Judge, Counsel Selects 16-member Jury for Mansion Murder Case

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After three days of jury selection, a DC Superior Court judge and counsel finalized a 16-member jury to serve on a murder case that has rocked Washington, DC.

Daron Wint is charged with first-degree murder while armed for his alleged involvement in the deaths of Amy Savopoulos, 47; Philip Savopoulos,10; Savvas Savopoulos,46; and Veralicia Figueroa, 57 in the Savopoulos home located on the 3200 block of Woodland Drive, NW in 2015.

Wint, 36, is also charged with first-degree burglary, felony murder while armed, extortion, kidnapping, arson, kidnapping against a minor and first-degree theft.

According to a previous D.C. Witness report, police say Wint held the Savopoulos family and their housekeeper (Figueroa) hostage for 18 hours, during which he beat and tortured them until a $40,000 ransom arrived. Subsequently, Wint allegedly set the house on fire. Wint’s DNA was later found at the scene, which spurred a police hunt to find him. Police arrested Wint at a stop light in DC.

The jury selection process began Aug. 5 with DC Superior Court Judge Juliet McKenna informing a panel of 80 potential jurors that the murder trial has a projected duration of two months. Judge McKenna then read a series of 17 questions, probing whether or not the potential juror heard about the alleged murder, whether or not they lived in the area of the crime and their knowledge of the people involved i.e. counsel, decedents, defendant, and/or witnesses.

The questions also extended to whether potential jurors would be able to fairly evaluate testimony from a cooperating witness or someone who is testifying as a part of a plea offer they entered into with the government. Another question led to whether or not the length of the case would create an “extreme hardship.”

Of the jurors who were excused, multiple people cited financial hardships associated with the length of time they’d be out of work and other reasons. Some said their children attended the same school as Philip.

While Judge McKenna excused various jurors, she denied the defense’s motion to strike or excuse others. In fact, Judge McKenna denied Wint’s defense attorneys’ request to strike a juror who works for the Department of Justice. Apparently, the potential juror is a criminal prosecutor who works on computer hacking cases.

The trial is scheduled to begin Sept. 11 with opening arguments.