Wint Trial Proves Nightmares Are Real

By D.C. Witness Staff - September 19, 2018
Editors Corner | Op-Eds |

The murder trial of Daron Wint is proving to be a communal nightmare for all. What happened in the Woodley Park mansion seems like something from “Nightmare on Elm Street.” Only this time the victims and the killer are real.

Wint, a person who already maintained assault and destruction of property convictions, is charged with multiple counts of felony and first-degree murder along with other charges for allegedly killing Savvas Savopoulos, 46; his wife, Amy, 47; their son, Philip, 10, and one of their housekeepers, Veralicia Figueroa, 57, at the Savopoulos home located on the 3200 block of Woodland Drive, NW in 2015.

For the next two-months, jurors will have to analyze each piece of evidence from photos of the decedents to taped recordings from Savvas and Amy before they died, to emotional testimonies from family, friends, neighbors and employees. Unfortunately, there is no waking up from this nightmare.

On the other hand, is the nightmare a communal rush to convict?

During opening statements, Wint’s defense team said he was set-up by his brothers. Apparently, one of his brothers was charged with attempted murder and pleaded guilty to first-degree assault in Maryland for a case that involved different victims. That would mean that even if Wint is convicted, perhaps not all those responsible will see justice.

During the trial, the prosecution opened with emotion, using the testimonies of one of the family’s two housekeepers; the Chief Financial Officer at American Ironworks, Savvas’ company; and Amy’s father who spoke of his grandson.

But, whatever the verdict, this grandfather will probably always wonder whether the Louisville Slugger baseball bat he gave to his grandson, was the very bat used to torture and beat his daughter, son-in-law and their maid? Did the killer(s) beat Philip with his own bat as well? These answers are too horrifying to even consider, but the 16-member jury has to.

And yet, too many questions remain. Could this have been an inside job? After all, several calls were made before the murders to understand the security system and know where the footage was housed. Now, that upstairs computer is gone. No one knows if it will ever be recovered. Were the killer(s) that smart, professional?

There is also the nightmare of second-guessing. Figueroa’s husband, the family’s neighbors, friends and co-workers are left with “what if.” What if they questioned Amy more when they saw her that day? What if the husband went to the police after his wife didn’t come home and he heard that scraping sound? What if more alarms were raised when Savvas requested that large sum of cash? What if the pizza delivery person disregarded instructions and waited to see who answered the door? What if Savvas’ assistant chose to disregard his instructions?

Some nightmares never end, even when we wake up.