Fire in upper NW?

[Anonymous]

It sounds like the assistant lied before he knew the details and how horrific and big this is. I imagine it is common among wealthy and business owners alike to sometimes skirt the law on tax/money issues. Perhaps the assistant, before knowing the scope of the crime, in an attempt to cover for his boss, said the money came from a bank- not a underthetable petty box.

Then, the lie about the locked car? When confronted with the idea that all that money is gone, to cover his own (innocent) ass, he said- oh yeah of course I locked the car! *get me off the hook!*

And he taking the picture of the large sum of money is not weird or outrageous either. He didn't know it was part of a hostage/murder situation! He liked to show off the cool cars he got to drive, and he privately showed off to a friend via text a giant sum of cash. It's not an amount of money most of us are regularly (or ever) physically handling.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Not charging the others now may be a tactical move to make sure they cooperate. If they aren't charged they can't take the 5th Amendment.

You don't need to be charged to take the 5th Amendment. In fact, you can refuse to speak to police and investigators any time, whether you are charged or not.

True, but if they aren't charged, they won't have a public defender appointed to advise them; and if they take the 5th and do not cooperate, they can easily be charged with aiding and abetting. So, they essentially have the choice of either cooperating or being charged.

[Anonymous]

totally agree with 18:20. This was a guy who regularly was said "wow, look at the awesome car I get to drive!" Totally credible that he would say "wow, look at the money they are trusting me with!" Then feel really, really, horribly bad about that after the fact.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:When I read through all of this stuff, I think I am subconsciously hoping that I'm going to find the loophole, revise something, and it turns out that the 4 of them escape. Some different phone call. Some random stroke of good luck. Does anyone else find themselves reading and hoping they can somehow revise the ending?

Yes. I keep wishing it was a mistake and they are all alive.

It's like "In Cold Blood" or the saddest book I read this year, called Quiet Dell (unspeakably sad, because it's true). Sometimes good people cross bad people. And frankly, I don't want to. This whole thing makes me want to go bunker/hunker. Wrap cushions around my beautiful kids and protect them from EVERYTHING, including bad TV. Is that where it begins? With bad TV? Anything goes these days, eh? You can talk about how people wronged others in school, but god protect you if you dare speak with children about how to do right. Then you get in trouble. It's an F*d up world. Rest in peace, beautiful family and beautiful little boy.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:When I read through all of this stuff, I think I am subconsciously hoping that I'm going to find the loophole, revise something, and it turns out that the 4 of them escape. Some different phone call. Some random stroke of good luck. Does anyone else find themselves reading and hoping they can somehow revise the ending?

Yes. I keep wishing it was a mistake and they are all alive.

It's like "In Cold Blood" or the saddest book I read this year, called Quiet Dell (unspeakably sad, because it's true). Sometimes good people cross bad people. And frankly, I don't want to. This whole thing makes me want to go bunker/hunker. Wrap cushions around my beautiful kids and protect them from EVERYTHING, including bad TV. Is that where it begins? With bad TV? Anything goes these days, eh? You can talk about how people wronged others in school, but god protect you if you dare speak with children about how to do right. Then you get in trouble. It's an F*d up world. Rest in peace, beautiful family and beautiful little boy.

What does this even mean?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:now that he has been caught and arrested along with his brother and several other people, is it reasonable to assume that he had accomplices? I am thinking he and his brothers were the ones actually in the house/who committed the kidnapping, extortion, torture, murder, arson, robbery and then there was someone else (I am guessing one of the women, for no particular reason just a hunch since women are generally seen as less threatening than men) who drove the suspects to the S house or was somehow involved in helping the other suspect(s) (the one(s) who did not take the Porsche) get away from the scene.

Here is what I think happened (no revelations here, just what seems to me to be pretty obvious based on what we know): DW and/or his brother went up to the door Wed afternoon, possibly wearing some type of uniform/disguise--dressed to appear as utility workers or construction workers or delivery men, etc-- Housekeeper (VF) was home w/ Philip. Housekeeper answered the door and they pushed past her into the house, leaving no sign of a forced entry. They quickly subdued/tied up VF and PS, forced VF to call AS and tell her there was some emergency w Philip. AS rushes home in the Porsche (which is why it was reportedly seen speeding Wed afternoon). AS returns, DW subdues her, forces her to call SS and get him home ASAP, he receives call while at dojo in Chantilly, goes home earlier than planned, telling other housekeeper (NG) that AS needs him to watch Philip because AS is going out Wed night. SS returns home and finds AS, PS and VF bound, being threatened, he doesn't attempt to fight off DW/accomplice for fear of them hurting the others if he resists them. The whole ordeal plays out over Wed. night and Thurs morning, with SS desperately and repeatedly attempting to get DW/accomplice what they want ($$, valuables). They use threats/torture of PS, AS, VF to compel/force SS to make all these calls in attempts to get as much $$ as possible together, they also ask him who might be showing up at the house Thurs. who could potentially interrupt/interfere with the $$ drop so that is why SS is allowed/forced to call NG and tell her not to come Thurs. SS tries til the end to get them more and more $$ but he is not able to get more than the 40k delivered and DW/accomplice are upset that they can't get more out of him and possibly feel that they need to wrap the whole thing up and get out of there finally (perhaps having VF's husband come by the house spurs them to get out faster as well) so, being the psychopaths and hateful, worthless people that they are, they murder everyone and set the house on fire. DW drives off in the Porsche, i wonder if he was anticipating that he might get caught even sooner than he did, maybe even that he'd be caught while driving the Porsche and he thought that would be a dramatic way to go out. The accomplice(s) either take off in another vehicle (someone--I'm guessing a woman--picked any accomplice(s) of DW's up in a different car). They all meet back up afterward in MD and go and immediately spend their cash on whatever...drugs, strip club, prostitutes, something not easily traced...the end?

Late on this but I think you've nailed it. They may also have hidden some of the money.

I think this is exactly what happened.

It is doubtful that the murders were committed because the criminals were "upset" about not getting more money. Do you think if SS had gotten $200k delivered that they criminals would have just said, "thanks, we're going to leave now, please don't tell anyone about this"?

The end result (murder) was probably inevitable from the outset, as it was the strategic move that made the most sense for the criminals given that the victims almost certainly knew their faces/voices/build, if not their actual identities. I'm sure that they expected that they would get away with it (and perhaps they would have if not for the mistake when eating the pizza).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:When I read through all of this stuff, I think I am subconsciously hoping that I'm going to find the loophole, revise something, and it turns out that the 4 of them escape. Some different phone call. Some random stroke of good luck. Does anyone else find themselves reading and hoping they can somehow revise the ending?

Yes. I keep wishing it was a mistake and they are all alive.

It's like "In Cold Blood" or the saddest book I read this year, called Quiet Dell (unspeakably sad, because it's true). Sometimes good people cross bad people. And frankly, I don't want to. This whole thing makes me want to go bunker/hunker. Wrap cushions around my beautiful kids and protect them from EVERYTHING, including bad TV. Is that where it begins? With bad TV? Anything goes these days, eh? You can talk about how people wronged others in school, but god protect you if you dare speak with children about how to do right. Then you get in trouble. It's an F*d up world. Rest in peace, beautiful family and beautiful little boy.

What does this even mean?

It means that everything is relative these days. And there are a lot of folks wandering about with no moral compass.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I read the charging docs. I don't think they mean the boy was burned alive (at least not purposely). I think the intent was to kill everyone and then douse them all with gasoline and burn them and any evidence. But they were in separate rooms and the fire started in the child' bedroom and then didn't fully ignite the other room. It is clear that the other three were killed by trauma because their bodies were never consumed in flame. The child is unclear at best, but likely also beat (please, god quickly) and dead or nearly so (i.e. unconscious) when fire started.

I'd like to think he was in the other room, his bedroom, in bed out of kindness. They were letting the kid lie down.

Out of kindness? It would be nice to believe that, but I don't. Phillip's cause of death was thermal injuries: BURNS and sharp force injuries: STAB wounds. No kindness involved. It was sick, sadistic behavior. How horrifying for his family to have to know these details.

Exactly. And separated from his parents while all of this was going on?

PP, I'm sorry, but how dare you use the word "kindness" in any sentence or paragraph referring to these animals that killed him.

I would like to think that it wasn't complete hell for this little boy, that he got to lie down and sleep for some of it. How dare me not want it to have been 15 hours of pain and agony and desperate fear?

You're fucking nuts.

[Anonymous]

Thank goodness for science. DNA. Wow.

[Anonymous]

Anyone notice that the perp was arrested for stolen property in the past but used his own brothers name to make him eat the charge?

Now that's family.

(Source: arrest affidavit)

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I don't live in DC, if I did, (and you all represent a group who could do something) I would be pressing my policy and prosecutor on why the five found with Wint are not being held on aiding and abetting. This is outrageous. How are people to feel safe?

First of all, the police were executing a warrant for the arrest of DW. There was no warrant drawn up on the others, so there would be no immediately reason to arrest them.

Once the others were found with him, the issue becomes, first, whether you have probably cause of a criminal offense on any of them. If so, you can obtain arrest warrants while they're in custody, but this means you start the clock on the presentment process, etc.

By not charging them (and potentially releasing them), you can continue to monitor them (which you can be assured is happening) while you collect more evidence. This also allows the suspects to continue taking actions which help you connect the web of contacts, etc. You can also conduct voluntary interviews with them (if they consent), which allows you to obtain impeachable statements.

Ultimately, I'd be very surprised if some of these individuals aren't charged, but it may take some time to build up evidence against them, and you can rest assured they are under a tight watch.

By the way, the prosecutor here is the U.S. Attorney's Office, so this is not some dumb local prosecutor with no sophistication.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:if they take the 5th and do not cooperate, they can easily be charged with aiding and abetting. So, they essentially have the choice of either cooperating or being charged.

Based on what we know right now, I think it's a stretch to say they can easily be charged with aiding and abetting. First, you would have to prove that they knew DW had committed a crime. For that to be proved, evidence will need to be found demonstrating that, and we don't know whether the police possess any such evidence. Further, if they refuse to cooperate (which is different than taking the 5th), that fact can't be used against them because it's not in and of itself inculpatory.

[Anonymous]

18:37. Love this post. Keep doing the great work you are doing. If it is not you, you clearly know enough to let us know that the US Attorney's office is doing great work, and I feel reassured that we are in good hands.

[Anonymous]

I keep on thinking DW is Dear Wife....I need a break from this thread.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:18:37. Love this post. Keep doing the great work you are doing. If it is not you, you clearly know enough to let us know that the US Attorney's office is doing great work, and I feel reassured that we are in good hands.

18:37 here - I am not involved in this case and I don't work for the USAO, but I've defended cases in DC Superior Court (in a prior life), and the prosecutors are very good.