First, DNA on a pizza crust led authorities to the man they accuse of killing three members of a prominent Washington family and their housekeeper.
Now investigators say they have a new clue linking suspect Darron Dellon Dennis Wint to one of the victims: blood found on a shoe he was wearing when authorities arrested him.
Forensic analysis matched traces of blood on Wint’s shoe to at least one of the murder victims, two law enforcement officials said. The officials would not specify which victim’s blood was allegedly found on Wint’s shoe.
It’s too soon to say what role the evidence could play in the case authorities are building against Wint, who has been charged with first-degree murder in the killings last month of Savvas, Amy and Philip Savopoulos and housekeeper Veralicia Figueroa.
Investigators said last month they don’t believe Wint acted alone. But so far, no one else has been charged in connection to the killings.
Police have said they’re still investigating, and they haven’t detailed exactly what they believe happened in the days leading up to the grisly killings, which came to light when the victims’ bodies were discovered after a fire consumed the Savopoulos family’s $4.5 million mansion last month.
Investigators soon realized the massive fire wasn’t the full story.
The victims were bound with duct tape, and they suffered from blunt-force trauma, according to a source familiar with the investigation. And there were signs that 10-year-old Philip Savopoulos had been stabbed and tortured, according to the source.
The public defender representing Wint has not responded to repeated requests for comment.
Attorney Robin Ficker, a lawyer who has represented Wint in the past, has said he believes authorities have “the wrong guy.”
“I know him to be a kind, gentle, nonaggressive person; (he is) someone you wouldn’t mind your grandmother going to lunch with,” the Maryland lawyer said last month after Wint’s arrest. “… It’s a rush to judgment. There’s a presumption of innocence, which is not being mentioned by police.”
Asked Tuesday about the alleged new evidence tying Wint to one of the victims, he said, “I have a lot of questions about that. Why is this coming out now?”
