WASHINGTON -- Almost three-and-a-half years ago, the bloody, brutal, and fiery deaths of four people in a Northwest D.C. mansion shocked the country.
On Thursday, prosecutors finished presenting their evidence against the only guy ever charged in the alleged ransom murders -- Daron Wint, a fired welder at the Savopoulos' family company.
The case should go to the jury early next week.
The prosecution case against Daron Wint wrapped with a whimper. The assistant US Attorney tried to reinforce the reasons Wint might have harbored a grudge against his former boss, Savvas Savopoulos.
Prosecutors say Wint held the family hostage in the Woodley Park home. Savvas and Amy Savopolous, their son Phillip, 10, as well as their housekeeper, Vera Figuroa, were all tied up with zip ties and duct tape for more than 24 hours, allegedly to extract a $40-thousand ransom from the wealthy businessman.
But even after getting the money, prosecutors say Wint murdered everyone, beating them with a bat, stabbing them with a sword, and setting them and the house on fire.
In the home, detectives found Wint's DNA on a knife and a pizza crust... and a hair matching Wint in a room with three of the bodies.
Surveillance video captured a man who looked like Wint fleeing running near the scene where Amy Savopoulos' Porsche was set on fire.
Wint's alibi? He says he was at a friend's house. But that friend is dead and can't testify.
Wint has tried to blame his brother Darrell for the murders, testifying that Darrell lured him to the house and fed him the pizza.
So prosecutors this week put Darrell on the stand, who denied he had anything to do with the murders. "He's my big brother," Darrell testified. "He should be ashamed of himself."
Jurors just got their final instructions from the judge. Closing arguments from prosecutors and Wint's lawyers should start Monday.
