Police have identified a suspect in the gruesome deaths of a wealthy D.C. businessman, his wife, their 10-year-old son, and a housekeeper. The four bodies were found in a burning mansion owned by Savvas Savopoulos, 46, in an affluent suburb of Northwest Washington, D.C. on Thursday.
A warrant was issued late Wednesday for Daron Dylon Wint, 34, of Maryland. He is charged with first-degree murder while armed.
A massive manhunt is underway for Wint, who is described as a black male, about 5-feet-7-inches tall and weighing 155 pounds.
Police believe Wint savagely beat and stabbed Savopoulos, his wife Amy, 47, their 10-year-old son Philip, and their housekeeper, Veralicia “Vera” Figueroa, 57, sometime after 12 noon.
The $4.5 million mansion on Embassy Row near VP Joe Biden’s house was set ablaze around 1 p.m. Thursday.
Police say young Philip was tortured in an attempt to get money out of Savvos. The boy was found in his bed on the second floor. His body was burned beyond recognition and he suffered lacerations to his body.
The other three victims were found dead in chairs in another room on the second floor. They were bound with duct tape and doused in gasoline.
According to WUSA9, Savvas Savopoulos’ personal assistant dropped off a bag containing $40,000 in cash to the mansion in the exclusive Woodley Park neighborhood Thursday morning.
In another strange twist, a Domino’s Pizza delivery man told MyFoxDC he left 2 large pizzas at the front door of the house just before midnight on Wednesday.
The Washington Post reports that police connected Wint to the murders after his DNA was found on the pizza crust.
Another family housekeeper, Nelitza “Nelly” Gutierrez, told police she received a phone call from Savvas Wednesday night and a text message from Amy Savopoulos Thursday morning asking her not to come to the house.
Gutierrez told police she thought the messages were odd.
Gutierrez worked for the family for 20 years. Figueroa worked for the family for four years.
Figueroa’s husband, Bernardo Alfaro, told WUSA-TV he went to the home Thursday morning looking for his wife who had not returned home on Wednesday.
He said he knocked and rang the doorbell, but there was no answer. He said Savvas called his cell phone moments later to say Figueroa drove his wife, Amy, to the hospital because she was ill.
Alfaro said he thought the call was odd, because his wife can’t drive.
Early on in the investigation police released surveillance video of a shadowy figure running from the area where the family’s Porsche 911 was abandoned and torched in Prince George’s County, Maryland. The Porsche was abandoned about 16 miles from the crime scene.
Police did not say if Wint was the suspect seen in the surveillance video.
Wint has a long criminal history that includes assault with a deadly weapon and theft charges in Prince George’s County, MD. His last known address is less than a half-mile from where the Porsche was abandoned.
Police were seen interviewing Wint’s neighbors just before midnight on Wednesday.
The Savopoulos’ also have two daughters, 19 and 16, who were away at boarding schools at the time of the murders.
Wealthy people send their children away to boarding schools so they will learn to socialize well with others of their ilk; be self-sufficient and independent of their parents.
Police believe more than one perpetrator was involved in the murders and arson.
A $25,000 reward is being offered for tips leading to an arrest in the case.
