EMS Department responded to a house fire on May 15, 2015, where they found 47-year-old Amy, 46-year-old Savvas, Figueroa and Philip, the Savopoulos’ 10-year-old son, unconscious. All three members of the Savopoulos family were pronounced dead on the scene, while Figueroa, 57, was transferred to Georgetown University Hospital. She was pronounced dead shortly after.
Prosecutors said Wint, 36, kidnapped the victims and demanded a $40,000 ransom. Even though Savvas, who owned an ironworks company, complied, he, his wife, son and their housekeeper were brutally tortured for almost 24 hours. To destroy evidence, prosecutors said Wint tried to burn the house down with the individuals still inside.
During a trial lasting nearly six weeks, jurors heard from more than 60 witnesses, including expert witnesses that linked DNA evidence found on pizza crust; a construction vest; a knife used to prop open a first floor window; a hair strand found inside a construction hat in the garage and another strand found on the bedding inside the room where Amy, Savvas and Figueroa were found to Wint. Prosecutors also presented Wint’s internet search history as evidence, which included searches for “how to beat a lie detector test.”
DC Superior Court Judge Juliet McKenna heard from multiple family members and friends of the victims before deciding to sentence Wint to four consecutive life sentences without the possibility of parole.
“They taught me what true love looked like,” said one of Amy and Savvas’s daughters. At the time of the murders, she was in boarding school along with her other younger sister, who was unable to attend the hearing.
Prosecutors said the Savapoulos family were pillars of their community and were completely undeserving of their horrific deaths. “We want the court to take away his hope,” said a prosecutor while arguing for the maximum sentence.
Wint’s defense attorney, Judith Pipe, reiterated that Wint was not the murderer. During the trial, Pipe said that there must have been more than one person carrying out the murders because hostages were held in separate rooms. Wint and his attorneys are seeking to appeal the verdict, according to the Washington Post.