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What you need to know: DC Mansion Murders trial set to begin 3 years after crime

Wint's defense team plans to argue the crime could not have been carried out by one person.
Investigators still believe Daron Wint needed help to hold four people hostage and murder them in their DC mansion.

WASHINGTON -- The trial for the infamous Mansion Murders is expected to start on Tuesday.

Darron Wint is accused of torturing and killing a family and their housekeeper at a home in Northwest Washington.

The court case is expected to last several months and begins with jury selection.

It was a crime that dominated headlines three years ago on May 13, 2015.

Firefighters arrived at a burning home on Woodland Drive in Northwest.

Inside, first responders found Savaas and Amy Savopoulous, their 10-year-old son, Phillip, and their housekeeper, Vera Figueroa.

Evidence showed they were beaten, stabbed, strangled, and set on fire.

All four of the victims were dead

Investigators said Darron Wint committed the crime after holding the victims hostage and getting a $40,000 ransom payment.

According to court documents, detectives spent more than one year collecting over 150 items from the crime scene.

RELATED: Mansion Murders trial expected to last months

Prosecutors claim to have 5 items that match Wint’s DNA -- including a pizza crust he allegedly ordered while holding the family hostage.

From the start, investigators said this crime “required the presence and assistance of more than one person.”

Wint’s defense team plans to argue the crime could not have been carried out by one person.

Wint claims he is innocent, and police have not arrested anyone else.

Public Defender Janet Mitchell said this in a statement: "The defense is anxious for the jury to see how the government came to accuse the wrong man of these heinous crimes and how, in their rush to judgment, they overlooked the true culprits.”

Mitchell also plans to expose, what she called, failures of law enforcement to properly investigate.

WUSA9 spoke to former DC Police Chief Cathy Lanier last year who said she believed it was possible that Wint committed the crime by himself despite previous reports.

If convicted, Wint could face a maximum of life in prison without parole.

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