Uncharged Conduct, and Michael Price Uncharged…Yet
Hewing to Judge Lynn Leibovitz’ scheduling order, the prosecution has met their first deadline. The government’s filing of “Uncharged Conduct I” was due on February 5th and was made public Tuesday, Feb. 16th… just a few days after Valentine’s Day. This was no Whitman’s Sampler to the defendants.
“Given the sophistication and success of the defendants’ cover-up of the murder of Robert Wone, the evidence obtained to date does not yet establish beyond a reasonable doubt who actually killed Robert Wone.
Although the government investigation into the murder continues, there is ample admissible evidence demonstrating the killer is someone known to the defendants, and not, as the defendants told the police, an unknown, unseen, unheard, phantom intruder who entered without force…
To say such a theory strains credulity is a gross understatement. Rather the evidence overwhelmingly indicates that the killer is someone know [sic] to and being protected by the defendants.”
In no uncertain terms, Assistant US Attorney Glenn Kirschner has taken the bones of the accusations and theories spelled out in the original affidavit and put meat on them. Restraint, incapacitation by injection, sexual assault. It’s all in there. And then some.
That then some is spelled M-I-C-H-A-E-L.
Far from shying away from some of the more lurid evidence and unsettling theories, the prosecution signaled their intent to – potentially – base the prosecution around allegations that the Swann Street’s housemate’s penchant for S&M, which led to Robert’s restraint by drugs, sexual abuse, and eventual “…ultimate in dominating another human being…the taking of that person’s life.”
New in the filing is the prosecution’s targeting of one-time murder suspect, failed burgler and crime scene key-holder Michael Price.
We’ve long known of the close relationship shared between the Price brothers. “According to witnesses, when Michael Price is in trouble, at times criminal in nature, his brother generally attempts to help him” (pg.8) We’ve at times speculated what role that relationship may have played in this case. Now, AUSA Kirschner spells it out:
“The evidence establishes that in June through August of 2006, Michael Price was enrolled in a course at Montgomery College, studying to be a phlebotomist (an individual who draws blood from patients.) Moreover, there was a practical component to this course… The class is which Michael Price was enrolled met twice a week in the evenings from 5:00 p.m. until 9:15 p.m., beginning on June 7, 2006 and running through August 23, 2006.
Course attendance records reflect that Michael Price attended each and every scheduled class beginning on June 7, 2006 and running through July 31, 2006. However those same records reflect that the first time he missed class was on August 2, 2006, the night Robet Wone was killed.”
Whoops. Of all the nights for Michael Price to go AWOL from his blood-drawing class.
The document continues with cringe-inducing detail. “Restraint and Related Evidence” includes a long list of gear; body harnasses, a half dozen different kinds of restraints, collars, hoods…you couldn’t name it. “Items Capable of Being used to Perpetuate a Sexual Assault,” evidence of dominance, degradation and enslavement, ‘Electro-torture, Etc’.” And more…which we will amplify appropriately.
We’ll muck through the document’s Attachment A next week; Attachment B is the good old alt.com profile that we’ve long known about which also includes a (redacted) photo that we haven’t seen in a while.
-the Editors
Thank you editors! Alot to read, still, would the three really risk everything to protect Michael? If Michael was involved Joe and Dylan were there as well. Victor needs to tell all, now!
Things that make you go “hmmm.”
I can’t believe there is a typo on page two…”quiet telling”. But extremely interesting so far!
It is replete with typos, looks like they were working quickly to get this document out the door.
And big “thank you” to you guys for all your fast work! The tremendous amount of work done to keep this site going in the spirit of seeking justice for Robert is very admirable and much appreciated.
I have mentioned before I believe that I thought Michael was involved in some compacity, but maybe the Brothers Price are sicker than even I imagined.
Ward must have had one heck of a large closet (attachment A).
I’ll trust that the gov’t has other evidence of Michael’s involvement. But given that it appears the government believes gear and a knife from Ward’s closet were used that night, that still seems to implicate a direct involvement – in addition to M. Price – by Ward (and probably J. Price) in the torture and murder that happened that night. In other words, I doubt that M. Price entered the house unknown, went into Ward’s closet unknown, and committed all of the alleged acts unknown and by himself.
Agreed, big closet for little minded men. If they did use some of the “gear”, why were there no marks on Robert’s body? No doubt, Michael did not act alone.
In all fairness, that class he missed was over before Wone even arrived at Swann Street, right?
Well, I think the party started a little earlier in the evening in anticipation of Robert’s arrival. Wonder if Joe did any work that day? And Dylan? Well, I guess we all know the answer to that.
All that means is that even if he had attended class that night, he could have still made the 20 minute trip from the Silver Spring campus to Swann Street in time to participate in the crime.
However, the fact that his attendance was otherwise perfect and the only class missed was on the night of the murder fairly raises some questions as to his whereabouts and the reason he didn’t attend class.
How intriguing that this new wrinkle is! I wonder if Michael’s absence on 8/2/06 was excused by his teacher: did the younger Price phone the prof to say that he had to help his big brother that evening and that he would be absent?
Did Michael pass the class? Certainly, he and Dyl do share this love of life-long learning.
Does he have an alibi regarding is whereabouts? A concrete alibi?
These men would not got to the mat for Michael alone, that’s for sure.
A phlebotomist, curiouser and curiouser, I say.
Very curious indeed. Perhaps putting his familiarity with needles to good use.
I think this is brilliant on the prosecution’s behalf. Frankly, in THIS trial, they don’t care if Michael committed the murder or not. I’m not being glib – hear me out. They need to establish that Robert was murdered by NOT AN INTRUDER in order for them to be guilty of the charges in this trial. If Joe did it, Dylan did it, Michael did it – no matter because that is not the point of THIS trial. So long as there is reason for our boys to clean, cover up and lie as a group, they are absolutely guilty. And if the jurors THINK there is a DECENT chance that one/all had something to do with the murder, then they’ll just be more aggressive (degrees/punishment).
As for what HAPPENED, I agree that it wasn’t Michael alone if indeed he was there for the murder part. Perhaps, even, he was the one who poked Robert full of the paralytic, but I really don’t believe for a second that NONE of the defendants wouldn’t have sung a while ago if only Michael’s ass were at risk.
Needham wouldn’t stand for it. Nor would Aunt Marcia. Either of them would go to the prosecutor and say “my boy wants to protect Michael, but he told me Michael killed Robert”. If this were true, and you were even casual friends with any of the defendants, wouldn’t YOU do this?
Because Michael is not on trial, I don’t care if he’s ‘painted’ as the killer – it is indisputable that Robert was murdered. It’s almost impossible that ‘an intruder’ killed Robert and did the variety of deeds (cleaning, knife replacement, all as quiet as a mouse). These three guys ARE indeed conspiring and obstructing and tampering defendants and are guilty all.
Victor, they can’t cut a deal for you AFTER the verdict. Think about it.
Great post Bea! I still have a problem with Michael being present while the murder took place. For no other reason than, the boys would have thrown him under the bus by now.
Agree. Maybe he was THERE and they assaulted/killed WITH him but knew better than to let HIM talk to cops that night and sent him home (with towels, knife). Not saying he was the only killer – not by a long shot – but maybe he was present for some of it.
I agree with Bea and AnnaZ that the 3 amigos would not go down for Michael. No way. No how. Risk their toney lifestyle for the ne’er-do-well brother?
IF Michael were involved (big IF), the only thing I can imagine is that Michael, Joe and Dylan were into something else that they are trying to hide. They are risking spending time in jail for consipiracy to avoid something else coming out. Perhaps drug dealing?
And I still want to know what that address in SE (NE?) was all about. That address had to have been in the belongings of one of the defendants for it to have been searched. An abandoned crack house. In addition to the prosecutor’s comments about Joe selling drugs. Did Joe have something expunged off his record?
This is a tad bit rambling, but you get my point.
Wonder if the Eds. know anything more about the SE house. In some snooping of my own, I learned that Michael has a PO box in – guess where – McLean.
Maybe it’s too far afield, but I am assuming that Aunt Marcia wouldn’t stand for Michael to live there, and that he has a place in DC (a dump, maybe, but a bed). I don’t think Joe can stand to be on good behavior ALL the time, so my guess is the Price brothers still have an arrangement. Perhaps Joe still uses Michael’s place as a F-pad (or at least somewhere to do drugs) and while Joe may not want a PO box in McLean (the cops would certainly know), maybe until now they’ve thought Michael was off-radar enough to have a PO Box in ‘secret’. It struck me as a possible money/key/drugs drop – IF in fact Joe (still) supplements his income with illegal substances.
Why would Michael need a PO Box in McLean? Maybe Aunt Marcia doesn’t let him in. Maybe Victor has a tight leash on Joe (for once) and so a trip out for Twinkies and a stop-off at the mailbox is easier to sell than a trip into the city (McLean AIN’T a quick trip to DC).
Or, perhaps, my snooping is off and it’s a different Michael Clay Price with a PO Box in McLean.
Oh Bea, you have hidden depths, you really do. Great posts, much to think about.
I was just struck (re-struck if there is such a thing) by just how depraved and dangerous these boys really are. As a caveat (it still needs saying) I don’t think any one’s sexual tastes when pursued amongst consenting adults are depraved ~ tedious maybe, but not depraved really ~ heavy drug use I do think is anti-social at best and can take a person into some depraved territories. That said, these are some sick, sick boys. I guess that I should add that pursuing any sexual tastes whatsoever with one’s brother, no matter what they might be, is not a healthy direction to go in.
Anyway, what struck me ~ really struck me ~ is that Victor’s aunt probably has no idea what she’s dealing with and that Victor should never have placed her in this position. It’s one thing for her to take him in, he’s family, but I think he knows just exactly what sick fucks the Price brothers are and he should not have either of them in or near her home. What a sad enabling looser he is. At this point I hope he rots in jail with the other two. He is not a gentleman.
If Joe/Michael are selling drugs, it’s another reason his cronies don’t turn on him. Ratting out Joe may disclose their own nasty/illegal behaviors.
Drugs are one thing (small beer really) conspiracy, accessory to murder maybe quite another.
Not necessarily, AnnaZ.
“A first conviction for drug distribution of a Schedule I or II substance that qualifies as a “narcotic or abusive drug” carries a maximum penalty of 30 years in prison and a maximum $500,000 fine…..
The maximum penalty is doubled for a second or subsequent conviction of drug distribution. The maximum penalty can also be doubled for distributing drugs to minors or distributing in a drug free zone.”
The prosecutor said something about Joe selling drugs during one of the earlier hearings. You never know. If Joe copped a deal regarding an earlier drug conviction (expunge, but we have our eye on you), he could be facing 60 years plus a fine of a million bucks.
From everything I’ve heard, Joe has a drug problem. Where is he getting those drugs? What about the frequent office visits by brother Price. Drop offs?
It’s worth thinking about.
Damn….just posted something that didn’t go through….here’s the truncated version….
Distribution of drugs carries a 30 year max plus $500K max fine. Second conviction doubles the max to 60 yrs/$1M fine.
The prosecutor indicated that Joe sold drugs in one of the earlier hearings.
Michael, from what I recall, has drug convictions. Joe, from all accounts, has a drug problem.
Michael frequently visited Joe at work. Why? Drop offs? Couldn’t be out of brotherly love.
It’s worth thinking about.
Thanks CD, I would think that drugs would be small beer compared to conspiracy, tampering with a murder scene and obstruction of justice but apparently not incarceration-wise. I find that disturbing actually.
> only thing I can imagine is that
> Michael, Joe and Dylan were into
> something else that they are trying to
> hide. They are risking spending time
> in jail for conspiracy to avoid
> something else coming out. Perhaps
> drug dealing?
Or another S&M murder or two? Suppose they did plan the killing as an S&M exploit — that it wasn’t some kind of panicky accident. In that case, it would be no surprise if it wasn’t their first.
If they’d done it before, having an innocent-minded old college chum plan to stay the night might have seemed like too good an opportunity to pass up.
Hmm. This might explain why Victor hasn’t talked, despite (in my guess) being less involved in the crime and having a savable skin. Maybe the others are holding something like this over him.
Never thought of this before!
I think if it were planned, it would have been better thought out. As it stands, the crime scene shows it was an inside job.
There are certainly people in this world that thrill at sexual murder. I’m not 100% convinced that Joe et al are of that ilk. Dominance and S&M exploits, yes. Murder? Not convinced. Yet.
Bea: Thanks as usual. When we first read “phlebotomy” it sounded familiar. We thought we had either posted on or saw a comment from months ago about MP’s studies in bloodletting. I can’t seem to find it now and I think that tip may have come from you. Better late than later.
Rose: Good point about Michael. Kirschner made sure to not that MP’s partner Louis Hinton provided him an alibi for the night of the murder.
Law Jox: Does Kirschner’s interpretation of case law (Johnson & Drew) seem well founded? Does inclusion or exclusion of this evidence in the trial rely solely on Leibovitz’s Rule 403 decisions?
No credit deserved for ME on the phlebotomy info. CD maybe? Just can’t recall – just not me.
Question for those who have attended past hearings – has Michael Price been in attendance at any of them to support Joe?
Lyn,
Yes, Michael has been in attendance at the several of the hearings that we Eds have also been attending. We have shot video of him leaving the courthouse, which are on the status hearing posts.
David, co-ed.
Maybe he wants to support his big brother. Or maybe his attendance is out of self-interest (wanting to keep a close eye on the progress of the prosecutor’s case).
Maybe he wants to see if his name is mentioned.
Ok, in this group (is this the one you mean?) which one is Michael?
http://tinyurl.com/DefendantsDepartingNov6th
I admire the 70’s independent film style of it (sort of like http://tiny.cc/TheConversation ), and I can identify Dylan (that waif) but which one is Michael, and who are all of those women?
Hey AZ – this is Michael (balding, pudgy man, not the tall woman): http://www.youtube.com/user/whomurderedrobertwon#p/u/14/jCb5C71H8YE
Oh my, what a singularly unappetizing specimen.
Doesn’t give much punch to the statement that Joe “is the better looking” Price brother.
Oh my. That’s unfortunate.
::laughing:: That viewing elicited an “oh my” from AnnaZ AND me.
Great post guys. I think the prosecution’s filing was brilliant proving why the evidence should be allowed. And, if allowed, it will put the 1509 crew in very bad light before a “jury of their peers!” I think Michael was introduced only to bolster the charges of obstruction — don’t think he was involved or even there — but the government is using what they are given (burglary, failure of the boys to tell the police of his key, etc.) to their benefit. I am encouraged and hope Victor is sweating and realizes he needs to “sing” before it is too late.
http://gawker.com/5474123/the-weird-weirdos-accused-of-murdering-robert-wone
“So they theorized that Zaborsky, Price, and Ward drugged him and used the EROSTEK to, um, milk him. When he died of an overdose, they suspect, they staged a stabbing and invented an intruder as a cover-up.”
The Gawker took some liberties. The Notice says nothing of overdosing.
The Notice does speak of murder. Multiple times. You can’t murder a dead body, Gawker.
Is Michael on probation?
I can see Michael working as a butcher in Maryland, but I cannot see him as selling many overpriced trinkets near Dupont Circle. It is no wonder that Go, Mama, Go is no longer a go.
OK, I am a newcomer/passerby to this blog (leave it to Gawker to provide yet another timesuck). Obviously there is a lot to sort through, so I won’t pretend to have mastered the minutiae, but I read some of the salient documents and history, and I’m going to offer my perspective. It’s a take, may well have been said before, but not in the comments I looked at, so here goes.
My background is in the practice of clinical psychology, so as I am reading the slowly aggregating tidbits of information, I’m trying to string them together into a psychologically coherent narrative that is consonant with the known particulars. A caveat, there is a lot of stuff floating around about the relationship dynamics, source of which is unclear (e.g., that JPrice had long wanted a romantic liaison with the victim), and I’ve tried to exclude from my formulation anything specific and personal to these people that doesn’t appear substantiated.
However, I’ll happily theorize generally about what seems plausible and consistent with prevailing wisdom on psychopathology, trauma, drug abuse. Knowing that I don’t know what happened, I’ll certainly say what I think happened.
So it appears to me that for reasons I’ll ruminate on a bit further in, best guess is that Price and Ward decided to dose the victim with something for the purposes of accessing some form of sexual gratification.
Unfortunately this is not particularly uncommon or difficult to do, as has been discussed here. Perhaps MPrice and his cat-torturing friend were involved as well, and this was conceived as some sort of party (consistent with MPrice missing his class). Perhaps they were planning on taping it. My guess is that it was planned ahead of time, but not particularly meticulously since I think it was expected to be a routine (ugh) dosing, not a murder.
Very likely there was partying in anticipation of the evening’s festivities. And, honestly, I still think it’s entirely possible that the victim could have been a willing participant, to a point, in which case it’s sex accident/ill-conceived cover-up. There was a case like that that just concluded in Maine (the accident part) where some men were engaging in sex play with a weapon they believed was unloaded—or so the story went—and one participant loaded it unbeknownst to the others, they say, and was shot. Accidents happen and then drugged out people panic.
But if we’re going the nonconsensual route, the victim, poor Mr. Wone, arrives and I think very quickly becomes alienated by the stoned? eagerly predatory? vibe (he was probably like, where’s Victor?) and heads to bed as quickly as possible. Who knows whether he ever went near the kitchen. It seems very obvious to me that the ENTIRE POINT of bringing up that they were IN THE KITCHEN is so that Ward can say he saw JPrice go out to kill a spider, thereby providing an explanation for why the door was unlocked.
Maybe he drank a glass of water, though it seems as plausible that the chemically altered participants entered his room and held a pillow over his face while injecting him with whatever. If you had slipped someone a mickey why would you even mention the water? “And so he drank a glass of UNSPIKED water and went straight to bed, officers.” Maybe they took him down to the patio–or maybe he never even made it to his room until after the events that resulted in his death. I mention the patio because that initial, early story told by JPrice to the responding officer places Mr. Wone in that area. Plus apparently someone was hosed off or “showered,” right? and at least trace amounts of blood (can’t recall if it’s known to be his) were in the drain. I’m going on the assumption that nearly everything that was said was designed (however poorly or impulsively) to construct a plausible alternative to the actual chain of events.
So whatever it is that causes Mr. Wone to meet his end (more on that later) happens, and perhaps sensing something is amiss I think Victor stumbles across the scene. As I picture it, I believe at least JPrice, and maybe all three, were very out of touch with reality as observed by the EMTs. When JPrice says, “he’s our friend, right?” my read is that he is trying to orient himself to WTF just happened as he’s coming down. Might also be why he’s asking what time it is during the 911 call.
Of course, another option is to see both of those as part of his attempts to frame the story, even that early on. But I don’t think his being disoriented and out of touch at this point excludes him from subsequent manipulation of stories, evidence, people. So, pure guesswork here, but I’m thinking that brother Price and whoever else might have been present swung into action and just carried away a lot of physical evidence of what happened. Towels, knife, videocamera, who knows. It is the only way I can think to account for the apparently quite thorough cleanup job that took place (and the blood in the lint trap puzzles me—surely they couldn’t have THROWN IN A LOAD and dried it in that span of time) so quickly. They do it very impulsively which is I think why they got themselves into all that trouble with the switched knives, since this is happening before they’ve really figured out their story.
Clearly some little effort goes into setting the scene, possibly by people no longer present by the time 911 is called. Sounds possible that they punctured his T-shirt after the fact (no fibers in the wound), it’s also possible that they put the mouthguard in, probably in between writing fake emails. Victor calls 911, what the EMTs found we know about. His reactions are consistent with shock (could not bring myself to listen to tape, though).
Unless I’m misunderstanding it does appear that the three residents were then left alone, at which point they refine and coordinate their stories. Reading their accounts the underlying sense of strategy and desire to introduce certain pieces of information is very striking, as many have noted. Keep going back to that went out on the patio to kill a spider moment. It just sounds bullshit. Among all the other bullshit.
As to what actually happened to Mr. Wone, it makes the most sense to me that it was either accidental or triggered by the dissociative effect of whatever drug or drugs the participants in the situation had ingested. All the flurry and panic and bad decision-making just suggests that. Planning to rape somebody and then stabbing them to cover it up, I concede it’s possible, but it seems less plausible to me, intuitively I like my version better, based mostly on reading the EMTs’ and responding officer’s statement you really get a sense of stupefied disbelief and shock, partially druggy, yes, but also a sense of wtf was that? I imagine the scene would have felt different, edgier and more manic, if he/they had intentionally executed someone. For one thing I think they’d be trying to seem less weird, more compliant.
It’s possible that the dynamics between the Prices and Ward, Victor, and maybe some other people came into play. There’s a strong undercurrent of edgeplay to it. Purely from a psychoanalytic perspective, the problem with the master-slave relationship is that for it to continue to be gratifying, it always has to get pushed a little further. So when these impulses exist in their pathological form, it means that greater risks must be taken and greater control demonstrated by the top.
Meanwhile the bottom seeks ever-increasing experiences of submission, humiliation, and self-abnegation in an effort to effectively cede his free will to his master. Someone mentioned the phrase “topping from the bottom,” and, again, just a hunch, but this seems apt for JPrice. The experience of being dominated is actually, for some, a means of coping with or seeking relief from the demands of one’s public persona for people in highly demanding or responsible/authoritative positions. And there are indicators of some compulsivity (e.g., the porn at the office) in JPrice’s presentation—also linked to unmanageably high levels of anxiety.
Meanwhile assuming the dominant/master/maybe sadistic? role is one chosen way to “work out” or just repeat, intolerable feelings of smallness. Domination in its pathological/sadistic form temporarily solves this problem by creating a world where through the act of eliciting submission he can experience the presence of another while retaining his need for control. It quickly gets old and further submission to the will of the master is required to create the same experience. It’s like tolerance with alcohol. So Ward, itinerant, weird malleable career trajectory, somebody said prostitute?, clearly some pretty core feelings of inadequacy.
Furthermore—his father is a cardiologist. Don’t know him personally but within the medical community cardiologists are notorious among specialties for being the most obnoxious, narcissistic, divas (though I’m sure there are some really, really nice ones too). I can see having some serious daddy issues with your cardiologist daddy. And where did the victim get stabbed? IN THE HEART. Case closed, in my opinion. But that’s only because I’m a therapist, not a lawyer.
So, heck, who knows, maybe drugging a straight friend was just, the next risk they were going to take. Perhaps Ward instructed him to do it, and not having the option to say no is what slaves like about being slaves, because they are not responsible (in the psyche, I mean). Though their agreement to participant also kind of gives them the power. This appears to be what they wanted to do, and somebody either took it too far, or made a mistake, lost contact with reality, don’t really know. But given the very studious highlighting in his manuals, apparently we have more of an intern torturer in Ward, not very seasoned.
Btw the above discussion is just about the pathological iteration of BDSM, I don’t see master-slave stuff and all that goes along with it as inherently unhealthy, however, it seems pretty clear we’re dealing with some bad shit in this case, and it is not known how the power relationships work or how they might have contributed to what happened, though it’s useful or at least interesting to speculate.
Meanwhile, just as disclaimer, the “mainstream” BDSM community has developed codes and rituals to help people explore this aspect of themselves in safe ways. However, once we start talking about drugging and sexually using our friends, history of antisocial behavior (that’s MPrice, it appears), and—we’re well within the realm of pathology independent of sexplay preferences.
Two additional intriguing loose ends I haven’t seen mentioned (though they probably have been!).
1. The sleepover was apparently arranged with an understanding that the downstairs housemate would spend the night elsewhere. And Victor had apparently returned early from a business trip? I’m wondering if whatever was intended to take place was planned to happen on a night when he was away. Maybe he even got wind of something being up and returned to possibly put a damper on things? Or his unexpected presence was somehow an incitement to push things further? Don’t know, but it’s interesting. To the question of why Victor hasn’t talked, it is his spouse, and it seems highly possible that anything that would exonerate him would implicate the other two.
2. That MPrice is studying phlebotomy. I mean, it is a perfectly respectable profession but I am very, very curious about how and why he chose it. Increased facility with needles, working with blood, the needle marks on the victim, possible increased access to controlled substances. Here’s where you could start going cuckoo chasing tangents, but my intuition says he enrolled in that program with a goal and that his expertise was put to use the night the victim died.
Final note, I notice that the idea of JPrice having a narcissistic personality disorder is being tossed around. Since I don’t have much firsthand info it would be really difficult to say, but one thing I noticed is that people are continually stunned by how blatant or stupid (?) some of Mr. JPrice’s actions are.
And my association to that is people who present with a high degree of narcissism feel a great deal of contempt for others, which can translate into extreme, sometimes ridiculous confidence about being able to get away with stuff. I see a lot of that here, it flavors the solicitation letter, a lot of kind of winky-winky “I’m hiding in plain sight and you are way too stupid to catch me” (talking in large part about his life before Mr. Wone’s death, as well as his apparent confidence in his ability to pull off this lame cover-up), the feeling of which is very enjoyable for a pathological narcissist.
I really have no idea if anybody in this very sad, ugly story rises to this level of disturbance, but understanding it in the extreme version just provides another useful lens.
This is such a sad story, and one really hopes for justice, ultimately, but I think the beneficent karma of your project will redound positively and release healing and empathy in the pursuit of truth. Much needed!
Drowsy, thank you so very much for this post and your considerable effort and thought, much to consider in your perspective.
Drowsy, such an interesting read!
Can you help us look at features of Joe’s character and whether it can be thinly sliced to distinguish NPD from a sociopath?
Not to “lead you” in any direction, but I’ve always been troubled by these behaviors:
1. in a button-downed law firm environment, where making partner is a tough haul and decorum is assumed, Joe would get drunk at firm events (can’t stress enough how this would be considered both unseemly and self-destructive – yet he made partner anyway);
2. in same context, had the criminally-disposed ne’er-do-well kid brother Michael “visit” him at work regularly. I’ve practiced law for over twenty years and can count on my fingers the number of times I’ve had family members visit my workplace. My partner comes maybe twice a year.
3. (as you’ve mentioned) S&M photos of himself on office computer – to break the monotony? to show others?
4. his background (from own research and from others’) is that of eldest child of very young parents in Texas in the military. Both parents remarried and had many more kids – he moved with both military parents around as military brats do, and got into the best of schools, unlike undistinguished siblings. Always seems to have had a soft spot for next-brother Michael (and Michael has adored Joe from days on military bases).
5. Joe’s ability to handle and settle very difficult legal battles, make headlines (both legal, and about having kids with lesbian couple), yet the charisma appears to be turned into a black rage for slights (or perceived slights).
6. The gall of expecting long-time partner Victor to tolerate the new member of Joe’s sexual family, and, a few years later, going through the formality of becoming domestic partners with Victor (to appease? and how did Dylan feel about this – did Dylan even know?). Seems a bit much to expect from those who love you.
7. Taking 6 a bit further – to have Joe be the one to advertise on alt.com for more S&M partners. Would the “sub” usually do this, not the dom? He was careful to NOT SAY whether he did drugs but had no problems listing every sexual desire/action.
I appreciate your comments on his need for submission and its relationship to power. Could simply being NPD erase from him a sense of guilt (say over killing his friend)? Or would that be more along the lines of sociopathic behaviors? Having read recently the tie between bipolar and schizophrenia (albeit in ‘ordinary’ not scientific press), is there a link between NPD and sociopaths? Of course, I am not asking you to ‘diagnose’ Joe in particular but to speak in generalities.
THANKS SO MUCH!!
Thanks, Bea…and to all who responded.
Good questions, all.
Drowsy is free to answer of course, but may be otherwise occupied. In the meantime we are making contact with a forensic psychopathologist, and will incorporate all your questions in our interview.
-Doug, co-editor
Bea:
I write in this case to ask about your interest in point number 4 – first child of larger military family, moving around etc. I don’t quite match these facts, but match enough that I wonder relevance under circumstances. I don’t think they are relevant for what it is worth and would be content to discuss off-line through the editors who know how to reach me otherwise.
For my part, my growing up in a situation not unlike this, I believe, made me a stronger and more socially connected person. I may have missed your point, but I think you are asking whether Joe’s background added to anti-social actions. I think this is one area that should have tied Joe and Michael more to Society and to that which we owe each other as Members of that Society.
None of this changes my views of what happened or who is responsible for the Murder and the Cover-up.
Respectfully (and ever watchful if sometimes bored by repetition),
Meto
Hi Meto, did NOT mean to suggest that such a background would have relevance except in the context of understanding Joe. I myself hail from a southern midwestern family which could, by some, be considered both “redneck” and “trailer” so I mean no disrespect – and, frankly, I wear this part of my past as a badge of honor. I “like” that I had relatives who did not have indoor plumbing in the 1960s. And my best friend is a “military brat” – sounds cliche (“my best friend is a XYX”) but it’s true. Where it comes into play for me is Joe’s sense of self. His essay for entre into William & Mary (if memory serves) was entitled “My Mother Wears Combat Boots” or something to that effect. If any of his background plays a part in something a trained person could “read” within the context of OTHER behaviors, then I thought it worth mentioning since Drowsy indicated that he/she was “new” to this.
If I offended, I did not mean to and apologize profusely. Hope this explains my error even if it too is lacking.
Best to you, Meto.
Bea
Bea:
Thanks for your response. No offense was taken by me at all – even if I didn’t have thick skin, your comment did not come close to giving offense. I just wanted to understand the comment better and you have explained it.
Thanks,
Meto
Oh lord, where did my paragraph breaks go? Sigh. Sorry, folks.
Drowsy: Thanks for the hard work in the wee hours. You are a quick study.
I reformatted the comment and added graph breaks.
Get some sleep and we’ll see you again soon we hope. Thanks again. Craig, et al.
Drowsy insomniac: ” I still think it’s entirely possible that the victim could have been a willing participant, to a point, in which case it’s sex accident/ill-conceived cover-up.”
If you are into criminal psychology, you’ll see that Robert Wone would not participate in this kind of escapade. He was an honorable, happily married man, that adored his wife. Yes, happily married men sometimes go on the down low, but the key here is that Robert Wone was an honorable man. It was not in his make-up to cheat and lie. He lived his life as an example of goodness.
So, lean toward non-consensual.
CD:
I did not know Robert well before all of this, but I agree that there is no evidence of any kind that suggests that Robert participated voluntarily at any level in the “activities” that led to his Murder. It is not just his Character which has more than survived years of internet review, it is everything I know about Robert that tells me clearly that he could not and would not and did not in any way volunteer for any activity that led to his death – other than the fact that he went to the home of those he thought were friends for an uneventful reunion evening.
Repectfully submitted,
Meto
Drowsy, your insights are very interesting. Thanks for sharing them. Yet I am still in agreement with CDinDC about whether Wone was a consensual participant. Also, am I the only one who thinks that instead of the defendants mistakenly thinking that Robert had died of an overdose, perhaps he regained some consciousness during the assault, and they freaked out? This seems more likely to me, because if they’d thought he was dead already, they would have had plenty more time to dress up the scene to make it appear more like an intruder had done it. Instead, they ran to get the closest knife and lost their minds doing everything quickly.
Nelly says: “am I the only one who thinks that instead of the defendants mistakenly thinking that Robert had died of an overdose, perhaps he regained some consciousness during the assault, and they freaked out..”
There are several of us that have contended all along that this crime was intended to be a sexual assault on a non-responsive person. If given in the “correct” dosage, ketamine can render a person unresponsive AND without memory. I’ve always believed Robert awoke enough to make it obvious that he knew what was happening and this was the calayst for his “execution.”
I (and others) believe Robert was killed to cover the crime of sexual assault.
Very few people think Robert died of an overdose.
Robert was murdered and you can’t murder a dead body.
Drowsy reminded me of something that we have speculated about before; if there was a camera (and wasn’t it curious that these otherwise well upholstered men had no camera in their police inventory) where is it now?
If along with other incriminating stuff Michael Price has a camera with some documentation of these events; then it would go a long way towards explaining why these men have continued to brazen it out. Accusing each other of the murder, turning on one another, would I think have been expected by now, but not if photographic or videotaped evidence exists somewhere. I know someone on this blog speculated about this before, but the government’s choice of putting Michael front and center in their theory puts me back to wondering about it.
Funny how the mind shies away from certain things. I have accepted that at least one of them (probably two) were dastardly enough to commit this crime, to attack Robert, to treat him like an object, yet my mind shied away from thinking that they would dare to videotape an assault. Yet, why not?
I wonder if this is the very first time that any/all of these characters have taken their abnormal skills this far? To entrap
someone who was clearly outside the group or it’s affiliates seems like a big step . Whatever they did, (and it is not clear what they did), had it been done before?
If they are putting Michael front and center, do we know whether police ever obtained a warrant and searched his residence and personal property? If so, was anything incriminating found? If they haven’t searched, why not?
Lyn,
Yes, search warrants were executed for the home that Michael Price and his partner Louis Hinton lived in. In fact, Louis Hinton’s diary was subpoenaed because it details the events from that summer.
David, co-ed.
David,
Do you know if Michael and Louis are still together as a couple?
CD: I’ll cover for David. Must be a late lunch for him.
Mr. Hinton also attends the status hearings we’ve been to, but we’ve noticed that he seems to neither arrive or depart with Michael Price. Hardly definitive I know.
If he knows what’s best for him….
As with the trouple, the Hinton-Price union may have cooled off considerably under the scrutiny of the police and public. Nevertheless, even if they are no longer “together” as an intimate couple, are Mr. Hinton and the younger Price still living in the Silver Spring house together? If not, are they still residents of Maryland?
Odd that such upscale boys, with all their gadgets, had only portable cameras removed from their homes. No Hi-Def Vid cams? Not even a decent point-and-shoot?
I suspect that there were other cameras, of course, and that they are long gone with the footage/photos. Doubt that the pix of Joe on his office computer came from a disposable.
Not even a Brownie and/or a Polaroid were found: were they technologically challenged, or did they have someone to whisk that kind of crap away to a dumpster?
Again, it is testament to the civility of our society that Joe et al. have not been dragged out of Victor’s aunt’s house and lynched.
The uncharged conduct which includes the BDSM exhibits must be ruled inadmissible by the judge using the three-pronged test found in US v. Schroder (2007).
1) The defendants have no alleged prior acts, charges, or convictions to meet a minimum “threshold,”
2) If the proposed exhibits were not tested for, or the victim’s DNA was not found it’s “irrelevant” evidence,
3) Given 1 & 2, its potential for unfair prejudice outweighs its probative value
The Michael Price part of it is disingenuously brilliant! “he wasn’t at work/school where he was supposed to be, he was a blood/syringe expert, he had access to a hospital for paralytic drugs, had a key to Swann Street, and is a person the defendants might protect.”
In comes incapacitation by injected paralytic, which is all the prosecution really needs for convictions (wrongful or not, Msrs. Zaborsky & Price) on the current charges. The BDSM stuff is only a wishful prosecution fantasy & fishing expedition (unrelenting negative leverage).
My dog thinks he’s a lawyer (and claims to have pictures to prove it)!
My cat sings backup for Dionne Warwick and just got back from Paris.
Does your cat get horoscope advice from Dionne?
My cat can sing Dionne’s staple of “Walk On By” better than she can (now).
ear worm
I was surprised by the allegation that Michael Price was there at the time of the murder until I re-read the affidavit in support of the arrest warrant in this case. It describes that Victor Price was overhead talking (while being questioned at the police station) to his brother, Michael on his cell phone and asked Michael, “Did Dylan come out?” That would point to Michael being there.
I forgot to mention that I do find some of the devices being relevant here. Robert Wone’s own semen was found in his anus. Some object likely put it there–it was unlikely put in there with a human hand or other human appendage.
Am I being amazingly obtuse, or wouldn’t there be some evidence on Mr. Wone’s body of his having been “restrained” as the government seems to suggest. Or are the tell-tale “ligature marks” always referenced in crime novels a thing of fiction not actually always found in reality?
Good questions, Anna, and I wondered the same thing. Perhaps a drugged person placed in restraints post-drugging would not be ‘resisting’ and thus no marks. Or perhaps the ones used were highly cushioned for just that reason. It’s about restraint, not about making ‘marks’ since people have to go to work the next day. Or so I am assuming.
I have seen cushioned (fur lined, kinky boots!) cuffs before. Wouldn’t they be literally dusted with exfoliated skin and DNA if used in this crime?
If there are no defensive wounds from being stabbed multiple times, I don’t have trouble believing there would be no restraint marks.
Considering he was probably incapacitated PRIOR to anything happening to him, and the number of needle marks on his body show (to me) that he was administered drugs throughout this ordeal..
Also, I wonder why they chose to bring all of this paraphernalia into the matter if none of it has Robert’s DNA on it; which surely they would mention if it did. Is it just to show some sort of predisposition towards or aptitude with or even demonstrated taste for sexual restraint? I am not expert in these things, but isn’t that what they call inflammatory?
A lot has been said about that electro-ejaculation thingummy but none of it has been about Robert’s DNA being found on it. I don’t think that’s going to fly, I’m not even sure that it should fly or if it needs to.
It’s to show that the defendants may well have been interested in sexually assaulting Robert – of course one could do so without all the equipment, but it is relevant if the defendant is reading about dominating someone and has gone to all the trouble to buy this expensive array of things. Certainly the defense will argue that it’s prejudicial BUT what is certain is that Robert’s semen ended up in his rectum, and one or more of the devices may have been necessary to accomplish both ejaculation and restraint. It goes to many issues, though clearly in most instances owning such things wouldn’t be relevant for a number of crimes – that it was all there with the cutlery set and a possible ‘plan’ for the evening’s events is certainly relevant. Whether the judge rules that its prejudicial value outweighs the relevance is still at issue. I’m sure the prosecution wants to show that these were well-equipped and not ‘vanilla’ boys.
It’s a strange thing, to be of the opinion that it’s absolutely fine to people to own these things and that it is irrelevant (and ‘nobody’s business’) for most situations. But if ever there was a reason to show it’s relevance – e.g. Joe & Co. weren’t just these poster boys for gay parenthood – since Robert was sexually assaulted in a deeply disturbed way in which his sperm was essentially ‘harvested’ or ‘milked’ against his will. If he was under the influence of a paralytic, he may have had the restraints on “just in case”. Some of it is likely not to be introduced but the prosecution will cast a wide net hoping for as much as possible. My opinion, anyway.
I don’t think Judge Leibowitz is going to allow all of these props to be trotted out if it can’t be demonstrated that any of them were used in this crime. I am afraid that I am being very (very) stupid, so please school me in no uncertain terms if nessesary. Is the prosecution even required to let the jury in on this theory or only the court?
Besides, given that this is a tampering, obstruction and conspiracy trial ~ not the murder trial ~ is it even necessary? All the government has to prove is that they moved and washed and positioned Robert and then lied a lot (really a lot) for reasons not known. That’s all, right?
That’s what the defense wants the judge to do, surely, and you’re right that this isn’t a murder trial. But what it IS is that these three men have covered up/tampered with/conspired about a dead man who has been sexually assaulted in their home a few minutes after they claim to have gone to bed. You need a context – is it likely that someone (an intruder, a brother) brought with them devices to restrain and “milk” semen? Would these three men have any disposition/knowledge/interest in assaulting a man? IF Robert had been strangled with a rope, would it matter that the conspirator homeowners owned rope just like what was used hidden away in their closet though they claimed to have slept through it? IF Robert had been shot to death, would it be relevant that the homeowners had a cache of guns in the closet of a resident who claimed to have slept through it?
Almost anything taken OUT of context makes individual pieces seem irrelevant or prejudicial, but usually the overall picture is what is to be scrutinized. Hope this helps –
I’m still digging around as best I can to get schooled in Johnson and Drew, the case law that Kirschner is leaning on for his theory and evidence to be ruled in bounds. I’m not a lawyer, but I play one online…
And I’m sure the defense will fire back with their own reams of precedent. We’ll see their response sometime after Feb. 26.
As far as the DNA samples, especially the combined one collected from Robert, we can be certain of one thing: Mr. Science, Bernie Grimm is going to challenge their validity, in particular exactly where and how the medical examiner swabbed. He’s going to go after Lois Goslinowski’s credentials and experience as deputy ME, not chief and her not being board certified.
On the stand, Bernie is going to beat Goslinowski like a rented mule. Grimm work indeed.
Dr. G, don’t blow this one!
Why does DC have anyone on board who is not board-certified? That just begs these kinds of silly distractions.
Oh I know it is what the defense wants and I am unimaginably loath to given them even the tiniest scintilla of what they might want (it’s not up to me, fortunately given that I am not equipped to judge to value of it), but I would be surprised (maybe even pleasantly surprised) if Judge Leibowitz lets all of this stuff in.
I agree that not ALL of it will come in – even the pleading all but states that it won’t ALL come in, but certainly the directly relevant equipment as to what happened to Robert Wone and some to show that the defendants had an inclination to use such things should be admitted.
I will be very helpful for jurors to see just how far these boys are involved in the “scene”. When the jury sees the extremely hardcore BDSM world in which the boys were involved, it will be easier for them to conceive that the boys would go as far as they did. On the surface, not knowing what we all know, its really hard to fathom that an ad executive, a lawyer, and an author of children’s books would be involved in such a mess. Let’s hope Good Judge Leibowitz lets the jury take a tour of the entire inventory, with detailed descriptions of use.
Even if the particular objects in the inventory contain none of Wone’s DNA, aren’t they relevant to show motive, opportunity, intent, preparation, etc.? In other words, some of the objects in the inventory tend to demonstrate that were interested in using the sort of objects that are capable of restraining, inducing ejaculation, and inserting one’s own semen into one’s own rectum. Given that the actual knife used to kill Wone is missing, along with the bloody towels and who knows what else, it would hardly be surprising if the specific objects used on Robert were carted off with the other objects containing his DNA. The inventory demonstrates that these boys certainly weren’t adverse to having more than one of the same object in their collection. My bet is that whatever electrical or other devices were actually used on Robert were discarded or hidden with the knife and other materials.
My thoughts exactly, Frederick. Among the photos on Joe’s computer, I wonder if any show Joe in restraints with some sort of underlining that would prevent the appearance of marks? The inventory of the BDSM equipment lists a nylon under-hood that would be worn underneath a leather hood. I wonder if there is any evidence of similar stuff that would be used with the cuffs/restraints.
Personally, I don’t think any restraints were used on Robert. He was most likely incapacitated to the point of being immobilized. Drugging him to obvilion and sexually assaulting Robert was the thrill that night. I don’t think it was a bondage scene.
The thrill of restraints is preventing someone from being able to move, so I don’t think they would have gotten much out of it, if Robert COULDN’T move to start with.
In addition, the time involved in using any of the restraiting devices would be time-prohibitive.
Has it been determined whether Michael Price is into BDSM?
I’m getting a funny feeling that the Price boys were severely abused growing up.
East Texas couldn’t have been hospitable for two gay babies of very young parents, and, to top it off, Joe’s dad apparently divorced their bio-mom — Vicki — three days before the birth of his second brother. The apples here may have not fallen too far from the tree in terms of looking out for number one.
Nevertheless, their family’s odyssey to Key West (even then a bohemian getaway), Okinawa (a notorious spot for the samurai culture), and Bourne, Mass. (near Provincetown) almost presaged their coming out as gay in the 1990s.
I think we may be looking at abuse far beyond the bullying kind. Not that even the worst abuse would justify the end product.
Oh I would imagine that you are right about that fch. I am also sure that we will heard more about that than we might ever care to in the penalty phase of this affair. For now “boo-hoo Joe and Michael?” not so much, until they come clean about what was done to Robert.
Hat tip editors on the plug today from the uber-talented/sexy Lat.
does anyone think that michael price makes dylan ward look like an 0ver-achiever? you cannot make some of this stuff up.
Agree with you on the relative overachiever issue, but Lat = uber-sexy? Maybe sorta cute at most, but are you Lat himself?! He does read this blog. Hi, David!
the one thing that troubled me with lat’s post was the comments: those in the legal community with no background of the case believe the government is full of hot air – that the girls will ultimately walk to greener pastures in florida.
and no, Nelly – SDI is not Lat. And yes, in a geekish ivy league sort of way, Lat exudes sex (and I typically cannot stand conservatives, sorry Dianne). Lat’s blog is a must-read – and peppered with all things gay!
For most gay men, I would guess that Above the Law’s David Lat is in the “doable” range, but only barely. At least from his online photos. He does have a beautiful mind, though, and blog.
As for the dreadful comments section accompanying Lat’s analysis on the case, our own dearest Craig set those Doubting Thomases “straight” with a delightfully detailed post. Thanks once again, Craig!
Much more than “doable”, darling Clio.
And don’t forget utterly charming. He really is.
you too, mon ami. 🙂
keep up the great work.
Almost all of this evidence will be allowed in. It is highly relevant and highly probative and far outweighs the risk of undue prejudice. I’d be shocked if the defendants succeed in keeping it out.
I equate it to someone that is on trial for a bombing and bomb making components were found in the defendant’s house.
Does that inclusion mean the admission of even the Joy Rider rim seat, partially disassembled? Let us hope for Sgt. Plante’s sake that there is no demonstration of such a device in open court. Nevertheless, I am heartened to see such an expert on gay BDSM as Plante on the DC police force, even if Dr. G is still not board-certified.
Editors, I was intrigued by the redacted photo of a male torso in Attachment B: was that Culuket himself before the big weight gain after August 2, 2006?
Also, page 9, note 7 was quite revealing: I had no idea that Dyl’s counsel Schertler had reported the three-day-old burglary to police. I had always thought that Dyl had called the police about the burglary, after he had dutifully came by Swann to pick up the mail. I guess that cardiologist Needham had to pick up the bill for Schertler’s time here, too. Broken hearts to pay for broken hearts: enraging!
ANNAZED
Find it interesting that you did not complain about DROWSYS long post.
Especially since he adopts many of my theories:
date rape drug leading Robert early to bed drowsy,
Victor stumbling across the scene, Victor being in shock, Joseph “topping from the bottom,” Joe’s porn obsession, narcissism making him think that he could get away with anything, Ward having father issues, Ward being the probable stabber, Michael Price’s phlebotomy training put to use.
Perhaps if you read my posts, you might actually learn something.
Its a real shame the dc cops lost evidense, the judge seems to careless about getting any justice for Robert Wone or his family! These monsters who were suppose to be his friends disgust me. I really wonder if the out come would have been different if Robert wasn’t a asian american. It just seems the gov’t dropped the ball at every chance they could. One question WHERE IS THE JUSTICE FOR ROBERT WONE AND HIS FAMILY??
This site has been hacked! Good bye Eliseo Athan & Tuan Trottier. Editors, please dump these creeps.