DC - Savvas Savopoulos, family & Veralicia Figueroa murdered; Daron Wint Arrested #2

[oceanblueeyes]

The housekeeper apparently tells different things to different newspaper. One newspaper published that housekeeper told them she knew nothing about the money. The other that she knew about the money.
Then it was published that housekeeper claimed security system was always on. Another newspaper published that housekeeper told them family was lax about security and sometimes left the door open.
Basically, you can't make conclusions on what she told some newspaper because what she told seems very inconsistent (to say the least).
I think it's very clear by now this was not scheduled in advance but instead a ransom money that father arranged in the morning.

She did not know it was going to be brought to the house when it was. She said she talked with the assistant the day they were found and he is the one who told her had delivered 40K cash to their home. She learned all of this after the fact.

IMO

 

[jjenny]

That's a good point. He might have had some of that cash in a safe, though I doubt the entire $40K.

You're confused about the package drop? We're all confused!! There have been different versions reported about the package.

What was reported is that money were withdrawn from an account and brought to the house in the morning.

 

[Inthedetails]

She did not know it was going to be brought to the house when it was. She said she talked with the assistant the day they were found and he is the one who told her had delivered 40K cash to their home. She learned all of this after the fact.

IMO

And told the media.

 

[SpanishInquisition]

Since the bank was contacted I am sure they are the ones that prepared the 40K to be picked up by the assistant. I am sure SS told the banker he would be the one to pick it up.
IMO

Yes and that is the problem. This was done verbally rather than in writing. For all the banker knows it was an identity thief calling or something else was wrong. A verbal authorization for an inherently suspicious cash withdrawal to be picked up by someone who didn't have that level of authorization is bad bad bad. Even if there's an excuse for the underling employees of his in just following orders of their boss, there's no excuse for the banker letting this happen.

 

[jjenny]

She did not know it was going to be brought to the house when it was. She said she talked with the assistant the day they were found and he is the one who told her had delivered 40K cash to their home. She learned all of this after the fact.

IMO

This is what was reported. Scheduled delivery for martial arts center sure makes it sound like it was all pre-planned. If she didn't know anything about it, why did she talk to the assistant?

"In an off-camera interview, Gutierrez says an assistant was scheduled to drop off the cash to be used for the opening of a martial arts center in Chantilly, Virginia. The housekeeper says she spoke with the person who was supposed to make the delivery and he confirmed he dropped it off at the house that morning."
http://www.myfoxdc.com/story/29114637/savopoulos-fire-deaths

 

[stmarysmead]

I agree. He didn't order two pizzas to have a dinner party with the poor souls he was torturing. As if they could eat.

There's at least one more. And I still think it's possible that there was an insider that colluded.

Unless Nellie is lying...there WAS a drop off scheduled that day and she knew of it in advance. Or she THOUGHT it was happening and maybe some bad info was passed to others. So this isn't a matter of "luck" that this Slug was in the neighborhood that day.

 

[Inthedetails]

Yes and that is the problem. This was done verbally rather than in writing. For all the banker knows it was an identity thief calling or something else was wrong. A verbal authorization for an inherently suspicious cash withdrawal to be picked up by someone who didn't have that level of authorization is bad bad bad. Even if there's an excuse for the underling employees of his in just following orders of their boss, there's no excuse for the banker letting this happen.

I'm sure there will be scrutiny after the fact, but I can see bankers obliging requests from long-term, high-level, big-balance customers. It could be that SS said the money will be put back within the day and he just needed cash for a transaction to be made that morning. We don't know what SS said to get the money. But, yeah, it's not normal business practice....but exceptions are sometimes made for friends and clients.

JMO based on info to date, subject to change

 

[jjenny]

And told the media.

She also told the media she knew nothing about the money when they asked her. Sounds like she found out from the media (first).

 

[oceanblueeyes]

Child was in a different room from adults. How could he watch people at different locations at the same time?
Especially considering father had access to a phone, I don't think they would leave him alone.
How could one person do all of this?

I suppose we could ask that same question of every murderer who has infiltrated a home and murdered multiple people inside. They control them by fear. Fear that another family member will be hurt.

He could have put Philip in his room and put something on the door where he couldn't get out or most likely Philip was told by his parents to go to his room and not come out for any reason. He would do as they said.

All he would have to do is tell Amy and Savvas if they tried to call anyone when he was with Philip he would kill not only their son first but would kill them all. Families will do anything if they think it will save their lives even being compliant to lowlife scum like this.

Just like Joe Duncan came in all on his own and was able to contain five people in one home making three laydown on the floor to be bound and once bound he bludgeoned them to death with a hammer.

The adults did what Duncan directed them to do. They thought if they did he would let them live. Like so many before and after them they were wrong.

IMO

 

[Inthedetails]

She also told the media she knew nothing about the money when they asked her. Sounds like she found out from the media (first).

Wonder why she told conflicting stories? I'm searching for innocent reasons....perhaps she got caught up in the attention and saw herself sort of as a reporter herself, sharing information as she learned it??

She's a mystery.

 

[jjenny]

Wonder why she told conflicting stories? I'm searching for innocent reasons....perhaps she got caught up in the attention and saw herself sort of as a reporter herself, sharing information as she learned it??

She's a mystery.

That's what I think. Some people like to pretend to be in the know. Also, do newspapers pay for these interviews? If they do, that might make people want to embellish what they know.

 

[oceanblueeyes]

I agree. He didn't order two pizzas to have a dinner party with the poor souls he was torturing. As if they could eat.

There's at least one more. And I still think it's possible that there was an insider that colluded.

Unless Nellie is lying...there WAS a drop off scheduled that day and she knew of it in advance. Or she THOUGHT it was happening and maybe some bad info was passed to others. So this isn't a matter of "luck" that this Slug was in the neighborhood that day.

Do you have a link that she knew it in advance.

All I have seen is she said she talked with the assistant afterwards and he told her about dropping off the 40K cash that day. I believe she said the assistant was crying when she talked with him.

 

[SuzDuJour]

While I think it was possible that he acted alone, I know I read that LE said they thought more than one person was involved. I'll go with what they think.

 

[stillblv]

I'm sure there will be scrutiny after the fact, but I can see bankers obliging requests from long-term, high-level, big-balance customers. It could be that SS said the money will be put back within the day and he just needed cash for a transaction to be made that morning. We don't know what SS said to get the money. But, yeah, it's not normal business practice....but exceptions are sometimes made for friends and clients.

JMO based on info to date, subject to change

I heard that it was not uncommon for Savvas to have money dropped off at his house so it might not have raised a red flag at all.

 

[OTPTarheel]

So what do we think now? He acted alone .. Or was there someone else involved?

How could he have acted alone?
I just don't see it.
4 people to "manage", and according to the mugshot website I posted earlier, he was 5'7"or 5'8" and weighed 155. That is not a large guy to control 3 adults, including a man trained in martial arts.

And DDW never had to use the restroom in 10 to 24 hours he was at the S's home?

And I am a Google aficionado...those 2 signs in the garage photo...interesting.

And I think DDW spent the hours between the fire and ditching the Porsche riding around, showing whoever "dissed him", he had a Porsche and a roll of money. I see this as a crime of extreme rage with AS being at the wrong place at the wrong time.

Just my opinions, and I agree, it does remind me of an episode of Criminal Minds, CSI, or L&O...

 

[jjenny]

I heard that it was not uncommon for Savvas to have money dropped off at his house so it might not have raised a red flag at all.

I also heard that it was never done before. Basically, from what is being reported, not much is making sense because it's so contradictory.

 

[Inthedetails]

I suppose we could ask that same question of every murderer who has infiltrated a home and murdered multiple people inside. They control them by fear. Fear that another family member will be hurt.

He could have put Philip in his room and put something on the door where he couldn't get out or most likely Philip was told by his parents to go to his room and not come out for any reason. He would do as they said.

All he would have to do is tell Amy and Savvas if they tried to call anyone when he was with Philip he would kill not only their son first but would kill them all. Families will do anything if they think it will save their lives even being compliant to lowlife scum like this.

Just like Joe Duncan came in all on his own and was able to contain five people in one home making three laydown on the floor to be bound and once bound he bludgeoned them to death with a hammer.

The adults did what Duncan directed them to do. They thought if they did he would let them live. Like so many before and after them they were wrong.

IMO

Phillip was found in his room, but that doesn't necessarily mean he was in his room the entire ordeal. I don't know if there were one or more perps, but just wanted to point out that the family wasn't necessarily in different locations during the entire time. We don't know where they were held or how they were moved around.

We do know that when Vera's husband knocked on the front door, he believed someone was on the other side of it. And, the pizza had to be picked up from the stoop as well as the package in the morning. So if there was one perp, he had to leave the family at least in those moments.

Ordering two pizzas is a clue to me that there was at least one other person.

I think there was probably another perp. We just don't know yet.

 

[Island_Chica]

This crime is so strange... and it just keeps getting worse. I can't read all the details because it literally makes me feel sick to my stomach.

I don't have anything to add except: 1. I wouldn't be surprised if the perp had help, 2. In my line of work, I work for a lot of very, very wealthy people (think private jet, 3+ luxury homes type people). It is true that banks, lawyers, accountants, etc jump through hoops for people of extreme wealth. HOWEVER, if someone is acting wildly inconsistent, I have asked "hey, is everything okay with you?" Usually I just chalk it up to business stress (as mo' money, mo' problems is a legit thing) but now I'll think twice if I ever get a weird phone call.

I'm curious to know if his accountant, banker, etc ever asked "hey man, is everything good with you?" Or if they mentioned to someone in their office that something was weird about SS's request. Not that it matters now, but I'm just curious. $40K cash is a lot of cash to request - a wire transfer is what is typical.

Poor family - and poor surviving children of both the Savapoulous' and Ms. Figueroa. It's honestly sickening.

Also, I will add that a (then) good friend of mine was horribly, violently attacked in a residential part of Georgetown in the late 1990s. He was riding his bike home from work at dusk, a group of young guys jumped out of a van and beat him senseless with baseball bats. He almost died and it took him years to recover from the head injury. It was part of a series of similar crimes this group committed - maybe a gang thing... I don't totally recall, but it was a random attack. I live in Atlanta, which can certainly be a dangerous place, but DC always makes me nervous after what happened to my friend. Something about the extreme divide between its residents - such poverty contrasted with such extreme wealth and power. It's a recipe for resentment, though I'm sure the same could be said of NYC, San Fran, etc. Off my soapbox now.

 

[Just K]

For nearly 20 years, I have worked for/with some very wealthy families. The demographic is the same as in this case. I am absolutely certain that it is not the norm for the hired help to know so much about the family's business dealings, their alarm system (beyond being giving your own individual code) and unless they are live-in help, being asked to do work outside of their expertise. I have seen live-in maids who are also the family nannies and who after a period of time may bring in family and friends to do lawn care/landscaping and handyman type work. But none of these situations had any of the hired help in the know or being allowed to know about large amounts of cash coming and going from the home.

In addition, there may be a sense of closeness with the families and the hired help but there is always an unspoken line which is rarely crossed. I found it especially interesting that SS's mom supposedly called NG to make sure she was alright. In 20 years, of serving this population, only one mom of a client has ever called me and that is because she was also a client. Or there was an emergency and she needed me to come because I had a key.

Something is very off about no one being alerted to dealing in large amounts of cash. Hundreds of dollars, maybe even a few thousand, may not be a surprise but tens of thousands is suspicious. Most large amounts spent these days come in the form of a check, a line of credit or some electronic transfer.

 

[jjenny]

Do you have a link that she knew it in advance.

All I have seen is she said she talked with the assistant afterwards and he told her about dropping off the 40K cash that day. I believe she said the assistant was crying when she talked with him.

Here is what was reported. That it was a scheduled delivery and she confirmed with assistant afterwards.

"In an off-camera interview, Gutierrez says an assistant was scheduled to drop off the cash to be used for the opening of a martial arts center in Chantilly, Virginia. The housekeeper says she spoke with the person who was supposed to make the delivery and he confirmed he dropped it off at the house that morning."
http://www.myfoxdc.com/story/29114637/savopoulos-fire-deaths