Was There More Than One Person In The D.C. Mansion

A hostage situation in D.C. last week left four members of the same household dead, their Northwest Washington mansion aflame, and no clear murder suspect. A bizarre twist in the tale of this quadruple homicide came to light Wednesday, when it was revealed that DNA on a pizza crust had helped identify a suspect. The D.C. police have a warrant for the arrest of Daron Dylon Wint, a 34-year-old from Maryland. Wint's whereabouts are currently unknown, and there has been no word as to whether he may have been aided by accomplices.

Authorities believe that couple Savvas and Amy Savopoulos; their son, Philip; and their housekeeper, Veralicia Figueroa, were held captive in the family's home in Woodley Park during the night of May 13. During that time, two Domino's pizzas were delivered to the house — an envelope of money was left outside as payment, according to CNN. The next morning, another envelope, this time containing $40,000 in cash, landed on the porch, apparently courtesy of Savopoulos’ personal assistant.

By the time a blaze was noticed at the residence and firefighters arrived, the cash was gone — as was the family's blue Porsche. The Washington Post reported that the charred remains of the car were found later on May 14 in the parking lot of a Prince George’s County church.

A police source told CNN that Wint’s DNA had allegedly been discovered on a pizza crust that an ATF forensics team retrieved from the scene of the crime. A nearby Domino’s outlet confirmed to the network that a pizza had indeed been delivered to the Savopoulos’ mansion on May 13. The Metropolitan Police Department specified on Wednesday that Wint — who has faced charges of theft, assault, and sexual offense over the years — is wanted on charges of first-degree murder while armed for his alleged connection to the quadruple homicide. But an unnamed source told CNN that the police believe more than one suspect was involved in the crime.

Aside from this source’s assertion, the limited information currently publicly available makes it tricky to know whether there were multiple perpetrators. The alleged perpetrator(s) of last week’s crime erased the pertinent footage from the home’s security cameras, CNN reported, and Wint is the only suspect who has been named in connection with the attack that left the four people dead.

The motive has also not yet been disclosed officially, although, CNN’s unnamed source said, "Whoever was in the house was looking for money." Savopoulos was CEO and president of American Iron Works, a building materials manufacturer based in Maryland. Documents revealed a number of calls between Savopoulos, his company, a bank, an accountant, the personal assistant, and a construction company executive in the hours before the fire, according to The Washington Post. The authorities are engaged in trying to find out when the household first encountered their captors, the paper reported.

The Washington Post reported late Wednesday that few details about Wint’s background could be uncovered, and his connection to the Savopoulos family remained unclear. A reward of $25,000 has been offered for information leading to his arrest. Fewer details still have been offered regarding how the crime was carried out, and whether other suspects are being pursued. But the scope of the crime — the fact that four people were held hostage over quite some time — seems to suggest that more than one perpetrator was on the scene.

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