If Victor was asleep, how did he know Robert’s arrival time?
A nagging question has been how did Victor Zaborsky know that Robert arrived at 10:30 pm, when he stated that he was asleep when Robert arrived at 1509?
Simple logic says that one can’t know when a person arrives and be asleep at the same time. You can do one or the other, but you can’t do both. 
This sleeping thing is also odd because one sleeping man (Zaborsky) was able to know when a person arrives yet another sleeping man (Ward) was unable to hear a man being murdered down the hall. Which is it at this house?
Let’s look at the affidavit and their statements. At the top of page 8 it reads:
“According to statements given to the police on August 3, 2006, by Price, Zaborsky and Ward, Mr. Wone arrived at the Swann Street residence about 10:30 p.m. on August 2.”
So here Zaborsky is clearly included as stating he knows when Robert arrived at Swann Street. Yet, further down the page in the section of Zaborsky’s statement, it reads:
“According to Zaborsky, he came home early from a business trip and learned that Mr. Wone would be spending the night at their home. He indicated that he did not see Mr. Wone when he arrived as he was already in bed at the time.”
How was it possible that Zaborsky could have known when Robert arrived?
To illustrate, there are two truthful statements that Zaborsky might have given when asked about Robert’s arrival. He could have responded:
MPD: When did Robert arrive at your home?
VZ: I don’t know exactly. I was asleep when he arrived.
Or he could have said this:
VZ: I don’t know but my partner Joe told me that Robert arrived at 10:30 pm.
MPD: So you don’t know first hand when Robert arrived?
VZ: No, I was asleep.
MPD: So you got your information from your partner.
VZ: Yes.
You can see where that would go…
Why is this significant? First, in order for a sleeping man to know when someone arrived, he had to be told. If he was told by someone, and did not reveal who told him, then this omission matters to the police because it appears as if he knew the information first hand. Second, if he was told, this means at least two of the defendants discussed events with each other before speaking with the police.
This also allows the defendants to get their story straight, and having three consistent stories would be critical to any defense.
–posted by David
As you point out, it is perfectly plausible that Joe or Dylan told Victor what time Robert arrived. But that doesn’t mean it was to get their stories straight. It’s just as possible Victor was in shock as to how and when this horrible murder could have happened and would ask Joe or Dylan what time Robert arrived. Even an innocent person would respond to such a question with the time Robert arrived.
David, the affadavit only says that he was in bed, which doesn’t necessarily mean asleep. He only claimed to be asleep when the chime sounded.
Many people read before turning out the light, myself included; and I always watch the clock to make sure not to stay up too late. If this was the case with Victor, he could have heard Robert arrive and known the time. I can very easily picture myself pausing in my reading upon hearing someone expected arrive and taking advantage of the interruption to check the time.
Is it believeable that Victor would have been in bed but awake when Robert arrived, but would not have wandered downstairs to at least say hello while Robert visited with Dylan and Joe in the kitchen? I would think he would be a better host than you let on, CED.
I agree SKS…..I don’t see Victor as being such a bore and disregarding the arrival of a guest such as Robert. Afterall, they hadn’t seen each other lately. I have to agree that it seems Victor would have been much more gracious and stayed up to greet Robert and THEN retire to bed and catch up in the morning.
Part of it depends on how onerous the business trip was. If I’ve been away for business, I am often exhausted and crash early. Maybe he figured he’d see Robert in the morning over coffee. And there’s the “Robert is primarily Joe’s friend so I’ll give them some time” viewpoint in coupledom. There has to be verification from Victor’s employer/airlines to make this more or less credible.
I suspect that he “came home unexpectedly early” has some impact here – perhaps it was going to be a ‘bad boy’ night that got wrecked because Victor wasn’t going to be away as planned. Pure speculation but if Joe and Dylan intimated/told Victor that they hoped to include Robert in some tryst (pipedream or not) then perhaps Victor chose NOT to get up. So many possibilities . . .
As they say, there is truth in every jest……..Victor’s wording may be subconscience……”unexpectedly” early (i.e., he was not expected) says, to me, his comments were based on someone elses assessment of his arrival.
I wouldn’t say “I came home unexpectedly early.” I’d just say I came home early.
ced,
Agreed, that the affidavit does not implicity say he was asleep, but Victor himself notes two reasons why it would be difficult for him to know first hand when Robert arrived 1) he did not see him arrive, 2) Victor said he was in bed when Robert did arrive.
He gives two reasons why his knowledge of Robert’s arrival would not be first hand, and yet gives no reason for how he could know (i.e. I was awake in bed and heard him arrive.)
One of the other things I also find puzzling about Victor’s statement is Joe and Robert had this date set up for two weeks, and Victor is only learning of it that night. Why didn’t Joe let Victor know that a house guest would be staying over sooner than that night? That seems very odd to me.
David, co-ed.
The sin of omission. Happens when people know they are doing something they shouldn’t be doing.
So, Joe, what about having your old friend over would cause you to conceal it?
My guess is that he was asleep and was given this as part of the timeline by Joe as they discussed “the story” (including the misguided use of 11:43).
Even if they were innocent, this could be an inexact affidavit stating that, essentially, the facts were not in dispute as to Robert’s arrival at 10:30.
I don’t see Victor not rising to greet Robert if he was awake – it is possible, though not my first instinct, to think he knew something bad was going to happen and wanted to stay as far away as possible.
What the affadavit says and what really happened are two different things, so trying to figure out how the evening unfolded based on what was said by the defendants is hard. I don’t think it’s necessarily significant that Victor knew Robert’s (supposed) arrival time even though he was supposedly asleep/in bed. Just saw a scenario under which Victor could have been telling the truth about that part. I wouldn’t find it odd or rude at all for someone who is in bed but still not unconscious to forgo a trip downstairs to say basically hello-goodnight, especially since under more innocent circumstances, I would assume the three would be planning to have breakfast together based on Robert’s arrival time.
Zaborsky did not say he was asleep when Wone arrived. He said he was in bed. He could have been awake in bed and heard Wone arrive.
I agree that Victor would have wanted to greet Robert if he were still awake enough to be aware of the time of arrival — especially considering that there was the opportunity to show an old friend their beautiful new home. Victor is well-versed on all things gracious & hospitable and I absolutely agree with Bea’s suggestion — that, if awake, Victor’s electing to remain upstairs was deliberate & intentional. (Read: VZ covering his ears singing, “La, La, La.” whilst the unspeakable plays out downstairs.) Unfortunately, even if he chose to hear no evil, eventually he was forced to see the evil — AND play some part in it.
Or, scrap that whole theory and let’s say he slept through the entire crime. Even if he counted sheep while the drugging, sexplay, murder and thorough cleanup took place and awakened LITERALLY just in time to place the 911 call; even then, he is guilty of conspiracy and obstruction after the fact. And, oh the moral obligation is not to be undervalued. I still like Bea’s take on it, though.
“He indicated that he did not see Mr. Wone when he arrived as he was already in bed at the time.”
The first time I read this sentence, I thought for a moment that when Zaborsky arrived home unexpectedly from a business trip, he didn’t see Mr. Wone because Mr. Wone was already in bed.
Or..
Victor was home the entire time, but not asleep, he chose to stay upstairs because he knew. Maybe not exactly what would go down but he recognized the vibe. He stayed upstairs until he was told otherwise.
Or..
Victor stated that Dylan didn’t share equally in the relationship but they were trying to develope it that way. Clearly Victor was the one who was no longer sharing equally in the relationship. Perhaps whatever went on that night was their way of cementing their “family” . Victor was in it up to his elbows.
The only people who know for sure aren’t talking. Never will.
interesting to note that, like Elvis, lance has left the building. guess the mutual-masturbation-by-speculation club got to be too much for him and his petty level-headedness
are you an ex-gay too, missing lance?
Welcome back, Lance.
My guess is that David Schertler told him to stop posting online.
lol!!! that is very good; thanks.
Although it is probably obvious to all, few English major and grammarians become cops. That is not to insult cops. Different jobs demand different skill sets for the most part. However, typing up a report so that unambigously describes who did what when is not a cop’s forte. Therefore, no one really knows when Victor came home, went to sleep, etc, unless and until he speaks credibly upon the issue or someone else with knowledge does (if one ignores the fact that airplane debarking info, cab trips, travel times, etc. could also provide valuable, reliable info).
Zaborsky’s statement on page 8 of the affidavit does not state that Wone arrived at 10:30pm. In fact, it doesn’t state anything about Wone’s arrival time.
I believe the prosecutors’ statement in the affidavit that claims, “According to statements given to the police on August 3, 2006, by Price, Zaborsky and Ward, Mr. Wone arrived at the Swann Street residence about 10:30 p.m. on August 2” is in error. I think it should state “According to statements given to the police by Price and Ward.”