WASHINGTON -- A unusual gambit in the Mansion Murders trial.
The defendant himself took the stand, admitting he was in the multi-million dollar DC home where four people were held hostage, beaten, and stabbed to death.
But Darron Wint insists he had no idea they were there.
Sniffling and crying at times, Wint pointed the finger at his brother.
Wint's lawyers say he did not kill Savvas, Amy, and their son Phillip Savopoulos, along with their housekeeper, Vera Figuaroa.
Wint described how his brother Darrell had promised a day of work on May 13, 2015, when police say the family was taken hostage. But Wint said when he showed up to meet Darrell, his brother told him he couldn't offer him any work, but would pay him to use his van.
Darron Wint said he spent that day and the next night hanging out and drinking at a friend's house in Southeast. D.C. He said Darrell showed up the next morning, not with his van, but with what Darron later learned was Amy Savopoulos' blue convertible Porsche.
Wint said his brother told him he could help him with about a hour of work that he still had left, and that he took him to the mansion in Woodley Park, where Wint said he gave him a cold slice of pizza, and he ate part of it, but left the crust behind. Police say they found his DNA on the pizza crust.
But Wint said when his brother told him the work consisted of "unloading" the house -- stealing -- he backed out and left.
Wint said he never went upstairs, never knew there was anyone up there, and had no idea they were being held hostage.
He insists that the first time he learned what had happened was when he looked at the TV at his home and saw pictures of the mansion in flames.
Prosecutors are slated to cross examine Wint on Thursday.
