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tv   CNN Special Report  CNN  June 23, 2015 9:30pm-10:01pm PDT

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anything to return the escapees back here behind bars. until then, richard matt and david sweat will remain on the u.s u.s. marshal most wanted list. reserved for only the most dangerous criminals. i'm randi kaye. thanks for watching. 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
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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.
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>> he was passionate beyond belief. no matter how he did on track, he would be smiling 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, breakfast, go to the track. >> amy and savvas followed philip all over the country completely devoted to their son and his sport. >> i believe it was the third day when he had his accident. >> during the race, philip crashed his go-cart. >> was not phased by his accident any shape or form. >> 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? just the fact he was -- >> i obviously wish he was not home. something you don't really want
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to kind of think about, you know. >> sources tell us firefighters believe somebody splashed accelerant in various places around the house. >> reporter: 11 days after that race, the bodies of philip, the mother and 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: beyond evil. it all happened inside of this mansion in one of washington, d.c.'s wealthiest neighborhoods. >> woodland drive is known for having the biggest most expensive houses in the city. >> reporter: not far from the vice president's home 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.
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>> reporter: the family's other housekeeper was supposed to be there, but on wednesday, may 13th, her boss, savvas savopoulous, left her a voicemail and 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 assistant director of the fbi 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 hollering? >> reporter: a few hours later, gutierrez gets a text from amy savopoulos. i'm making sure that you don't come today.
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>> that would indicate the event started. that the offenders or offender is in the house with amy. that she is under their control. >> what did you first think when you got it? >> i called her right away. >> did she answer? >> no. >> hi. you reached my cell phone. >> 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. >> that looks like the pivotal piece of evidence. >> reporter: later that night,
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court records reveal that savva made arrangements 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. 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: a short time after the assistant drops the cash off
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at the mansion, but for some reason that doesn't stop the heinous crimes. forensic expert lawrence kopalinski. >> these four victims had been stabbed and bludgeoned. perhaps we will never know where that rage emanates from. whoever did this had to wait a long time before he got his money. >> 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 and vera 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
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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. >> this was a really good family. >> reporter: 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. music: etta james "at last" (plays throughout) sometimes, at last doesn't happen at first. ♪ your dad just kissed my mom. turning two worlds into one takes love. helping protect that world takes state farm.
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property firefighters douse 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
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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. the results, nothing short of 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. >> reporter: veteran forensic 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.
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>> any human that is that evil is just unthinkable. >> reporter: mike was shocked when he heard what happened to the friend he had made decades earlier as a church alter boy. >> 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.
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they first met in high school and went to the university of maryland where savvas seriously pursued amy for four years. >> i think he did ask her out. she finally did say yeah. >> reporter: what his 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 father's business -- american ironworks. >> he was excited about it. he wanted to help his dad and be successful right along with him. >> a partnership that brought awe abundant 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.
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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 washington charities, amy was a regular volunteer at the kids' school. >> they seemed like a nice, quiet, washington couple who lived under the radar. if anything, they deliberately kept a low profile. >> savvas didn't care about wealth. he would have given money away. he was all about the experience. that sounds like 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 year-long getaway to the caribbean. >> family was the most important thing. he was the kind of person who wanted to be in love and have a family and grow old with them. >> reporter: in summer 2015 approached, the savopoulos family was growing up.
quote
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abigail was graduating from high school. katrina was searching for colleges with her mother. savvas was opening a martial arts studio something he dreamed of since he was a teenager. and philip was living his dream as a go-cart racer. >> definitely not fear. he wasn't scared of it at all. >> reporter: jay howard spoke to us about his young student with an old soul. >> he was -- best way to describe him, like 10 years old going on 35. he was so mature, so well spoken. it was clear he had a great education. great parents and savvas was great with him. >> reporter: howard remembers one of the last dinners they had together. >> waiter comes over and says, would you like a bread basket? and savvas says to philip, would you like some bread and he goes
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hmm, i think i'm going to have to pass on the bread. i'm trying to watch my carbs this week. >> 10 years old. >> 10. i mean, you know as much garbage as you want. >> reporter: philip was inseparable from his dad, especially since sisters abigail and katrina were away at boarding school. >> he was there 24/7, wherever we went savvas was with him. >> reporter: a bond, investigators believe the killer used to get whatever he wanted. >> it became clear he was torturing the child. i believe it was to intimidate the parents. >> savvas is someone who was in control of situations. he would have done anything. his only son, beloved wife, he would have done anything for them. he was a protector. for him not to be able to protect, must have been awful. >> reporter: an awful end, but
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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. we're going to start watching a movie in the chevy malibu. ♪ (kids laughing) he's flying ok guys, pause the movie we're going to watch the rest in the toyota camry. hit play again ehhh. what happened? you can't watch the movie. ugh... no network connection. who wants to go back in the chevy malibu? me! let's go! peace out! chevrolet. the first and only car company to bring built-in 4g lte wi-fi to cars, trucks and crossovers. this is cool. yeah. headache? motrin helps you be an unstoppable, let's-rock-this-concert- like-it's-1999 kind of mom. when pain tries to stop you, there's motrin. motrin works fast to stop pain where it starts. make it happen with new motrin liquid gels.
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a city in shock. a neighborhood in fear. >> i never seen anything like this. >> reporter: a family devastated. as washington, d.c. mourns for the savopoulos family, investigators begin their search for who could be behind such a horrific crime. >> thoo >> at least on three of the four victims there were injured discovered, blunt force or sharp object injuries. >> reporter: hours after the killings, 13 miles from their home, police find the family's blue porsche engulfed in flames. >> i did see smoke, fire coming out from the front side of the car. >> reporter: police release dramatic surveillance video showing an unknown individual
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fleeing that burning vehicle. >> anybody who may have information about the blue 2008 porsche, please call us with whatever information you may have. >> reporter: then a major break from an unlikely source. pizza crust. found by investigators at the mansion. >> there's a lot of dna in saliva and every time you bite in to something, you are leaving small amount of saliva behind. >> reporter: it is take on the the forensics lab and immediately tested for dna. >> compare that developed dna to a national database and out popped, there it went. >> reporter: police have their suspect. >> the suspect is 34-year-old daron wint. >> reporter: almost a week after the shocking murders, wint's face is everywhere. daron wint was born in guyana. a marine recruit who dropped out of basic training and has a
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violent criminal past. from 2003 to 2005. he worked as a welder at american iron works the same company owned by savvas savopoulos and sources say he had a reputation as a problem employee. >> if you are going to commit a crime like this, and the victim knows you, i think he had made up his mind that when he came in to that house they would leave no witnesses. >> reporter: police track wint to his girlfriend's house in brooklyn, new york, but just miss him. 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 robert hernandez awaits. >> we knew he was probably staying in a hotel. so we sent an advanced team to figure out which room he was in. >> reporter: the timing is incredibly fortunate.
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>> the advance team told us they just took off. they are going up route 1. >> reporter: hernandez and a small fleet of law enforcement officials chase two vehicles. the white chevy cruise, wint is riding in along with a truck of unknown associates. >> i could see the truck and car. so he pulled in right behind. >> reporter: after the suspect vehicles perform a bizarre u-turn, hernandez radios for helicopter backup and makes his move. >> i decided we just had to take the cars down. >> reporter: it was right here, right? >> that's right. command was given, go, go, go. and we did it just like we practiced. another car da another car came around and blocked it off. >> reporter: hernandez and his team removed the occupants of the vehicles. >> reporter: was he combative or compliant? >> when he came out his body posture and look on his face was like he was thinking about running but we were on top of
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him and he never had a chance. >> reporter: finally after an intense 48-hour manhunt wint is captured. >> such a horrible situation. such a monster. i felt great. >> reporter: office ars find $10,000 in the vehicle, same denominations as the stacks of money dropped off at the house. for now only daron wint is charged with the killing. cnn is learning police are investigating whether daron wint's cousin is an accomplice. his cousin worked at american iron works and fired around the time daron wint left in 2005. his cousin lettened to burn down the headquarters behind me here. a threat taken so is seriously a restraining order was taken out against him. >> it leads to motive. even though it's been almost ten years, for some people they harbor that resentment and that
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resentment builds up until they feel they have an opportunity to strike back. >> reporter: and police are looking in to whether one of wint's brother was also involved. he was in wint's convoy during the manhunt. and what about the man seen driving the savopoulos porsche? >> the witness said he had short, well-groomed hair, very different description from daron wint. what does that tell you? >> is this a co-conspirator? did he call a friend and say come get this car for me? if so, who's the friend? >> reporter: police were interested early on in savvas's assistant jordan wallace because he lied several times about the money dropoff. at this point, investigators don't believe he committed the crime. as of now, daron wint had ordered held without bail. cnn has obtained new information about wint. his green card was already in jeopardy when he was arrested in march for receiving stolen
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property, but immigration was never notified about that arrest. >> daron wint was arrested in march. i.c.e. never received the fingerprints until he is arrested for the murders and that tells me there is a break down in the system somewhere. >> reporter: so many questions still remain. [ bells ringing ] >> reporter: as family and friends say good-bye to philip, amy, savvas and vera. mainly, why would anyone want to hurt this family? >> may never know the true story. >> we may never know. ♪ >> i just picture the three of them together and that's the only thing that makes me feel
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better. that at least they are together. new details about the woman who allegedly helped two killers escape from a maximum security prison. the confederate flag issue. south carolina debate now spreads nationwide. and u.s. response after accusing the nsa of spying on french presidents. >> welcome to our viewers in the united states and around the world. i'm seine asher. >> great to have you with us. i'm john vause. you are watching cnn newsroom.

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