Settlement

Robert Wone’s widow settles civil suit in husband’s killing
By Keith L. Alexander, Washington Post

The wife of slain Washington attorney Robert Wone on Wednesday settled a $20 million wrongful death lawsuit against the three roommates who shared the Dupont Circle-area rowhouse where Wone was fatally stabbed five years ago.

The agreement was reached on the fifth anniversary of Wone’s death. On the evening of Aug. 2, 2006, Wone, 32, was fatally stabbed in his chest and abdomen while spending the night at the elegant home in the 1500 block of Swann Street NW after working late at his job as general counsel for Radio Free Asia.

Terms of the settlement were not disclosed.

No one has been arrested in Wone’s killing and the case remains open. Roommates Joseph Price, 40, Victor J. Zaborsky, 45, and Dylan Ward 40, said an unknown intruder came into their home and killed Wone as they slept. Authorities said there were no signs of an intruder.

Two years after Wone’s slaying, D.C. prosecutors charged the three men with conspiracy to cover up the killing, obstruction of justice and tampering with evidence. During a trial last year, D. C. Superior Court Judge Lynn Leibovitz acquitted the men on all charges.

Wone’s widow Kathy filed the civil suit before the criminal trial began. But in September, the attorneys for the three men told a judge overseeing the civil trial that their clients would invoke their fifth amendment right not to offer any testimony before or during a trial.

During subsequent depositions, the men repeatedly declined to answer questions about the August evening, leaving Wone’s widow and her attorneys frustrated and resolved to the fact they may never learn what truly happened to her husband.

In the end Kathy Wone and her attorney decided to settle the suit, thus recovering some funds from the men — who have since sold the Swann Street home and moved to South Florida. The men have been financially strapped by years of legal costs.

Both sides avoided a lengthy trial civil trial the potential for subsequent appeals.

“I am very much at peace with this decision,” said Kathy Wone, 40, sitting in a conference room next to her attorney at the Pennsylvania Avenue offices of Covington & Burling.

“I agonized over this and put a lot of thought into it,” she said. “And I thought about what would Robert want me to do and nothing gave me more happiness than knowing I was at peace, focusing on hope and optimism.”

The funds from the settlement will be split between the Wone estate and a law clinic at the University of Pennsylvania Law School, Robert Wone’s alma mater, that will provide legal aid to inner-city residents.

“I am moving on. I want to spend the next 40 years of my life focusing on good,” said Kathy Wone.

Wone’s attorney, Benjamin J. Razi, said if the case had gone to trial, it would have been a “show.”

“They weren’t going to come forward and provide any information. This case was never going to put anybody in jail or bring Robert back to life,” Razi said.

With the settlement, Kathy Wone and her attorney said they have received “justice” and some enlightenment about what happened to her husband of three years. She remains convinced that the three men were involved in her husband’s slaying.

“They can rot from the inside out from all the secrets they chose to keep,” she said. “That’s their choice. I chose to move on.”

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Lyn
Lyn
12 years ago

Wow. My thoughts go out to Mrs. Wone. That second to the last paragraph says a lot without saying a lot. I wonder if we’ll ever know what kind of “enlightenment” she received about what happened to her husband.

Boggled
Boggled
12 years ago
Reply to  Craig

Thanks, Craig. The photo of Kathy smiling and looking at peace made me feel a bit better. Unless there are developments we don’t know about, now it’s time for Ms. Lanier to call in the Vidocq Society.

mw
mw
12 years ago

I seriously doubt the “enlightenment” was anything tangible. It was probably just that the process made the trio look even more guilty, if such a thing was possible.

mw
mw
12 years ago
Reply to  mw

Replying to myself, but ya, RE: “enlightment” from one of the other linked articles:

“Kathy Wone, according to Razi, was “enlightened” by the Fifth Amendment invocation to central questions in the civil litigation.

“All the key questions. Did you stab Robert Wone? Did you clean up the crime scene?” Razi said. “All those questions were asked in depositions and the Fifth Amendment was invoked.”

If not being able to answer the question “did you stab robert wone” incriminates you, that sort of blows up the intruder theory just a bit, doesn’t it?

Cara
Cara
12 years ago
Reply to  mw

Lawyers, are they allowed, after mw’s question, to ask, “Do you know who did?”

SheKnowsSomething
SheKnowsSomething
12 years ago

God bless Kathy Wone. If she has chosen to move on, so should the rest of us. I will always believe that Victor and Dylan and Joe are responsible for Robert’s murder. I will always believe that Sarah told less that the truth about what she knew about the evening Robert was murdered. And the thing that gives me peace about all of this is the fact that DC is a safer place without these mid-food-chain predators.

whattheeeeeee
whattheeeeeee
12 years ago

Why couldn’t Sarah be deposed?

How does this happen – after all, I’m sure OJ Simpson invoked the 5th in his civil case, and he still lost.

Anonymous Friend
Anonymous Friend
12 years ago

Kathy and the Won Family, I honor your strength and pray you continue to feel peace. Lord knows you deserve it and so much more. I join you in choosing to focus on the future and on good. We can honor Robert by ensuring goodness triumphs over evil here. Feel our love and faith, and keep your eye on what matters … despite the unfair evil that took Robert from you, it is a wonderful world. I pray with each day you can enjoy it, free and at peace.

mw
mw
12 years ago

May Kathy and the Wone family have many years of peace of happiness and may Joe, Dylan, and Victor truly rot from the inside for the rest of their lives (or at the very least, may they remain scorned by society, unemployable, and financially ruined).

Bill 2
Bill 2
12 years ago

I wish many years of peace for Kathy Wone.

The settlement has not changed the need for justice. Sometimes it takes longer than we would wish.

Martha Elizabeth Moxley (August 16, 1960–October 30 or 31, 1975) was a 15-year-old murder victim.

In 1993 author Dominick Dunne published “A Season in Purgatory”, a fictional story closely resembling the Moxley case. That helped keep attention on the crime. Mark Fuhrman’s 1998 book “Murder in Greenwich” named Michael Skakel as the murderer and pointed out numerous mistakes the police had made in investigating the crime.

Skakel was convicted for the murder of Martha Moxley on June 7, 2002. In the Wone case, I hope the DC police don’t take a quarter century to figure it out.

Griz
Griz
12 years ago

Kathy Wone and everyone else who cared about Robert are at peace. The murdering scums and the covering up scums will rot here and in the ever after. Their crime and their shame will define their miserable lives forever.

TT
TT
12 years ago

Editors: I am so moved by following this case. Meeting others who share your passion/ What can be done to pursue in finding Who Murdered Robert Wone?

Mrs. Wone has made her decision. Her quote below, speaks volumes. I do not have faith in the Metropolitan Police Department to solve this case.

I think of how people who loved Robert are haunted today. What they have had to endure the last 5 years. What a damn shame.

MW “If not being able to answer the question “did you stab robert wone” incriminates you, that sort of blows up the intruder theory just a bit, doesn’t it?”
Well said MW…ALT, Bruce blow

“My gut definitely tells me that they were in some way involved in killing Robert…. They’re hiding behind the Fifth Amendment, and that is, I guess, the way they want to live their lives.”

whattheeeeeee
whattheeeeeee
12 years ago
Reply to  TT

Even the Judge in the criminal case thought they were hiding something.

susan
susan
12 years ago

When the settlement issue arose it didn’t seem like it would be the best thing. Settling sounded like maybe giving up.

But it’s clear that in this case it is just the opposite. In fact, for all practical purposes, Covington and Mrs. Wone WON the case against the trouple of Swann Street. They will make payments. She will have some peace, which goodness knows she deserves. Robert Wone’s name will live on through a few institutions and through his name other lives will benefit, through those funds he will continue to do the good he so cherished doing in life! And Kathy Wone, his widow, will get some peace, which he definitely would have wanted! And, she made a statement that carries power beyong the words themselves–that those cowards and liars, can pay the price for their block of cowardly–AND incriminating silence.

Her statement re the 5th was enlightening–to me and perhaps others. If most people were accused of murder, they would no doubt scream from the rooftops their innocence. And, hey, if given a chance to enter that into the public record I know I couldn’t be held back. I’d want it in writing, in the paper, all over the place declaring my innocence. The fact that they have packed themselves away like rats in a hole only to emerge with essentially a joint no comment to such basic questions–says it all to me.

So, again, WIN for Mrs. Wone. Court of Public Opinion: Mrs. Wone-100%; Joseph Price, Dylan Ward, Victor Zaborsky (in the order they appear in her statement): Big Fat 0.

Like every decent person I wish Kathy Wone all the best. She deserves it. She was right–and smart–in following her intuition.

susan
susan
12 years ago

Wait–One more big LOSS for the troup’. The criminal case of the charge of murder remains O.P.E.N. Must not be pleasant to live with. No one is in jail, true. For now…….

susan
susan
12 years ago

Question: Wonder if Dyl W. will be leaving now to take his next course in, oh, anything, somewhere in the Orient. And wonder if the MPD have alerted their counterparts in Florida to keep their eyes on these three, who are afraid of “incriminating themselves” in relation to Robert Wone’s death.

Dorian
Dorian
12 years ago

Thank you, editors, for creating and maintaining a remarkably well written and professional website. I would like to meet you guys some day.

Narcissists don’t suffer. The narcissists in this case did not, do not, and will not suffer. They moved on a long time ago. Mrs. Wone and the Wone family, on the other hand, will take years before doing so, that is if they ever do.

IMHO Judge Leibovitz chose the easy, never to be reversed route, over the law. The evidence was overwhelming that JP tampered with evidence–he admitted so. (So what if I never intended to run that red light? I still got ticketed.) And, you got to go to lunch with your friends after it is over, right? Juss sayin.

noaharc
noaharc
12 years ago
Reply to  Dorian

yeah-in mt opinion she blew it but this is not my first time to be disappointed in the legal process. Their insurance company, I wonder is off the hook for if ever criminal trial happens in the future.

susan
susan
12 years ago
Reply to  Dorian

Hi Dorian,

You’re prob. right about narcissists and their consciences. But narcissists also have pocketbooks, reputations, living quarters, possible livelihoods and, in this case, ever impending threats of criminal charge. And, also in this case, fewer friends.

Deb
Deb
12 years ago

I’m thinking of Phoenix, who rose from the ashes. This litigation part is a smoldering mess — so maybe we should focus on making some good stuff fly out of ashes! Wasn’t that the point?

The defendants are apparent/clear liars. Robert Wone is physically dead. We can’t change that.

So let’s take this to a different level and start focusing on how to best help our neighbors and friends, and how to best help the kids who might live because he died.

It’s not really a Christian message — it’s a universal message. Let’s grow the garden!

Peace,
Deb

Clio
Clio
12 years ago
Reply to  Deb

Come to Jesus, after all, Deb? Excuse me while I (as pagan muse)do not wallow in the convenient pieties that (will) let evil off the hook (once again.)

This is an unsatisfactory end to an unsatisfactory case: thanks, MPD. A big fat D to all, and the D does not stand for Dyl!

An unkind person may ask: Did Covington tire of this case, or did they want to get out of the way of imminent indictments? Will this news have the needed twist of the “third” possible trial?

At any rate, in celebration of yet another Pyrrhic victory, (skim) milk and (low-fat) cookies will be provided to all visitors to the Miami Shores lair, but one should not press one’s luck by staying overnight! If anyone in the home is watching Project Runway, head immediately to the exits.

Bill 2
Bill 2
12 years ago
Reply to  Clio

South Florida people won’t realize that they would need to be careful upon entering that home in Miami Shores. The trouple is so far removed from DC that this story will never make the “Sun Sentinel” or “Miami Herald.” Too bad.

I wonder if Ward’s knife set made the trip to Florida.

Cara
Cara
12 years ago
Reply to  Clio

It did occur to me that Covington’s pro bono may have run its course, at least in terms of its A-listers. I hope you’re right that it’s a matter of getting out of the way for the big guns who will prosecute murder charges.

Meanwhile, I’m pulling for Bert on Project Runway. History tells us that Bill Blass is always appropriate for court dates.

Griz
Griz
12 years ago
Reply to  Clio

It is exceedingly low and uninformed to suggest that any outcome was influenced by Covington “tiring” of the case. Attorneys from Covington have been amazingly determined and tireless from the start (which was long ago). They knew exactly when Kathy — and perhaps Robert — needed to move to a better place and let the trouple move to a lifetime of rot from the inside.

Cara
Cara
12 years ago
Reply to  Griz

You sound like you know what you’re talking about. Thanks for this comment.

Cara
Cara
12 years ago
Reply to  Deb

Deb, I love how Kathy is sharing the settlement such that other people who want to to good work will benefit. I like your message, and hers.

Anonymous Friend
Anonymous Friend
12 years ago
Reply to  Deb

I’m not sure if you know this, but the Phoenix had a lot of meaning to Robert … a lot! This absolutely is the way to honor Robert. Look forward and find ways to pay it forward. Yes!

TT
TT
12 years ago

Clio..if this story ends here at WMRW, I will miss you!!!!!

Clio
Clio
12 years ago
Reply to  TT

Thanks, TT, but, after reading Bea and Bill O today, this thing may not be over till the fat ladies — Culuket and Sarah — sing after all!

How does one rot from the inside out, BTW? Hmmm. Packing on pounds may guarantee an enforced and unwanted chastity, however.

susan
susan
12 years ago

Did the trouple already break or did they at one time live in Clearwater, Florida on Australia Street? That’s what I found with a search online.

Bill 2
Bill 2
12 years ago
Reply to  susan

Susan – I don’t think they ever lived in Clearwater. Before they bought the house in Miami Shores, Ward moved to a posh condo in Wilton Manors where he lived with two men. It’s in the Fort Lauderdale area. During that time, Price and Zaborsky would go down there – probably looking for a home to buy.

Clearwater, is on Florida’s west coast and is home to a lot of Scientologists. Did you see all three names connected to a property in Clearwater?

susan
susan
12 years ago
Reply to  Bill 2

Hi Bill 2,

I saw J and V (how many people are named Victor J. Zaborsky and connected to a Joseph Price) with a Clearwater address on Australia Street). When I did another search I saw Clearwater come up with one of the legal docs. Who knows. It could be another home, an earlier home or maybe they moved.

Bea
Bea
12 years ago

I’ve been pondering this a good part of the afternoon. What strikes me a couple of hours in is that everything we read was negotiated – the defendants had to agree that Kathy Wone and her lawyers could publicly state that she/they believe they were involved in Robert’s murder, that she hopes they rot on their lies, that all three men will be making payments to her, and that when asked in depositions if they killed Robert they invoked the 5th Amendment.

While the defendants’ counsel was allowed to blow a bit of smoke, Kathy Wone held a press conference. There is no doubt but that she not only thinks the three men were involved in Robert’s murder, she gets to say so. The only thing it seems that she has agreed NOT to say is the amount of the settlement, which is far less meaningful a public statement than what she’s saying without reservation.

This part astounds me. I applaud her for sticking to this – wow. And it says a lot about the three defendants’ concern about their “good name(s)” which are unequivocally mud-covered by the public statements by Kathy Wone and Razi. And getting to say that each man will be making payments is important because it’s not just “the insurance company paid – what do we care?” – it’s a financial commitment which appears to be a long-standing one. Including the charity is terrific – I wonder if the men will be writing checks each month to it or to Kathy or both?

Bravo, Kathy Wone. You should be able to sleep well now. For the three men, not so much.

Bill Orange
Bill Orange
12 years ago
Reply to  Bea

Intriguing. I’m still processing this, but you raise some very good points. The lack of a significant gag order on Kathy Wone is quite remarkable. And while WE may not be able to see the terms of the settlement, I’m fairly sure that they’d be admissible in future criminal proceedings.

So does it all end here? Time will tell. My hunch is no, but it’s entirely a hunch. I think that, even lacking additional evidence, murder or manslaughter charges might be filed in the near future. But I also think that Kathy Wone’s team probably dug up a substantial amount of new information about the defendants. Can one of the civil lawyers comment on how discovery works in civil cases? At this point, do the defendants have access to everything that Kathy Wone has, or could they still be in the dark about what was said in some of the depositions of the other people involved in the case?

I’m also curious about what the insurance company’s next move will be (if there is one). The defendants may have agreed to a multimillion dollar settlement, only to find that their insurance company won’t help them with the payments if they refuse to co-operate with the insurance company’s own investigation.

Again, this may be the end of the story, but I doubt it. I think there’s going to be at least one more big shoe to drop in this case.

Cara
Cara
12 years ago
Reply to  Bill Orange

I think so, too.

Bea
Bea
12 years ago
Reply to  Bill Orange

The insurance company was definitely part of the negotiation and settlement agreement so no shoe will drop there – except that the insurance company is now released. No more footing the bills for the defendants. As for discovery, all the parties had access to the information/materials (unless something was marked “For Attorney’s Eyes Only” which is unlikely – usually between competitive businesses).

This is unlikely to be the end of the story in my mind. Just as the news this week has been about DB Cooper who hijacked a plane in the 1970s, I don’t think the defendants will ever be out from under this one. In my thinking by agreeing to the press release and press conference, they’re agreeing to letting the public believe that they had something to do with Robert’s murder (and the logical next step that at least one of them murdered him).

This three-way was already falling apart – and Joe has continued his “bachelor” ways – once Judge L’s “math problem” goes away (the three-way silence to protect the primary bad actor) then there will be murder charges. Or Michael Price will commit a serious crime and take a deal as to what he knows (it wouldn’t take much to force the hand of the lesser actors). Though remote, perhaps one day Victor will grow a spine or simply be unable to sleep at night or look himself in the mirror – or his workmates or pals will read this and look at him quite differently. Got honor, Vic?

Pete
Pete
12 years ago
Reply to  Bea

My guess is that the insurance companies settled up to the limits of their liability. Since most homeowners insurance have $1,000,000 in liability coverage and since I suspect the attorney defendant here probably had an umbrella coverage of an additional $1,000,000, my guess is that the settlement was for $2,000,000. If either of the other defendants had additional coverage, the settlement could have been higher, but I doubt it. Has anyone heard rumours of what the final settlement was?

Bill 2
Bill 2
12 years ago
Reply to  Pete

I wonder if Ward was covered for the same amount of insurance under Price’s insurance policy. As an official spouse, Zaborsky would probably be covered, but you have to wonder what coverage there was for the S&M 2nd floor person.

Would an insurance company have considered Ward as a gay Mormon-type spouse (multiple spouses) or as someone in a 2nd floor rental unit? Would that coverage reach into the millions, also?

Since Sarah Morgan lived in the cellar, they probably had her covered by some type of insurance too.

Bill Orange
Bill Orange
12 years ago
Reply to  Bill 2

I think that Zaborsky was co-owner of the house and would therefore have shared the policy with Price. I don’t know if either Ward or Morgan were formal tenants (in the sense of having signed a lease). I suspect that Morgan had an actual lease, and Ward did not. There was some discussion a while back as to whether or not Price and Zaborsky could legally rent out part of the house, even if they wanted to. If, not, then I doubt a tenant would be covered, even if they had a signed lease. My wild-assed guess would be that Price and Zaborsky had their legal fees and settlement costs covered up to the limit of the contract, and Ward did not. But we don’t know the details of the settlement, and I’d guess that it was a “group settlement”, so that the three collectively have to pay a certain amount, rather than each paying, say, $1,000,000.

Bruce
Bruce
12 years ago
Reply to  Pete

Hi Pete:

We are all guessing here, but I personally doubt that the insurance company paid its full limits.

This was a settlement. We all suspect that the insurance company was the “payor” or the main “payor.” If the insurance company paid its full limits, they are not really settling, they are giving up.

Insurance companies don’t give up easy, particularly under these circumstances where they assert (we assume) a number of reservations of rights against indemnification.

But anything is possible, and your guess is as good as mine.

Because I am unreasonable (ask anyone), I’ll stick to my guess unless we hear otherwise on the amount of the settlement, and that is unlikely under the confidentiality of the settlement agreement.

Pete
Pete
12 years ago
Reply to  Bruce

If an insurance co. turns down an offer to settle for the coverage amount, it lays itself open to a claim by the insured later if a judgment is entered above that amount. If an offer is made (to settle for the coverage limits) which is rejected very often an insured will then get separate counsel who will go on record in the pending matter that it will pursue a claim against the co. for the overage. That is why plaintiffs in these cases try to find out what the insurance coverage is in pre-trial discovery and that is why insurance companies try to keep this hidden. My experience is that insurance cos. will try to avoid this exposure unless they are sure that the judgment amount will be less since denial of payout awards can include atty fees incurred by the insured.

mw
mw
12 years ago
Reply to  Bea

“What strikes me a couple of hours in is that everything we read was negotiated – the defendants had to agree that Kathy Wone and her lawyers could publicly state that she/they believe they were involved in Robert’s murder, that she hopes they rot on their lies, that all three men will be making payments to her, and that when asked in depositions if they killed Robert they invoked the 5th Amendment.”

I didn’t think about that, and that is really extraordinary. A newsworthy settlement where one of the parties gets to speak their mind afterwards? I believe that is indeed very unusual. I imagine that’s capped to these comments (i don’t think she’s writing a book or anything), but it’s still telling. The trio and their insurance company had no leverage – they would have lost the case.

Bea
Bea
12 years ago
Reply to  mw

Agree – but this is almost worse than losing the civil trial. Here the defendants are saying “we agreed to let Kathy Wone say these things” – kind of like a political commercial after which the candidate says “I support this message”!!!

j
j
12 years ago

Three points: 1) we all respect that she has made the right choice in a bad situation, and hope she and the Wones can now enjoy some peace

2) these scum bags shall never be welcome in civilized society ever again

3) let’s hope one day criminal justice will be done (and that they don’t hurt anyone else)

did OJ testify at his civil case and take the 5th?

aren’t all three still at least theoretically possibly subject to murder charges?

Bea
Bea
12 years ago
Reply to  j

OJ had already been acquitted in the criminal trial so he had to testify in the civil trial – but DEFINITELY these defendants can be charged with murder if ever the prosecution has enough evidence. No statute of limitations on murder.

whattheeeeeee
whattheeeeeee
12 years ago
Reply to  j

Does that mean Florida is uncivilized?

Cara
Cara
12 years ago

Bruce, wherever you are: the MPD’s case as cited in the Dyl affadavit seemed plausible.

Bruce
Bruce
12 years ago
Reply to  Cara

Hi Cara. I’m here. Plausible to whom?

Rebecca
Rebecca
12 years ago

I have bittersweet feelings about the outcome of this case. I held HUGE hope that the truth would result from the careful, methodical attention from this website so it is a bit frustrating to have it end without a real resolution. I guess I hoped for a “Perry Mason” ending to the story where the murderer(s) would be unequivocally identified. But most of all I wanted to be left with the answers to WHY this senseless murder happened at all. Not understanding the murderer(s)’ motivation is what troubles me the most about this case.

But despite the unresolved feelings I have, I am comforted by Mrs. Wone’s statement to the press. If she has found peace, that is the most I can expect or hope for. I have the deepest respect for her decision.

I am absolutely awed by the community created by this web site. This has been the most astounding, creative and progressive use of social media ever. Although I have been an infrequent contributor I have been a frequent observer. I am grateful for the endless hours of thoughtful discussion and research provided by the editors and the contributors. Thank you for your time and caring. This has been quite a ride!!

Bill Orange
Bill Orange
12 years ago
Reply to  susan

Wow. I think I’ve said before that Kathy Wone could really destroy these men with one press conference, and that was it. After reading that article, I really don’t think this is over at all. I think it’s fairly clear that the police are saying they have evidence that they didn’t present at trial, and that Kathy Wone was able to shake loose some additional evidence about what happened that night.

As an aside, I don’t think I ever knew that Kathy Wone had lupus. That’s a pretty big deal–it’s a NASTY disease.

Kathy Wone’s part of this legal drama now seems to have come to an end.

Suggested moves for other parties:

1. The insurance company has now fulfilled its obligations to the defendants. They can–and should–do their own investigation of what happened that night. If Price and Zaborsky refuse to co-operate with their investigation, I’m assuming it will void their policy.

2. I’ve said before that if I were the prosecutor, I would start charging the defendants sequentially with additional charges. I’d start by hitting Victor Zaborsky with either felony murder or manslaughter charges. If they want to go for lesser charges, I think insurance fraud would be a viable option. In any case, Zaborsky should definitely get hit first.

Clio
Clio
12 years ago
Reply to  Bill Orange

But then, Bill O, what would happen to the milk and cookies campaign starring Shaq and the moms from Lifetime? How could anyone go after the dairy air(s) of “the angel of the house”?

whattheeeeeee
whattheeeeeee
12 years ago
Reply to  Bill Orange

“I think it’s fairly clear that the police are saying they have evidence that they didn’t present at trial, and that Kathy Wone was able to shake loose some additional evidence about what happened that night.”

Why do you say that? Because of the quote from Razi: “We’re much further along in the search for truth than we were back then”?

I don’t think that necessarily means they’ve gained additional evidence.

Bill Orange
Bill Orange
12 years ago
Reply to  whattheeeeeee

I think they know a lot more about the defendants’ general routine, which appears to have involved getting Victor and Sarah out of the house for play dates. I’m guessing that the depos that Sarah went through were MUCH more thorough than anything she told the police. Ditto for the couple that she liked to stay over with, Scott Hixon, Michael Price, and Louis Hinton.

I think that everything they learned is circumstantial and peripheral to the events on the evening that Robert Wone was killed, but it’s still evidence.

Bill Orange
Bill Orange
12 years ago
Reply to  susan

You have to look at the pdf of the paper copy of the story to realize this, but it’s on the front page of the paper. The article is utterly devastating toward the defendants, even though it didn’t delve into Leibovitz’s written decision. I can’t see how this is going to be ignored by the press down in Florida.

Hoya Loya
Hoya Loya
12 years ago
Reply to  Bill Orange

The AP picked up the settlement story and it even appeared in my home town paper, which has never mentioned the case in the past.

Bill 2
Bill 2
12 years ago
Reply to  Bill Orange

Bill O, You mention “I can’t see how this is going to be ignored by the press down in Florida.” It’s possible that the South Florida press saw the story but didn’t notice the Florida connection.

The Miami Herald has a gay blog – http://miamiherald.typepad.com/gaysouthflorida/about.html

If the blogger had paid attention to the AP story, that’s probably the only way the Wone murder and settlement connection to Miami would be noted in South Florida.

mw
mw
12 years ago
Reply to  susan

It’s nice to read all the comments off that article and realize that those of us who have followed this site are really just a small representation of everyone who has come across this story and have experienced similar reactions/emotions.

If the trio couldn’t get government justice, I do hope they continue to be scorned by society, and a lot of people know about this case.

gina a
gina a
12 years ago

I am proud of Kathy Wone for ending this on her terms and I think it is very significant that she obviously would not agree to a gag order. “They can rot from the inside out from all the secrets they chose to keep” is a fitting final comment. For all their concern with appearances, their looks and their pathetic narcissistic tendancies, I can easily imagine them rotting now from the inside out while they try to maintain their pretty boy looks. Again, a million thanks to the editors and commenters who have done a terrific job of analyzing the legal and other aspects of this case. I would love for them to be charged with murder someday, but not sure if that will ever happen. For now, this feels disappointing, but I am glad for Kathy Wone.

Hoya Loya
Hoya Loya
12 years ago

Kathy’s statement tells us so much. She is now sure in her beliefs and has been able to say so. No further information was forthcoming at trial and if she won, likely no money directly from the defendants themselves and certainly appeals on the SOL and other issues. Now there is money for causes Robert loved — his good works and charitable spirit will live on.

Some see settlement as a sign of weakness. In this case, nothing could be further from the truth. This settlement demonstrates the incredible strength of Kathy Wone.

Bill Orange
Bill Orange
12 years ago
Reply to  Hoya Loya

I had said before, many times, that I thought a settlement would be a cop-out for Kathy Wone. In retrospect, I think I was assuming that any sort of settlement that was reached would come with a gag order. Given the fact that there doesn’t really appear to be much that Kathy Wone isn’t allowed to say, I’m definitely reversing my previous opinion. Her press conference was both a powerful affirmation of her husband’s life and a scathing condemnation of the three defendants. And their silence tells me all I need to hear from them.

Anonymous
Anonymous
12 years ago

I haven’t visited this site in a long time and rarely chimed in. But now that a settlement has been reached, I wonder….wouldn’t the best thing to do now – since we will likely never know what happened that night with absolute certainty barring a confession one day – be to stop posting? I mean this only out of respect for Kathy Wone and her decision to settle, and move on. Time for everyone to move on, stop the positing, stop the posting. It is not doing anyone any good at this point, so why keep all the guessing alive? Let her live in peace, she has already been through enough pain …. Is all the back and forth on this site helping her move on? Will it bring Robert back? Just a thought, with all due respect.

Bill 2
Bill 2
12 years ago
Reply to  Anonymous

We can fully respect Kathy Wone and her decision to settle and move on while still asking “Who murdered Robert Wone?” There is no reason for Kathy Wone to ever click on a link to this website. If she did, she would find that people are STILL looking for justice to be done.

To stop posting here would make some people very, very happy — Price, Price, Zaborsky, Ward, Hixson, Morgan, and Alt.

Just as people never stopped seeking the killer of Martha Moxley for 27 years, many of us will not be satisfied until the killer(s) of Robert Wone are rotting in prison.

Perhaps this is time to find ways to lean on Chief Lanier to put this murder case on the front burner.

susan
susan
12 years ago
Reply to  Bill 2

It is an honor to Kathy Wone that so many of us here care so much. She deserves all the peace and happiness she can get. She had a front row seat to this hell. Not us. Of course she wants justice done.I see this site as providing vigilance and seeking justice. Who Murdered Robert Wone? The MPD, Robert Wone’s family, a multitude of people and a jailhouse somewhere are all eager to know. And Kathy Wone wants to know, too. She just was faced with a trio of weasels who sealed their lips and threw away the key. Or keys. One no doubt went to the brother, Michael Price. Who else has one?

Linda S.
Linda S.
12 years ago
Reply to  Bill 2

Where is Mark Fuhrman when you need him?

AnnaZed
AnnaZed
12 years ago
Reply to  Linda S.

Actually, that’s not a bad idea.

Clio
Clio
12 years ago
Reply to  Anonymous

Will do, Aunt Marcia, but you know the old Sixties’ saying — no justice, no peace.

Linda S.
Linda S.
12 years ago
Reply to  Anonymous

If this site stays active and shows enough interest in identifying the killer and enough dissatisfaction with the deplorable investigation by the metro police then just maybe new charges will be filed and a criminal trial will result. i know…runon sentence.

susan
susan
12 years ago
Reply to  Craig

She called it like it is. She spoke steadily, purposely and truthfully and with weight.

Thanks, Craig. I knew this site had to live on. I know it has to remain in some fashion at least as a point for people to post information, etc. until law enforcement knows and has in its custody the person Who Murdered Robert Wone.

Bill Orange
Bill Orange
12 years ago
Reply to  Anonymous

Actually, no. We should NOT stop posting on the site. We should continue to post if and when any new information becomes available. I put these three men in the same category as Rick Santorum: They deserve to have a “Google problem” for the rest of their lives.

Clio
Clio
12 years ago

Alexander’s piece above downgrades the trouple to room mates: continued media squeamishness or anachronistic reading of today back into 2006? Keith still must be pissed about Dyl mouthing off to his face: I wonder if he agrees with Mrs. Wone.

Cara
Cara
12 years ago
Reply to  Clio

I don’t believe that J, V, and D were ever working on making the trouple a “family.” The squeamishness in the local media was about NOT offending gay couples; it was about NOT assigning guilt to these men because they were gay or because they were in a three-person household. As I recall, the hullabaloo at the time was, “hey, wait a minute, a guy was murdered there, why is the media tiptoeing around this story?” As much as I love my local paper, the Post very well may have blown it by being a little too-too in this case.

I could be convinced that calling them “roommates” was a dig, nonetheless.

susan
susan
12 years ago
Nelly
Nelly
12 years ago
Reply to  susan

Harry Jaffe’s majorly peeved because he was the FIRST that Mrs. Wone granted an interview to. So he wants to rant about that instead of the real news about the Wone case. Eh. Maybe he should be doing some more investigative reporting about the whereabouts of the trouple, what Sarah Morgan and Scott Hixson are up to, where Joe is working… Now that would be worthy of reading. Thanks, Susan, for the links.

Bea
Bea
12 years ago
Reply to  Nelly

Harry, what goes around, comes around.

AnnaZed
AnnaZed
12 years ago

I have had to give myself some time to absorb this; then it occurred to me that it really isn’t my place to absorb it or not. If Mrs. Wone is satisfied then as for the civil aspect the matter is closed. I do like her bold and damning proclamations. Good for her.

Ethel
Ethel
12 years ago

Hi, this is a major longshot, but has anyone considered “Ingmar Guandique” as a suspect? Where was he when this murder happened?

He may have escalated to breaking and entering in search of more victims.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chandra_Levy

“On March 3, 2009, D.C. authorities obtained a warrant to arrest Ingmar Guandique, an illegal immigrant from El Salvador who had already been convicted of assaulting two other women in Rock Creek Park around the time of Levy’s disappearance.”

“In January 2001, she told her landlord that she was considering breaking the lease of her apartment at DUPONT CIRCLE to move in with a boyfriend, but changed her mind by the following month because ‘it didn’t work out.'”

AnnaZed
AnnaZed
12 years ago
Reply to  Ethel

Don’t make me laugh.

Bea
Bea
12 years ago
Reply to  AnnaZed

AZ, I did laugh. Actually, we’ve seen this one floated here before.

Yeah, like ALL criminals who’ve “worked” Dupont should be looked at (including those whose modus operandi is to attack female joggers) instead of the three men in the home who have all but approved of Kathy Wone’s comment that they know more than they’re saying and had some involvement with Robert’s death. And agreed not simply to the insurance company pay-out but have agreed to personally pay her indefinitely.

Ethel, I’m not trying to be mean. Maybe you think Ingmar is a friend of the trouple or was invited over via Alt dot com. But one thing I think that comes from this week is that Joe Price, Victor Zaborsky, and Dylan Ward DID hide something important from the police. It’s my opinion only, of course, but honestly I don’t see how the settlement which includes the provision allowing Kathy Wone to make these comments, in a press conference no less, could mean anything other than these three men know who murdered Robert Wone or were involved themselves.

If you think about it, if you repeatedly invoke the 5th Amendment when ALL that’s left to charge you with (by the time the trial starts) is murder charges, then it’s likely that you did SOMETHING wrong. This isn’t the legal standard in a criminal case by any means, but a common sense one – and only my opinion. The three knew that public opinion of them would take a serious blow by agreeing to THIS settlement, that they would pay money indefinitely, and yet they agreed. Remember that in any settlement negotiation, one can stand firm on the issue of confidentiality – in my practice, the most common practice is to make EVERYTHING confidential OR devise a joint statement (such as “the parties both agree that settlement is in their best interest but maintain their position of no wrong-doing”). The trouple may have tried to get something like that but, in the end, they caved. What wholly innocent person would that?

We haven’t seen Alt or Bruce lately, but perhaps they have a different take on this – for the life of me, I can’t think of one except that they were so tired of this that they agreed to pay money and be publicly branded liars and criminals by the murdered man’s widow?

Griz
Griz
12 years ago
Reply to  Bea

Thank you, Bea.
Right on: You three let the attorneys know you will just go on taking the 5th; and we all know you have to take it because you ARE accurately and appropriately incriminated otherwise. BUT, it is still available to you, and that’s that…. The only thing left is negotiation and moving on — and some small peace for those who will be forever changed by the terrible acts of violence and cowardice. And, of course, there is that lifetime of rotting from the inside for the guilty….

Bruce
Bruce
12 years ago
Reply to  Bea

My true hope is that Kathy Wone does find real happiness over the next 40 years and beyond.

I expect that Mrs. Wone is correct, and to the extent that they were involved either in the murder or cover-up, or both, that the Swann 3 will rot from the inside.

I have never bought the idea that the 3 are psychopaths, and I hope they are not. Psychopaths feel no conscience or remorse. They should feel all of that and more throughout their lives.

I have been on vaca and stayed away from the internet as much as possible over the past week, and just learned of this today.

I do not for one moment think that if the insurance company is paying, that any settlement would be announced unless and until the insurance company agreed to all payments required. We may never know if any additional payments were required of the defendants individually, in addition to insurance payments. But Mrs. Wone’s attorneys are too smart to allow any collection problems. The delay may (or may not) have been caused by getting the insurance companies full agreement to pay.

My prayers remain with Mrs. Wone.

Bruce
Bruce
12 years ago
Reply to  Bea

Bea:

I am thinking now that I have missed something in the announcements. Both you and Hoya Loya seem to take it for granted that the Swann 3 are paying some monies personally, and maybe indefinitely.

Unless I missed some announcement saying that, I just doubt that this is likely. But of course this is just my opinion. Do we have a basis for saying that they are paying something personally? And how could Lil Dyl do that, or even promise that? I don’t think that Mrs. Wone wants to chase money for the next 40 or more years, and I doubt her attorneys want to be in the collection business for the next 40 years.

I seriously doubt they are paying anything personally, but this is just my opinion. Anyone have any facts, or has it been announced anywhere, that they are paying personally?

I know that the announcement said that the Swann 3 are paying to the Robert Wone Memorial Fund, etc., but (to me) that does not mean that they are paying personally, rather than through their insurance. I have seen nothing that indicates to me that they are paying personally, rather than through their insurance.

Bea
Bea
12 years ago
Reply to  Bruce

Just went over the news reports, and it does say the men are paying personally, although it only references “will be making payments” and not necessarily indefinitely.

Bruce
Bruce
12 years ago
Reply to  Bea

Bea:

If any of those reports you reference actually use the word “personally,” could you kindly cut and paste the quote for us? Thanks.

Bea
Bea
12 years ago
Reply to  Bruce

I am making an assumption that this is on top of insurance payments, or so the press reports and quotes from Razi read.

Hoya Loya
Hoya Loya
12 years ago
Reply to  Bruce

I can’t imagine they are not paying something personally. All the stories specify that the men are paying, not simply that the case has settled.

Having the defendants pay something, anyting, personally, would have been incentive for Kathy to settle rather than go forward and get a judgment that would, for all practical purposes, have been limited solely to insurance proceeds due to collection issues. They have agreed to pay, as opposed to being liable for damages and then dodging collection.

In addition, its very hard to argue against making payments to the trust — it’s the right thing to do and no doubt the defendants, if innocent, would have done so previously had it not been for the bad blood caused by the indictments, the criminal trial and the civil case. It probably made settlement somewhat more palatable to the defendants.

Hoya Loya
Hoya Loya
12 years ago
Reply to  Bruce

I should add that I have the same concerns about direct payments actually being made under the settlement, but trust that Razi/Covington know what they are doing and included appropriate protections into the agreement to cover contingencies such as bankruptcy. It is becoming much more difficult for a judgment or settlement to be held nondischargeable in bankruptcy unless specific findings/language pertinent to the relevant exceptions to discharge are invoked (in this case fraud, or willful and malicious acts).

Then again, the thinking might have been that if anything is recovered directly from the three under the settlement, that is more than would have been recovered pursuant to a judgment.

susan
susan
12 years ago
Reply to  Ethel

Ethel, not a chance. Doesn’t fit. You really must read all about that dude and the case, rather than just a Wiki page, to see that his modus operandi, like Bea mentioned, doesn’t fit.

Cara
Cara
12 years ago
Reply to  Ethel

Ethel, assuming you’re sincere, thanks for bringing this up. As you may know, it was a surprise to the MPD that Guandique was responsible for Chandra Levy’s murder, too. I think that good ideas can come from anywhere, so keep turning over the stones.

susan
susan
12 years ago
Reply to  Cara

Ethel, you might find leads to young women, or just weeds under those stones, but nothing leading to Swann.

susan
susan
12 years ago
Reply to  susan

Oh, yeah. You might find a jail key, too. Guandique was in prison in 2006 as part of a 10-year jail term for his assault on two other joggers in Rock Creek Park in 2001.

AnnaZed
AnnaZed
12 years ago
Reply to  susan

Susan, I have to love you for taking the time to check that, bless you. I mean, wtf, by all means let’s avert our eyes and look everywhere besides at these men, everywhere!

just sayin’

susan
susan
12 years ago
Reply to  AnnaZed

Thanks, AnnaZed. Yes, since Ethel and Cara didn’t do their research I did it for them.

Cara
Cara
12 years ago
Reply to  susan

Sorry, what am I missing? Guandique was convicted of Levy’s murder.

Jeana
Jeana
12 years ago

Like many other readers of this blog, I have pondered the news of settlement and have come to applaud Kathy Wone’s decision for a number of reasons, not the least of which is her courage in speaking out about her continuing suspicion of the Defendants. Kudos to her legal team for resisting the gag order that usually accompanies this kind of settlement.

It strikes me that in the criminal case, while the trouple won acquittals, their credibility was shredded by Judge L’s scathing written opinion. Now, in the civil case, even though they have negotiated a settlement that will save them from a wrongful death verdict and possible loss of all or most of their assets, their reputations are forever damned by Kathy’s softspoken and sorrowful words.

Bill 2
Bill 2
12 years ago

“The Advocate” has a story about the settlement. Price really looks arrogant in his photo. http://www.advocate.com/News/Daily_News/2011/08/04/Gay_Suspects_Found_Not_Guilty_Widow_Settles_for_Millions/

susan
susan
12 years ago
Reply to  Bill 2

Bill 2, I commented about that article on 8/4 under the page “Closing Settlements.” That is the wimpiest, laziest article thus far on this case. They cite the “unknown intruder” theory as fact. Even the bloated J. Price called it a “theory.” Put the Advo. on the case of all unsolved crimes!

Bill 2
Bill 2
12 years ago
Reply to  susan

I missed that on the other page. The comments on the Advocate (open to all without signing up) are giving further info on the trouple and the case.

You do a great job of linking to articles, Susan. Your dedication is appreciated.

trackback

[…] can’t speak for the Asian community, but I do applaud the selfless efforts of the webblog Who Murdered Robert Eric Wone who endured sniping and harassment, some of it on this comments left at this website, who are now […]

boofoc
boofoc
12 years ago

Been away for a while, but it’s heartening to see that several of the long-suffering, faithful, reliable posters (e.g., Bea, Susan, Bill O, AZ, Bill 2, Hoya, Clio, et al.; may their tribe increase) are continuing to keep the Editors alert.

My thoughts on why the settlement was accomplished: I suspect that the mediation with the PG County judge/mediator was actually succesful. Perhaps the insurance company(ies) reached their limit of liability (policy limits or determined limit), and the Plaintiff continued to insist on pursuing her goals. The insurance company(ies) naturally would threaten to discontinue representation of defendants if its interests were no longer at stake, and that persuasion likely resulted in the Trouple’s agreement to personally contribute to Robert’s favorite cause(s) and – equally important – to relinquish their right to the usual confidentiality (gag!) agreement so that Kathy Wone was able to speak her piece – eloquently, I might add. I’m sure she also achieved her quest for vital in formation concedrning her husband’s cruel death, at least to the extent allowed by the law.

susan
susan
12 years ago
Reply to  boofoc

Hi Boofoc,

Glad to see your posts again. I remember you live in Florida. You can let us know if you see anything posted in the news there.

BTW, in DW’s masseurfinder ad, he lists in-house calls and one reviewer comments on his “studio” I believe. Wonder if that needs to be registered as a business re Fla law.

Bill 2
Bill 2
12 years ago
Reply to  susan

In most cities down here, you can’t operate a business in a home in an area that is zoned for residential use only. I don’t know the zoning regs for that specific Miami neighborhood, but I have a feeling that neighbors would not want any home to have a business operating in it.

That’s a 2-BR home. I wonder if his bedroom served as his “studio” or if he used an area of the pool deck for in-house calls. It may have a “lanai” area by the pool. You may recall The Golden Girls would sit around and have discussions in their lanai.

boofoc
boofoc
12 years ago

Susan: I’m spending the summer in COOL Maryland; be back to FL in October. Haven’t read the Sun Sentinel or the Herald or the Palm Beach Post lately, but will try to check them on line for a piece on the Wone matter.

When last I checked the Miami Shores residence (somebody here accused me of “stalking” the Trouple) there was basically no parking available on the street in front; the alley behind the house was dead-ended on the east, and the west end was actually GATED with a lock needing a combination. (Never ssaw a gated public allley before.) Thus, DW’s clients would have to procure a combination in order to drive to the rear entrance. (Can’t know about parking there; unable to see that far down the alley from the gate.) In any event, it would be difficult to hide a gaggle of erotic- massage seekers, and I’m inclined to agree with Bill 2 concerning DW’s need to be “discrete,” especially inasmch as my observations of the immediate neighborhood revealed mostly young marrieds with children.

Bill 2
Bill 2
12 years ago
Reply to  boofoc

That’s interesting about the gated alley, boofoc. In the overhead photos, I didn’t notice that it was a dead end alley with a gate at the other end. Maybe his in-house callers are those little old retired men who ride around South Florida on adult tricycles. They could park their trikes on the front doorstep. — sort of a trick trike parking area.