Our Worst Fears

I Read The News Today, Oh God… 

It’s accepted practice in Washington to release bad news late on a Friday afternoon.  But it wasn’t mere bad news that was going to hit on Halloween weekend 2008; this was a real-life horror story.

Dominating the headlines as October 2008 was coming to a close, was the windup of Campaign ’08.  Barack Obama would end his run for president in the battleground state of Virginia – not far from an actual battleground, Manassas.  Or Bull Run for some of our more ‘traditional’ readers.

Little else was making headlines back then except politics, but exactly one year ago today, DC’s Fox affiliate, WTTG, broke the news of Dylan Ward’s arrest in Miami.  Very few new details on the crime were released.

halloween AHowever by the time all the little devils, goblins and princesses (and elves) were done with their trick or treating, the real monsters, according to court authorities, were starting to take sharper focus.   Scary, monsters.

The Washington Post’s Paul Duggan and Clarence Williams took over and on page A-1 they began the litany of the grim details:  needle marks and paralytics, towels, S & M sex, screams, multiple knives, blood and no blood, the t-shirt, the 9-1-1 call and finally, William Shakespeare on his deathbed.

A year ago, the crimes connected to the Swann Street defendants became public in the Ward affidavit; the Rosetta Stone for trying to decode this nightmare.

But this was no Halloween spooky story.  This appeared to be depravity.

The full story and some bittersweet irony after the jump.

Included in the Post story is attorney David Schertler’s boisterous defense of his client Dylan Ward:

Ward is “completely innocent” and that “he has not committed any crime, he has not obstructed justice and will prove this in court.”

How Team Ward intends to prove anything in court is in question.  Proving something is not the strategy we anticipate from the defense team which appears intent on disproving everything.

Speaking of Ward, the Post touches on the sexual relationship he had with Joe Price, but with rather antiseptic language.  No mention is made of the alleged S&M practices or the sex toys seized from the home.

One element not making it into the print edition of the Post, but found in an online version, is a statement from Kathy Wone:

Attorneys for Wone’s widow, Katherine, said in a statement that the developments “appear to confirm our worst fears” about the night Wone was killed. The Wone family called on the former housemates to provide “a full and honest account” of what happened. “It is never too late to tell the truth.”

Ironically, nowhere in the news that weekend was an event being held in Big Stone Gap, Virginia.  Located near the Tennessee border, Big Stone Gap is about as far away as you can get from Swann Street yet still be in the Commonwealth.

At Mountain Empire Community College, nominees for the second annual Robert E. Wone Award for Exemplary Service were being honored.

Anthony Simpson would go on to win.   No papers covered that.

-posted by Craig

Cover-Up Alleged in D.C. Killing Of Lawyer

Paul Duggan and Clarence Williams
Washington Post Staff Writers     November 1, 2008

A police affidavit made public yesterday provided a wealth of new details about one of the District’s most mysterious homicide cases, yet it failed to answer the central questions of who killed prominent lawyer Robert Wone in an elegant Dupont Circle townhouse — and why.

The people who probably could help provide that information — three male housemates who lived in the $1.2 million residence — covered up evidence in a bid to mask what actually happened, the affidavit alleges. One has now been charged with obstructing justice as authorities step up pressure to solve the case.

Authorities said from the start that Wone, 32, general counsel for Radio Free Asia, was fatally stabbed late Aug. 2, 2006, while staying overnight at the Swann Street NW townhouse.  Yesterday, they revealed that he was probably drugged into a paralytic-like state and sexually assaulted. The three stab wounds were neat and nearly identical, suggesting that Wone was incapacitated and unable to fend off his attacker, the affidavit says.

Wone had worked late that night and was staying in a guest room at the home of an old college friend.  His body was found on a fold-out couch; inside his mouth was the night guard he used to prevent grinding his teeth, suggesting that he was attacked after he had gone to sleep.

The 14-page document lays out in excruciating, often graphic detail why investigators have concluded that Wone was not killed by an intruder. There were needle marks on Wone’s neck, chest, foot and hand, supporting the idea that he was drugged.

There also was evidence of an unspecified sexual assault but no signs of a struggle in the room.  Nothing was stolen, including Wone’s wallet, BlackBerry and watch, all of which were nearby, the affidavit says.

It says that Wone was dead “for some period of time” before paramedics arrived and that the crime scene appeared to have been cleaned up. Even a purported murder weapon — a bloody kitchen knife found on a nearby nightstand — was not used in the killing, the affidavit says, but was placed there to throw police off the track.

The document was filed to support the obstruction-of-justice charge filed against Dylan Ward, one of the housemates who have drawn much scrutiny from police.  No one has been charged in the stabbing.  Sources familiar with the investigation said authorities have not settled on a suspect or suspects in the killing. Police officials yesterday declined to say where the investigation is headed.

Ward, 38, was arrested this week in Miami-Dade County, Fla., where he now lives.  He agreed in court yesterday not to contest extradition to the District on the obstruction charge, authorities said. His arrest was first reported by WTTG-TV (Channel 5).

His attorney, David Schertler, said that Ward is “completely innocent” and that “he has not committed any crime, he has not obstructed justice and will prove this in court.”

Lawyers for the other men — Joe Price, 37, and Victor Zaborsky, 42 — previously have said that they committed no crimes and that they fully cooperated with investigators.  The men and their attorneys did not return calls seeking comment yesterday.  In statements to the police, they have said that they saw nothing and that the killer must have been an intruder.

The affidavit provides the most complete account yet of the investigative work done during the past two years. Police took control of the house for three weeks after the killing, removing flooring, pieces of walls, even sink traps.  The house, which has since been sold, was so torn up that for a time it was uninhabitable.

Wone, who was president-elect of the  pre=”the “>Asia Pacific American Bar Association, attended the College of William and Mary in the mid-1990s with Price, a Washington lawyer. Because Wone had a late night at his downtown law office, Price invited him to sleep at his residence, in the 1500 block of Swann Street.  The affidavit says that Price had sexual relationships with Zaborsky and with Ward; Wone, who lived in Oakton and was married, was heterosexual, it states.

The affidavit says that Price and Zaborsky typically slept together in a third-floor bedroom. Ward had a second-floor bedroom, down the hall from the guest room where Wone was settling in.  Wone had called his wife, Kathy, at 9:30 p.m. to say that he would be staying with Price. It remains unclear exactly when Wone arrived at the townhouse.  The affidavit quotes a neighbor as hearing a scream while watching the 11 o’ clock news.

Zaborsky called police at 11:49 p.m. to report that the housemates had found Wone dead, the affidavit says.

Depending on what time the scream occurred during the news — near the beginning of the broadcast or the end — there was a 19- to 49-minute delay between the shout and Zaborsky’s emergency call, the affidavit says.

But the affidavit alleges that Wone had been dead even longer.  “The evidence suggests that the scream came not from Mr. Wone, who was already incapacitated at the time he was stabbed, but rather from Zaborsky, who admitted to the police that he screamed upon seeing Robert’s body,” the affidavit says.

Two paramedics said the men acted casual when help arrived, exhibiting none of the urgent or frightened behavior that rescuers usually encounter in such situations, the affidavit says.  One of the paramedics, seeing no signs of disarray when he and his partner arrived, said it appeared as if the victim had been stabbed, then “showered, redressed and placed in the bed,” the affidavit says.   Based on the stab wounds, the affidavit says, the crime scene should have been much bloodier.

The bloody knife on the nightstand did not match Wone’s stab wounds, the affidavit states.  Fibers from a white towel were found on it. A blood-splatter analyst concluded that the cloth was used to smear the knife with Wone’s blood, the affidavit says.  Although Wone had been stabbed while wearing a gray William and Mary T-shirt and although there were holes in the shirt corresponding to his wounds, there were no gray fibers on the supposed murder weapon on the nightstand.

Police say they believe the real murder weapon was a knife that was missing from a cutlery box that was kept in a cabinet in Ward’s bedroom. Police said that they obtained an identical knife from the manufacturer and that its size and shape were consistent with the wounds.

In Ward’s bedroom, close to the guest room where Wone died, police found a New Yorker magazine on the floor.  It was open to an article that included “a full-page drawing of William Shakespeare lying dead in bed: his body is shown positioned similar to the way Mr. Wone’s body was positioned when it was found,” the affidavit says.

Staff writer Paul Schwartzman and staff researcher Meg Smith contributed to this report.

.

0 0 votes
Article Rating
16 Comments
Inline Feedbacks
View all comments
Anon. in Arlington
Anon. in Arlington
14 years ago

When the news story broke and I heard it by the insufferable Pat Collins on NBC4 news, I could hardly believe my ears. It was a shock to hear that Joe Price was mentioned in the affidavit for the arrest of Dylan Ward. This was the first time I had heard the details of the murder as I was out of town during the month of August 2006. I had heard about Robert Wone’s murder in passing the Fall of 2006 but did not invest time in following the story.

Before the newscast was over, I ran to my computer to download the affidavit. The salacious details made me gasp and bit by bit I shared the information with my husband. He asked to read the whole thing. We read it together—twice that night.

WTF sort of sums it up. We talked about it a good part of that weekend. “Why? How? Stupid waste. How sad for Wone and his family. What was going through Robert’s mind during that time.” are all things we would ask and say. It was, and remains horrifying.

My husband and I both had separate interactions with Joe Price on a professional level within the last 10 years. Joe was assigned to the case I brought to Arent Fox a number of years ago. I found Joe to be bright and confident without being cocky or arrogant. I was impressed with his educational background and poise. I credited Joe when we won the case.

After reading the affidavit in dismay and shock, it was hard to believe Joe could be involved at any level. Many questions left us scratching our head (and continue to do so to this day). “How could someone with so much behind him, so much talent, and so much potential, and a promising future get mixed up with people that would kill?” was the first general question. As more information has come to light, a shared blame for Robert’s murder is more evident. It is a rare occurance to shake a hand of someone and learn years later that since then have blood on their hands (read that in as many levels as you wish). We have grown to accept that those who we hold high esteem can hold the dark secrets. The “dark secrets” we view are primarily the murder and cover-up. Drug use and sexual activities are just part of the human condition. What we cannot accept is Joe’s deceitfulness. It is evident that he knows what took place in his home that night. He may have even participated in either the murder itself or the clean-up. It is hard to fathom a love bond between adults that would so strong that would keep the three defendants tied. A love between parent and child is one thing, but as my husband told me, “If you were ever involved in a murder, I would send you to jail myself.”

My comments above are about Joe only because he is the only one of the triad I/we ever met. How many of us have shaken the hand of a murder investigation? Hope never to again.

After sharing the affidavit with others over the past year, more than 20 of our friends and colleagues have joined us in following WMRW. We are in this for the long haul – until the end and until justice is served. It is hard to rationalize things and people that are irrational. It is also difficult to fathom is that another “perfect crime” may have been committed. We prepare for the injustice of not one of them serving time. Their own living hell at the moment is nowhere near what the culprit/s deserve.

Keep up the outstanding work guys!

Bea
Bea
14 years ago

Hi Anon, I truly respect anyone who looks beyond the facade presented by a ‘friend’ when the evidence appears to be compelling. It shocks me to see all the well-wishers of the trio outside courthouse appearances – I wonder if they simply bury their heads in the sand and refuse to read the affidavit, or if Joe & Co. have managed (somehow) to provide an alternate theory that rings more “true” than the intruders who clean the mess and shower their victims.

I digress. Good for you and the 20 cohorts who know one/more of the defendants and want justice.

Mike
Mike
14 years ago
Reply to  Bea

Bea, maybe we shouldn’t judge the “well-wishers” too hastily. Concern trolls have been suspected on this blog. Couldn’t there be some on the trouple’s side as well? You know: “How awful for you, Joe! How are you holding up? Do you want to talk about it? Here, have some wine….” What better way to gather information & look for clues than to pretend to be a loyal friend? I’m holding out for the best in Scooter Girl, et al!

Bea
Bea
14 years ago
Reply to  Mike

I like your thinking. Along the lines of having Aunt Marcia agreeing to wiretaps of Dylan’s bedroom.

Clio
Clio
14 years ago
Reply to  Bea

Yes — won’t that be great if the ultimate betrayers got betrayed themselves in the most invasive of ways? Fasten your seat belts and girdles, Joe & Co., for the treachery that you started will soon feature the treachery that you most fear. Paid informants as well-wishers — love it!

JusticeForRobert
JusticeForRobert
14 years ago

Thanks for sharing that. I think that there just might be more to that “love bond” than we can imagine at the moment.

Clio
Clio
14 years ago

This was the article that seemed to strip the Zaborsky-Price union of its public status as a couple apart from Dylan Ward. The only “partner” mentioned is the professional one of the paramedic. Of course, those affidavits with their tawdry details quickly dispeled any earlier spin about “witnesses” and Dylan as “room mate.”

Now, the Three were all demoted to housemates with Joe having sexual relationships with both Victor and Dylan. The public airing of the affidavits had the leveling effect of placing Joe and Victor on Dylan’s level. The “polyamorous” language had yet to be invented to describe this “family,” but the respectability of class, race, and propriety that seemed to insulate Joe and Victor at least from public suspicion dissipated with the exposure of the obvious cover-up.

Was the cover-up worse than the crime, as per Watergate? No. But, I believe that indictments for it will eventually bring indictments for the murder, as the rats finally turn on each other — this Christmas eve at Aunt Marcia’s, perhaps?

The article also questioned when exactly Robert got to the townhouse. Have those cell phone tower records been checked yet, Glenn?

The article also suggested Price as the initiator of the sleepover because Wone would be working late. That’s an interesting detail that I had not seen before.

Clio
Clio
14 years ago
Reply to  Clio

News of the knife switch soured the support of more than one prominent Virginian, south of Fredericksburg, for the trouple. The idea that the murder weapon came not from the kitchen but from Little Dyl’s boudoir was, to them, the proverbial straw that broke the camel’s back, as the cliche goes. Could even more shoes drop as Cathy winds up her very, very, very active investigation?

Anon. in Arlington
Anon. in Arlington
14 years ago

When the news story broke and I heard it by the insufferable Pat Collins on NBC4 news, I could hardly believe my ears. It was a shock to hear that Joe Price was mentioned in the affidavit for the arrest of Dylan Ward. This was the first time I had heard the details of the murder as I was out of town during the month of August 2006. I had heard about Robert Wone’s murder in passing the Fall of 2006 but did not invest time in following the story.

Before the newscast was over, I ran to my computer to download the affidavit. The salacious details made me gasp and bit by bit I shared the information with my husband. He asked to read the whole thing. We read it together—twice that night.

WTF sort of sums it up. We talked about it a good part of that weekend. “Why? How? Stupid waste. How sad for Wone and his family. What was going through Robert’s mind during that time.” are all things we would ask and say. It was, and remains horrifying.

My husband and I both had separate interactions with Joe Price on a professional level within the last 10 years. Joe was assigned to the case I brought to Arent Fox a number of years ago. I found Joe to be bright and confident without being cocky or arrogant. I was impressed with his educational background and poise. I credited Joe when we won the case.

After reading the affidavit in dismay and shock, it was hard to believe Joe could be involved at any level. Many questions left us scratching our head (and continue to do so to this day). “How could someone with so much behind him, so much talent, and so much potential, and a promising future get mixed up with people that would kill?” was the first general question. As more information has come to light, a shared blame for Robert’s murder is more evident. It is a rare occurance to shake a hand of someone and learn years later that since then have blood on their hands (read that in as many levels as you wish). We have grown to accept that those who we hold high esteem can hold the dark secrets. The “dark secrets” we view are primarily the murder and cover-up. Drug use and sexual activities are just part of the human condition. What we cannot accept is Joe’s deceitfulness. It is evident that he knows what took place in his home that night. He may have even participated in either the murder itself or the clean-up. It is hard to fathom a love bond between adults that would so strong that would keep the three defendants tied. A love between parent and child is one thing, but as my husband told me, “If you were ever involved in a murder, I would send you to jail myself.”

My comments above are about Joe only because he is the only one of the triad I/we ever met. How many of us have shaken the hand of a murder investigation? Hope never to again.

After sharing the affidavit with others over the past year, more than 20 of our friends and colleagues have joined us in following WMRW. We are in this for the long haul – until the end and until justice is served. It is hard to rationalize things and people that are irrational. It is also difficult to fathom is that another “perfect crime” may have been committed. We prepare for the injustice of not one of them serving time. Their own living hell at the moment is nowhere near what the culprit/s deserve.

Keep up the outstanding work guys!

Bea
Bea
14 years ago

Hi Anon, I truly respect anyone who looks beyond the facade presented by a ‘friend’ when the evidence appears to be compelling. It shocks me to see all the well-wishers of the trio outside courthouse appearances – I wonder if they simply bury their heads in the sand and refuse to read the affidavit, or if Joe & Co. have managed (somehow) to provide an alternate theory that rings more “true” than the intruders who clean the mess and shower their victims.

I digress. Good for you and the 20 cohorts who know one/more of the defendants and want justice.

Mike
Mike
14 years ago
Reply to  Bea

Bea, maybe we shouldn’t judge the “well-wishers” too hastily. Concern trolls have been suspected on this blog. Couldn’t there be some on the trouple’s side as well? You know: “How awful for you, Joe! How are you holding up? Do you want to talk about it? Here, have some wine….” What better way to gather information & look for clues than to pretend to be a loyal friend? I’m holding out for the best in Scooter Girl, et al!

Bea
Bea
14 years ago
Reply to  Mike

I like your thinking. Along the lines of having Aunt Marcia agreeing to wiretaps of Dylan’s bedroom.

Clio
Clio
14 years ago
Reply to  Bea

Yes — won’t that be great if the ultimate betrayers got betrayed themselves in the most invasive of ways? Fasten your seat belts and girdles, Joe & Co., for the treachery that you started will soon feature the treachery that you most fear. Paid informants as well-wishers — love it!

JusticeForRobert
JusticeForRobert
14 years ago

Thanks for sharing that. I think that there just might be more to that “love bond” than we can imagine at the moment.

Clio
Clio
14 years ago

This was the article that seemed to strip the Zaborsky-Price union of its public status as a couple apart from Dylan Ward. The only “partner” mentioned is the professional one of the paramedic. Of course, those affidavits with their tawdry details quickly dispeled any earlier spin about “witnesses” and Dylan as “room mate.”

Now, the Three were all demoted to housemates with Joe having sexual relationships with both Victor and Dylan. The public airing of the affidavits had the leveling effect of placing Joe and Victor on Dylan’s level. The “polyamorous” language had yet to be invented to describe this “family,” but the respectability of class, race, and propriety that seemed to insulate Joe and Victor at least from public suspicion dissipated with the exposure of the obvious cover-up.

Was the cover-up worse than the crime, as per Watergate? No. But, I believe that indictments for it will eventually bring indictments for the murder, as the rats finally turn on each other — this Christmas eve at Aunt Marcia’s, perhaps?

The article also questioned when exactly Robert got to the townhouse. Have those cell phone tower records been checked yet, Glenn?

The article also suggested Price as the initiator of the sleepover because Wone would be working late. That’s an interesting detail that I had not seen before.

Clio
Clio
14 years ago
Reply to  Clio

News of the knife switch soured the support of more than one prominent Virginian, south of Fredericksburg, for the trouple. The idea that the murder weapon came not from the kitchen but from Little Dyl’s boudoir was, to them, the proverbial straw that broke the camel’s back, as the cliche goes. Could even more shoes drop as Cathy winds up her very, very, very active investigation?