Amy Savopoulos, a 47-year-old female, was tragically killed on May 14, 2015, in a horrific event that also claimed the lives of her husband, Savvas Savopoulos, their 10-year-old son, Philip, and their housekeeper, Veralicia Figueroa. The family was held hostage in their Washington, D.C. mansion for approximately 19 hours, starting on May 13, 2015. During this time, the perpetrator or perpetrators subjected the victims to brutal torture, including beating them with baseball bats and stabbing them, before ultimately setting the house on fire.
The motive for this heinous crime appeared to be financial, as the captors extorted $40,000 in cash from the family. An assistant of Savvas Savopoulos delivered the money to the house, after which the victims were killed. The family's blue Porsche was also stolen and later found burned in a church parking lot in Maryland. Firefighters were called to the Savopoulos home on May 14, 2015, where they discovered the bodies of the four victims.
The deaths were ruled homicides due to evidence of blunt force trauma and stab wounds, and the fire was determined to be arson.
An investigation led police to Daron Wint, a former welder at a company owned by Savvas Savopoulos. A crucial piece of evidence was DNA found on a pizza crust left at the scene, which was matched to Wint. Wint was arrested on May 21, 2015. Although authorities initially believed Wint may not have acted alone, he was the only individual charged in the crime.
On October 25, 2018, Daron Wint was found guilty of 20 counts, including kidnapping, extortion, and murder. He was subsequently sentenced to four consecutive life sentences without the possibility of parole. During the trial, prosecutors argued that Wint's motive was greed, as he was broke. Wint's defense team claimed he was set up by his brother and half-brother, but this argument was ultimately unsuccessful. An appeal for a new trial was denied in December 2022.
