This is such a disturbing crime. Any one else following this story?
News reports hint that the 10 yr old son was tortured. 40,000 cash dropped off at the house.
So many strange angles to this story. Manhunt underway.
I have been sort of following the story.
The part that originally caught my eye was this aspect of the story:
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A second housekeeper, Nelitza Gutierrez, has reported a strange series of voice mails and text messages from Savvas and Amy Savopoulos beginning the night of May 13. Gutierrez, who had worked for the family for 20 years, said in an interview that the messages left her with the impression that something was amiss with her employers.
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She said that on May 13, Savvas Savopoulos had asked her not to come to the D.C. home the next day — the day of the killings — even though she normally worked there on Thursdays. Instead, he told Gutierrez that he preferred her help the following day with the grand opening in Chantilly.
Gutierrez said Savvas Savopoulos left her a voice mail on May 13, saying that Figueroa, the housekeeper who was killed, planned to stay overnight at the family’s home, which she described as unusual. He said in the message that Amy Savopoulos was ill, that Philip was recovering from a concussion and that the family needed Figueroa’s help. Savvas Savopoulos asked Gutierrez to let Figueroa’s family know not to expect her.
Gutierrez said she didn’t hear the voice mail until the morning of May 14. She called Amy Savopoulos and got no answer. Just before 10 a.m., Gutierrez said, she got a text message from Amy Savopoulos: “I am making sure you do not come today.”
Gutierrez said that she knew nothing about the money that was dropped off May 14 and that she had never seen the assistant or anyone else drop off cash to the Savopoulos home in the 20 years she had worked there.
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I wonder if Savvas was ordered to contact her or if he asked if he could to spare her from becoming a hostage.
This reminds me of the Petit case.
I have been following the story too and it is gut wrenching. And yes, I immediately thought of the Petit case. Both cases have really pulled at me more than others.
I’m confused about why the personal asst was crying.
I was thinking the exact same thing.
I live in the DC area and, not surprising, it is big news here. This is absolutely horrifying for the entire family but I feel absolutely sick to my stomach when I think of that ten year old. Thank goodness their other two children were away at school (so sad for them though). I give major props to the DC detectives who found DNA on a piece of pizza crust in a torched house. I really hope they catch this animal quickly.
I simply can’t imagine the horror these families faced. And to be left alive after your family is killed… That must be pretty terrible too.
Evil.
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Savvas Savopoulos asked Gutierrez to let Figueroa’s family know not to expect her.
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This may seem like a small thing, but something like that would have tipped many of us off that something really wasn’t right. Getting a message like that would leave most of us wondering: “why doesn’t Mrs. Figueroa or Mr. S notify the F family and give them that message?”
I don’t know what I would have actually done with a message like that, but I think it would have caused some alarm, particularly since the other communications were also odd.
This is so sad. I also feel sad for some of the folks that didnt act on their hunches. They will probably always beat themselves up. The other housekeeper was interviewed, and she said she thought it was odd that the other housekeeper was staying over. The employee that brougnt over the 40k thought it was odd. The pizza guy left the pizza outside. All of these were signs but no one acted on it. Its just sad , especially for their surviving daughters. I hope they find him, and proceed with a speedy trial.
I agree with the ideas noted, but probably the only constructive action would have been to call the police to send them over to check things out. Its asking a lot to make that jump, especially if you’ve no earlier reason to suspect that something is amiss.
yes @dadx thats what I mean, none of them sent the cops over to check things out.
Do we know who the assistant gave the money to?
The request to bring $40k in cash should have been a red flag.
Yeah, I don’t know how anyone could hand over 40k in cash to someone w/o wanting some face-to-face validation.
The named suspect has been arrested: http://gawker.com/quadruple-murder-suspect-daron-wint-apprehended-in-d-c-1706221255
Another story, stating that five other people were also arrested. http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3092208/Police-catch-prime-suspect-brutal-family-murder-near-home-address-Northeast-DC.html#ixzz3aq8EEdIM
One explanation for asking one housekeeper to contact the family of the other may involve who speaks English. My mother has a cleaning woman who doesn’t speak much English and certainly doesn’t read it. To get a message to her involves my father calling her husband and then the messages are relayed but it’s all kind of iffy because the husband doesn’t speak much English either and my father is practically deaf. The family of the housekeeper who was killed may not speak/read English. The messages may have been coming from the kidnappers who took the phones of the couple too.
I think it’s absolutely brilliant that they found the guy’s DNA on the pizza crust and identified him that way. I don’t understand how they did that so quickly. I thought it took a while to decipher DNA but they seem to have done it in just a day or so.
To think that the pizza box and crust were still around after the fire, is almost a miracle. Thank goodness some cop decided to look at that box, and inside, which turns out to be the missing link. I too am curious though, how did they get DNA so quickly?
They probably shipped it to the FBI lab in Quantico. I’m not certain MPD has that capability.