vigilant, and so does the public, tracking down any lead. anything to return the escapees back here behind bars. until then, richard matt and david sweat will remain on the u.s. marshal's most wanted list, reserved for only the most dangerous criminals. i'm randy kaye, thank you for joining us. the following is a cnn special report. a model family. >> these are people that really loved each other. this was a really good family. >> living a charmed life. >> they were the perfect example of how you live life. >> until the unthinkable.

>> this is one of the worst kinds of crimes that could possibly happen. >> the family and their housekeeper, held hostage, tortured in unspeakable ways and left for dead. their beautiful home torched. >> anybody who could commit that crime is just -- an absolute monster. >> then, an incredible clue. >> how critical is this pizza crust? >> that looks like the pivotal piece of evidence. >> that leads to a 48-hour manhunt and arrest. one suspect behind bars and investigators hunting other leads. >> four dead bodies, a sense of urgency. these people had a plan. >> tonight, a cnn special report: the d.c. mansion murders. sunday, may 3rd in phoenix, arizona, a race day for philip, the 10-year-old son of savvas

and amy savopoulos. >> he would be smiling from ear to ear. >> jay howard was his coach, in his interview he described their last race. >> a typical day, we would get up in the morning and go to the track. >> amy and savvas followed philip all over the country participating in his sports. >> i believe it was the third day when he had his accident. >> during the race, philip crashed his go-cart. >> was not fazed in any way. >> he suffered a mild concussion and doctors ordered him back to d.c. for rest. >> rest for a few days, little bit of homework. >> but home would be no safe haven. >> does that weigh on you at

all? >> i obviously wish he was not home. something you don't really want to kind of think about, you know. >> sources tell us firefighters believe somebody splashed accelerant in various places around the house. >> around the house, the mother, father, and housekeeper, figueroa, were found in the mansion, all in cold blood. >> all of us are focused on finding the perpetrator of this evil. >> reporter: behind this mansion, it happened in one of the wealthiest neighborhoods. it is not far from the vice president and several embassies. >> it's the last place you would expect something like that to happen. >> reporter: voice mails and text messages helped to piece together the family's 18 hours of hell inside the mansion.

>> i'm lucky that i'm still here. >> reporter: the family's other housekeeper was supposed to be there, but on wednesday, may 13th, her boss, savvas savopoulous, told her not to come to work. if you listen to the message you can hear this message in the background. >> i hope you get this message. amy is in bed sick tonight and was sick this afternoon. and vera offered to stay to help her out so she will stay the night here. >> reporter: the former investigative director said this. >> it would tell me to get the recording analyzed to see if there are other noises spiking up in the background. >> and she was sick in the afternoon. is that somebody in the background under duress screaming? >> reporter: a few hours later, gutierrez gets a text from amy

savopoulos. i'm making sure that you don't come today. >> that would indicate the event started. that the offenders or offender is in the house with amy. that she is first under their control. >> what did you first think when you got it? >> i called her right away. >> did she answer? >> no. >> later at 9:00 p.m., amy orders two pizzas from dominos, but gives unusual instructions, ring the bell and leave the pies on the front porch. when the driver arrives, the porch lights are on but the house is dark. >> it's just so eerie, to think about -- little did that pizza driver know. >> right, so he is walking up feet away from torture -- from sadism, from mayhem inside the house. >> reporter: the leftover pizza would become a telltale clue.

later, that night, there is a text message for a package to be delivered to the mansion the next morning. $40,000 in cash. an agonizing night passes on woodland drive. the victims are beaten and tortured. >> it is just another reflection of how psychotic and sadistic this event was. >> reporter: thursday morning, vera's house finds his wife still not home. he goes to the mansion looking for her. knocks on the door, but nothing. >> and then he gets a phone call from savvas saying, oh, i'm sorry, i meant to tell you your wife spent the night here she is not here at the moment. what does that tell you? >> well, certainly that mr. savopouls is still discussing

it. >> reporter: the assistant drops the cash at the mansion, but for some reason that doesn't stop the heinous crimes. >> these four victims had been stabbed and killed. >> it seems as though the killer enjoyed going about his work. >> reporter: at 1:30 p.m., the d.c. fire department gets a call reporting a fire on woodland drive. flames are pouring from the second floor coming from philip's bedroom. >> we do know at this point that the fire appears to be intentionally set. >> reporter: then, the discovery of the grisly murders, savvas, amy and philip found in the house, the three were in separate bedrooms, with vera and

amy bound in chairs, and savvas on the ground. >> the 10-year-old was the bargaining chip. the threat was made against him while getting the adults to do whatever the perpetrator wanted. >> reporter: a gruesome end to an 18-hour nightmare. when we come back. the savopoulos family. loving, close-knit. why would anyone want to hurt them? >> it's really gut-wrenching. >> reporter: and why was their suspected killer still walking the streets? >> there is a breakdown in the system somewhere. and sleep depr. bring us those who want to feel well rested and ready to enjoy the morning ahead. aleve pm. the first to combine a safe sleep aid... plus the 12 hour pain relieving strength of aleve. for pain relief that can last until the am. so you... you... and you can be a morning person again.

aleve pm for a better am. now available with an easy open cap. a good host, is a good host no matter where he's hosting. ♪ an hors d'oeuvre for the table? ♪ perhaps even an elegant gesture for the neighbors.

♪ stella artois host beautifully we danced in a german dance group. i wore lederhosen.man. when i first got on ancestry i was really surprised that i wasn't finding all of these germans in my tree. i decided to have my dna tested through ancestry dna. the big surprise was we're not german at all. 52% of my dna comes from scotland and ireland. so, i traded in my lederhosen for a kilt. ancestry has many paths to discovering your story. get started for free at ancestry.com.

satisfy, savopou sati . once inside the property, firefighters doused the flames. they quickly found four bodies. >> three of the four victims killed yesterday suffered blunt force trauma before the fire began. >> there were injuries discovered, appear to be blunt force or sharp object injuries. >> it's a nightmare end to a fairy tale life. >> he tortured them, he killed them, he was setting their home on fire. >> in the days after the fire, a possible murder weapon. a bloody baseball bat is found. police say this shoe print by the mansion's french doors shows

the killer or killers force their way into the home. and the autopsies of savvas, amy and philip savopoulos, as well as their housekeeper, vera, are complete, short of nothing horrific. >> i think it became clear to the first responders that the child had been tortured. multiple stab wounds. the son was engulfed in flame to the point where the body was so charred that they could not even determine gender. >> the veteran scientist, lawrence koblinski. >> there is a lot of anger, rage and hostility. and it makes you wonder what the motive would be for somebody to inflict that kind of suffering. >> any human that is that evil is just unthinkable.

>> he was shocked when he heard about the events. >> this kind of thing only happens in the movies, not to somebody you know in real life. and particularly to a couple and family so well liked and well respected in the community. >> and that is what is so shocking about this. these are shady people, these are really family-oriented good people. >> until that shocking day in may, the savopoulos family lived a charmed life. they had it all. savvas's college friend laurie diamond remembers the early days. >> he said there was somebody that he always had a crush on. and that all she had to do was say yes. >> that someone was amy martin, the daughter of an army colonel. savvas was a privileged son of a wealthy greek aristocrat. they went to the university of maryland, where savvas pursued

her for years. >> i think he did ask her out. >> what was he like after that? >> the happiest person you had ever seen. >> after graduation, savvas went to law school, amy went to work. they married in 1994. >> she was his whole world. and off they went on their journey. >> a journey that quickly led to children. abby was the first, katerina was next, then philip, as savvas' family grew, so did his bank account. he joined his family's business, american iron works. >> he was excited about it. he wanted to help his dad and be successful right along with him. >> a partnership that brought wealth and abiding friendship. >> we went to dinner one night, and him and his dad were like the two kids that needed to be separated in class. and they were so close. and so funny. and i think he really looked up to his dad. >> and followed in his

philanthropist footsteps. savvas and amy were active in volunteer organizations, they were active in philip's school. >> they were like a washington couple who lived under the radar. if anything, they deliberately kept a low profile. >> this guy didn't care about wealth. he would have given his money away. it sounds like that is what he was like with his family. >> a tight-knit family, whether it was amy leading them on hikes or savvas taking them on a caribbean getaway. >> savvas was just the kind of person who wanted to be in love and have a family and grow old with them. >> and as summer 2015 approached, the savopoulos family was growing up. abby graduating from school, katerina searching for colleges,

philip was searching for a martial arts school. and philip was living his dream. >> very fast learner, definitely no fear, he was not scared of it at all. >> the coach spoke to us exclusively about his young student with an old soul. >> he was -- the best way to describe it, ten years old going on 35. i mean, he was so mature. so well spoken, very clear he had a great education. great parents, and savvas was great. >> howard remembers one of the last dinners they had together. >> the waiter comes over and says would you like a bread basket. and savvas says, philip, would you like some bread? and he goes hmm, yeah, i think i'm going to have to pass on the bread. i'm trying to watch my carbs this week, and i'm like --

you're ten. you can have as much carbs as you want. >> philip was inseparable from his dad. especially when his sisters were away at boarding school. >> he was with them, 24/7, wherever we went, savvas was with him. >> a bond investigators believe the killer used to get what he wanted. >> it became clear that he was torturing the child. i tend to believe it was to intimidate the parents. >> savvas was always someone who was in control of situations. he would have done anything. his only son, his beloved wife. i mean, he would have done anything for them. he was a protector, and for him to not be able to protect, must have been awful. >> an awful end, but who was behind it? and why? a dramatic manhunt for one alleged killer leads to the

discovery of new clues, exclusive information when we come back. a lot of peoplei didn't believe in me. but things took off when i got a domain and built my website all at godaddy. now i can tell the doubters to stick it. hey, honey. stick it! stick it! stick it! nana? hi... stick it! can you give your mommy a message for me? stick it! get a domain, website and email starting at $1/month all at godaddy.

when were you first when you fell in love? when you got married? when you had kids? when did you first fight to be considered a family? when you fell in love? when you got married? when you had kids? family isn't defined by who you love, but how. tylenol®.

>> a family devastated. investigators begin their search for who could be behind such a horrible crime. >> at least on three of the four victims, there were injuries discovered. appeared to be blupt force or sharp object injuries. >> hours after the kitings, 13 miles from their home, police find the family's blue porche engulfed in flames. >> i did see smoke and fire coming out from the side of the car. >> and police released dramatic grainy surveillance video

showing an unknown individual fleaing that burning vehicle. >> anybody that may have information about the blue, 2008 porche, please call us with information that you may have. >> then, a major break from an unlikely source. pizza crust found by investigators at the mansion. >> is there's a lot of dna in saliva. and every time you bite into something, you are leaving small amounts of saliva behind. >> the pizza is taken to a forensic lab and immediately tested for dna. >> they compare that dna to a national data base. >> police have their suspect. >> the suspect is 34-year-old darren dillen wendt. >> almost a week after the shocking murders, lindt's face is everywhere. darren was born in gayanna. he has a violent criminal past.

from 2003 to 2005, wendt worked as a welder at american iron works, the same company owned by vocalists. sources say he had a reputation as a problem employee. >> if you're going to commit a crime like this and the victim knows you, i think he had made up his mind that when he came into that house, they would leave no witnesses. >> police track him to his girlfrie girlfriend's house in brooklyn, new york. then, a desperate search leads to a hotel not in new york, but all the way back to washington, d.c. where u.s. marshal fernandez waits. >> we knew he was probably staying in a hotel. >> the timing is incredibly fortunate. >> while the advanced team told

us hey, they just took off, they're going up rt. 1. >> fernandez and a small fleet of law enforcement officials chase two vehicles. the white chevy cruz along with a truck of unknown associates. >> i could see. >> after the suspect's vehicles perform a bizarre u-turn, fernandez radios for helicopter back-up and makes his move. >> and it was right here, right? >> that's right. the man was given rngs go, go, go. just like we practiced. >> fernandez and his team quickly remove the occupants of both vehicles. >> what was wendt like? was he combative at all? was he compliant? >> his body posture and the look on his face was thinking about running. but we were right on top of him.

he never got a chance. >> finally, after an intense 48 man hount, wendt is captured. >> it was a a horrible situation. he's such a monster. i felt great. >> officers find at least $10,000 in the vehicles. hundred toll lar bills. the same denomination as the stacks of money dropped off at the house. for now, only wendt is charged with the killings. >> police are invest gating whether darren wendt's cousin is an accomplice. we learned that his cousin threatened to burn down the headquarters right behind me here. >> it leads to motive. even though it's been almost ten years, for some people, they harbor that resentment and that

resentiment goes up until they get an opportunity to strike back. >> and police are looxing into whether one of wendt's brothers was also ininvolved. he was in wendt's convoy during the man hunt. and what about the man seen driving the porche? >> the witnesses said that he had short, well-groomed hair. very different description. what does that tell you? >> is this a co-conspirator. did he call a friend and say come get this car for me. and, if so, who's the friend? >> police were interested early on in hirz asis tant because he lied several times about the money dropoff. but, at this point, investigators don't believe he committed the crime. as of now, darren wendt is ordered held without bail. and cnn has obtained new information about wendt. his green card was already in jeopardy when he was arrested in march for receiving stolen property.

but immigration was never notified about that arrest. >> if darren wendt is arrested in march and ice never received those finger prints then it tells me that there's a breakdown in the system somewhere. >> so many questions still remain. as family and friends say good-bye to phillip, amy, saba and berra. mainly, why would anyone want to hurt this family? >> we may never get the true story. we may never know. >> we may never know. >> i just picture the three of them together. and that's the only thing that makes me feel better. is that at least they're

together. >> man hunt, police and held kopters, are they closing in on two escaped killers. this is cnn tonight. i'm don lemon. investigators hot on the trail of richard matt and daifrd sweat. live at the scene for you. plus, how things have changed. a confederate flag turning toxic across the south. but, as lawmakers debate and retailers from amazon to sears, is it time for an even bolder statement. should this country's first african american president apologize for slavery? plus, is it time to take donald trump seriously? in a brand isn't it true new hampshire poll, he is second ly