From a Reliable Source
Much was made, but little seen, about early investigation reports about the contents of Joe Price’s computer at his old firm, Arent-Fox. In the immediate aftermath of Robert’s murder, DC Police and other law enforcement agencies conducted a number of physical and data searches looking for evidence.
Warrants were issued to search 1509 Swann, Price’ BMW and a number of computers. Word surfaced that Price’s work PC contained a number of risque photos, but little else surfaced for the public in either the legal filings or as evidence at last summer’s obstruction trial.
Some had wondered about the existence of a contract between Price and Ward. It’s common in some S&M relationships that the specifics, bounds and limitations of what is to transpire, in the bedroom, playroom and beyond, is stipulated in writing.
Recently we’d heard from a very reliable source, that such a contract was found on Price’s office computer. And from that document, a number of interrogatory and deposition questions were drawn up and posed to the then defendants.
As we all know, during the legal wrangling that preceded the planned October wrongful death civil trial, the defense strategy called for a wall of silence – none but the most simple questions posed to Price, Ward and Zaborsky yielded any answers.
One question directed at Price was certainly met with stony silence:
“Did Dylan Ward order you to kill Robert Wone?”
We have every reason to trust the source of this tip. Whether the document in question ever surfaces remains to be seen.
Wow. It is so like Joe to create the contract – from comments here about “topping from the bottom,” on down the line. Maybe the contract helped them both believe that Dyl was the “Dom”. If that was the case then I would imagine the “contract” would be very explicit that Joe was under every obligation to do as Dyl said. Whether that had anything to do with Robert’s murder, I don’t know, of course.
A contract? Did Joe and Victor have such a partnership agreement as well? Which codicils, if any, concerned Mr. Hixson and/or the younger Price? Could the theater of BDSM have turned deadly if one or more of the residents had traveled to “the Valley of the Dolls?” Discerning Lil Dyl as dom would have required at least two dirty martinis by my calculation.
BTW, Dyl is still advertising on the gay male-related Masseur Finder as a therapeutic provider, while pushing his Pure Energy to middle-aged matrons. One might venture that Victor must be behind Dyl’s multi-leveled media strategy. Go figure!
Not to worry, Dear Clio.
I’m sure you will always have your reserved seat for your real/imagined “theater of BDSM” in this case.
I would kindly suggest that you play the original “Valley of the Dolls” in your theater, rather than anything in this case.
Watching Patty Duke’s embarrasing over-acting hair pieces will be more entertaining, and more in line with real BDSM, than those silly amateurs on Swann St. Just saying. Up with People!!!
Was a contract for murder in the contract? I’d think if there were orders to act they’d have been incrimental with no intent of murder. But then again, three stabs, injection marks, no sign of fighting, no sign of intruder. How cruel.
And meantime, Victor Zaborsky is pushing sugared chocolate milk and Oreos to further fatten the youth of America and Dylan Ward is engaged in physical manipulations of “joint compressions and decompressions” in this messy, “messy world,” where a man is murdered in the private home of his friend, where torture is actively sought by his friend and Victor Zaborsky, Joseph Price and Dylan Ward put up a wall of uncooperation when Mrs. Wone and the justice system actively sought answers to the murder of Robert Wone. If I were those guys I’d need something stronger than milk to get me through. Not necessariy ecstacy, or anything of that ilk though.
Thanks, Editors, for linking to that sample contract. One might have guessed that the Thirteenth Amendment ended slavery (in border states and districts like DC, Maryland, Delaware, and Kentucky), but, to the horror of Wilberforce and of Douglass, it is still going on — who knew!
If Joe did include the planks about the Slave’s Veto, he unwittingly may have had a situation such as August 2 in mind. If he did not include that section, then oh well!
The link’s link to the essay on the qualities of a successful dominant is quite revealing — the qualities listed may not have applied to Mr. Ward in the mind of Mr. Price suddenly that summer. PapaRazi may have more work to do after all!
Wow. I missed that link. Still reading.
I’m guessing the guys didn’t follow the sample for many things given that “Slave” slept upstairs with his partner in the “[M]aster bedroom” most nights, and “Master” told the cops that “Slave” was the one with all the money.
It might explain why Underwear Guy could only sleep in “panties” although I really don’t want to see a picture of Joe in a bra and tights.
Was this contract make-believe as per one of Dyl’s insipid children’s tales? Or, was it a binding (pun intended!) legal document? And, would Joe and Victor’s partnership agreement supercede any contract between Joe as Slave and Dyl as Master? Did Joe draft this contract at work, cutting and pasting from online templates? Why would anyone see Dyl as Master — he may be a jack of all trades, but a master of none!
It’s interesting to see how this info has been leaked so many years after the murder. At least this was already known by some people. Now, how many years will it take before we learn the unknowns that will solve this murder? It may need a Mark Fuhrman type to dig into the case and write a book. It worked very well for the Martha Moxley case.
I wonder if Price and Ward had a contract with their neighbor Scott Hixson? Did the rules of the contract only apply when Zaborsky would leave town and Sarah Morgan visited friends to watch television?
So, where’s the beef?
While I know that the editors are quite smart and can ferret out a lot of info, I have my doubts about such a contract existing.
The use of the phrase: “It’s common in some S&M relationships …” in the post is meaningless. How can anything be “common in some…?”
Based upon this post, most people in their comments seem to accept it as a fact. Indeed, the post ends without a question as to whether the document exists or not, but simply as to whether it will “surface.”
Further, if such a document were to “surface,” do you think it will include a “murder clause?” If so, or if it would have any evidenciary value (if, indeed, it exists), don’t you think the prosecution would have used it in the criminal trial, and we would have heard about it in the civil trial?
I have been told by a separate reliable source that the contract was found on Joe’s computer. I seriously doubt it had a specific “murder clause” but my guess is that they had to fill it with Dyl’s powers because he had so few in their household. FWIW.
Thanks, Bea. Both you and the editors are valid sources and have provided trustworthy input. It wouldn’t be surprising at all that they had a contract. And JP had a contract of a sort with VZ in his formal commitment so maybe not only are such contracts common with certain dom-sub relationships, but maybe JP had a thing about contractualizing his relationships. Could be the atty in him.
Getting this info from a second source is helpful. It adds more smoke that indicates the presence of fire. Keeping stuff like this on a business computer is really bizarre. Thank you for following up with your source, Bea. You and the editors are doing a fine job.
I wonder if Scott Hixson had to sign a contract before he hooked up with Ward and Price.
And, Bill 2, did Joe have a contract with his lesser sibling and/or that sibling’s then-lover?
Did Sarah’s lease contain a clause about vacating the premises when it was boys’ night in?
Did Aunt Marcia make them all to sign a prohibition on overnight or random male guests?
Recall that this was/is an evolving “family” (according to Vicki), stitched together by law and order — at least on paper!
Clio, Dear. Please read over your post above 10/08/2011 at 10:57 pm. My dear, you have gone plum contract crazy. Joe’s contracts with his sibling? Contract with his sibling’s then-lover? Contract with the Man on the Moon? With the neighbor’s dog?
Again, where’s the beef? And if this was on Joe’s work computer, the prosecutors would have it, and they did not use any contract at trial. Do you think that if there was any incriminating contract that the prosecutors would not have used it? So, if there was any type of contract, it must not have had any evidenciary value.
Frankly, I need more than what has been given to fall within the majority here of contract believers. And, it would appear that even if something like that existied, it gives no value against the Swann 3 or it would have been used in the criminal trial.
Bruce, all BD/S&M evidence was excluded from the criminal trial.
Exactly.
Clio, I like your thinking. Much great science, great solutions, and great inventions come from inventive thinking. Written or oral, there’s clearly a contract btw the “family” forever of 1509 Swann Street. And some kind of “agreement” or contract seems to extend out to the outer family: the mother of their children in Silver Spring, the brother, the brother’s lover, the basement tenant and the lover across the street. They are(like Mob) Family.
Well, if we are going to get that loosey goosey with it, we probably all have “oral contracts” with each other, which essentially say: I will not bother you if you don’t bother me; I will not attack or molest you and visa versa, etc.
Hiya Hoya: Good point as always. However, I don’t think that if there was any type of a written contract between the Swann 3 or any of them, that it would be thrown out in the wash of a motion to exclude BD S/M material in the criminal trial, especially if it had any evidentiary value in some kind of “unholy alliance” between or among the defendants, or made it more likely than not that they were involved in the murder or cover-up. Not for a second.
Dear Clio:
Since it is all the rage, I am going to sit down with my elderly cat tonight and make her sign a contract. What should I put in it?
Yes to be a citizen of a state, country, etc. you agree to certain standards-essentially contracts. That was funny about your cat. And in reality, if you adopted it from a shelter you likely signed an agreement or contract to take home your cat! So, the atty JP having contracts with all layers of the family-esp. re silence? A possi-
bility
What if the contract (and the x-rated photos) were stored on Joe’s work computer because Victor wouldn’t be able to find them there?
I’m guessing that “old” desktop in the 2nd bedroom was just used for on-the-spot trolling for thirds and most of the “saved” material was at Arent. I wonder how much Victor knew of these escapades until trial. Must’ve been an interesting dinner with Ma and Pa Zaborsky that night.
Hiya Hoya:
That makes some sense, what you say there. It is likely that JP would be able to access his work computer remotely from home, but only by using a password, which Victor would likely not be given.
So, Bruce, then the members of the “Family” were not as transparent to each other, as the male couple/trouple advice books suggest: these may have not been the “ethical sluts” of the literature.
Clio, darling. I was just noting that Hoya had a good point, that if someone wanted to not share things with housemates, and keep a virtually open computer at home, one of the easiest ways would be to keep stuff on a remote (oofice)computer, that you can see only by typing your password from your home computer.
I wasn’t saying that this is what happened or there was secrecy. It may be that Victor knew all about the photos. I don’t think we can assume that he did not know, any more than we can assume that he did know.
When (would it be likely) did Victor know about the photos and contract and what impact did that have upon their relationship? If he knew along, then he might not have screamed so loudly on August 2.
Oops — it should read above: “If he knew all along, then …” Enjoy!
So would it be fair to say Robert’s death was a “contract” killing?
I suspect a lot of things will dribble out about this case over the next year or two. Many of the players were lawyers, and lawyers are likely hesitant to leak info about a case in progress. At this point, there are currently no legal proceedings in progress, which means that they can trade info and gossip without fear of tainting any ongoing litigation. I suspect that more than one person has the X-rated photos on a flash drive somewhere, as insurance against any vindictiveness from Price.
I’m not sure what’s so inherently suspicious about a contract that’s apparently very common in these kinds of relationships. It makes sense, before you start battering someone sexually, to get consent for specific acts in writing beforehand – that protects everyone in the case of a break-up/criminal accusation. It’s kind of like an S&M prenup.
“An S&M prenup” for a bridesmaid, never the bride: priceless! How did the contract protect the parties in the case of their
“break-up and criminal accusations” — hmmm!
Who then served as witnesses for this rather revealing contract and its signing? Did our Texan tourist and/or Mr. Pring do so? Or, was it Mr. Hixson? Or, was it the lesser Price and/or the diarist Mr. Hinton? Or, did a female friend/relative vouch for the madness of two? Inquiring minds still want to know!
I don’t see why you’d need witnesses.
Let’s say there’s a nasty breakup and one party goes to the police and says, “my jerk ex-boyfriend burned candle wax on my private area” or, “he tied a rope around my neck and hung me from something while he pleasured me” – AND they have proof, maybe scars, video, witnesses, photos, etc. Well, that sure does look like a battery, but if the defendant can produce a signed contract explaining that all of this was consensual, and laying out the “rules” for the relationship, they’d have a good consent defense.
Bruce (the columns were too skinny above):
if you look at sample contracts, from which Joe’s was likely pieced together (not necessarily the samples the Eds found), you’re not going to find any smoking guns. The probative value would only go to the S&M relationship, which was specifically excluded. No one suggested that it genuinely had a murder provision, although if it said “Slave will do whatever Master tells him (provided it does not violate other provisions which are wide open” that’s nothing that would get around the exclusion of it being evidence of an S&M relationship. But if it HAD come in, much like in the civil case, THEN the prosecutors, like the plaintiffs, could’ve mined it for its logical and illogical conclusions (i.e. plaintiff’s counsel asking if Joe murdered Robert because he was bound to do so by contract — although, as you know, no depositions of the defendants would be had in the criminal trial and the defendants didn’t testify).
What Bea said. I don’t think there was a “smoking gun” in the contract, if indeed it did exist, but I was unaware that written contracts like this existed for BDSM relationships. While it makes perfect sense to me to have one, I simply didn’t know it was a common practice. As for why it didn’t show up at trial, I agree with both Bruce and Hoya–it was likely barred by the BDSM ruling, and it probably had little evidentiary value. Joe and Victor’s domestic partnership contract/certificate/whatever didn’t show up either, because it really had no value and wasn’t in dispute.
I remain a bit surprised by the contract, though, in light of the fact that Dylan didn’t seem to have a lease (that we know of–it’s entirely possible that one exists and hasn’t come to light).
Bill O: It seems more logical than the other way around: a lease and no contract. By the time they moved into 1509 Swann they were “family” or aimed to be. JP set D up in Equality VA, etc. and by the time of R. Wone’s murder JP seemed (by letters he wrote to DW that have been made public) willing to do anything to keep Dyl in the relationship. If anything the contract probably added to the titillation of the master-slave thing. I just can’t imagine JP in the process of being gagged and “tortured” by DW spluttering out a reminder that rent is due on the first–or something.
Dyl’s current exile in southern Florida does seem to be both leaseless and leashless as well. May Mr. Ward allow his own beaux and/or clients to sleep over at Joe & Vic’s — do ninjas do the rather pedestrian Miami Shores? Maybe not.
Why, if they were innocent, would the trouple still be living together under the same roof as man, wife, and former concubine? Usually, S&M f-buddies drift away from each other on their own volition, as age tempers passion. What is different in this situation? Could it be that shared secrets have cemented the family bonds in a way that legal or semi-legal contracts could never do? One still wonders.
Oh my, Clio. I’m shocked. Shocked, I say.
I have absolutely no doubt in my mind that if the trouple had broken up that this would be to you and most on here a clear absolute sign that they were guilty.
But, you seem to argue above that their staying together is a sign that they are not innocent, i.e., guilty.
Damned if they do, and damned if they don’t.
Honestly, don’t you have to agree, dear?
Also, it seems to be a national trend that people drift apart as age tempers passion. Just look at divorce statistics. Why do you have to demean gay people by placing them in your condescending phrase “S&M f-buddies.” By doing so, you do de-humanize them, and to some extent, all gay people, correct? Moralizing much dear? With all my love, because I know that sometimes you just get taken away a bit, maybe anger and frustration at the history of the trouple, but I know that there is kindness and sensibility in you also.
Just wanting to open the kinder angels in your heart, lovey, as I know they are there.
A Catch 22, dear, is what Mr. Price called “the damned any way you look at it” situation in his revealing email to Miss Tara.
And, that missive just doesn’t appeal to “the better angels” of one’s nature, to which Abraham Lincoln with his famed “lavender streak” once alluded. But the Law, your obsession, does give one the benefit of the doubt and the loophole through which the former defendants have ridden to “Philadelphia freedom” in Miami Shores. Only in America: Herman Cain in first place and Dylan Ward as business owner!
Hi All:
Like Bill 0, I was somewhat stunned at this sudden prevalence of written contracts in S/M bondage arrangements. Query: how does one do the statistical work to determine that a written contract is “common in some” such relationships? And I am still a bit confused as to what “common in some” really means in the editor’s post, but I am dense that way.
Seems like sort of an odd group to be able to communicate with clearly enough such that the commonality can be established. But, I am no statistician. And, am obviously somewhat naive as to the whole subject.
However, JP was, indeed, a lawyer, and he may have been just mad for written contracts. Certainly, it is worth discussing because our intrepid editors and Bea have some inside information, and I trust them that they sincerely believe there is such a written contract.
Doesn’t a S/M prenup, as Clio and nw humorously reference, take sort of the romance and fun out of a S/M bondage relationship? I mean, do we have to line up lawyers to review such contracts to protect our interests versus our S/M bondage mates? I do know, because I watch too much tv, that people in such relationships usually have a “safe word.” Indeed, Charlie Sheen’s mother on 2 & a half idiots refered to one in her dalliances on the first show with Ashton Kutcher. Seems like a “safe word” rather than a written contract, ought to satisfy most fears in such a relationship.
And, susan, technically, my contract with the ASPCA is between me and the ASPCA. I want a written signed contract with my cat to get some order in my house. I really hate it when she makes strange noises in my ear in the morning because she thinks I ought to be out of bed. I’m sure there are things she doesn’t like about me.
“Doesn’t a S/M prenup, as Clio and nw humorously reference, take sort of the romance and fun out of a S/M bondage relationship?”
Bruce – I’ve never seen “romance” in the same sentence with S/M bondage. Is romance involved? Isn’t it more of a business relationship?
Bill 2: I was being a bit “tongue in cheek” with my expression you pointed out, but I honestly don’t know the answer. I would imagine that S/M bondage can be used in many ways and people have different responses and feelings about it. I expect that there can be vanilla S/M and hardcore S/M. There can be quite a range of behaviors, I bet, and different people would get different things from it. Romance may be one? I don’t think it is my business what consenting people do in their bedrooms, as long as everyone is of legal age and nothing is illegal (such as battery or worse).
I wonder if JP proposed the contract so Dylan would feel legitimized. You know, Victor as Registered Domestic Partner, but Dylan as the contractual Master of Slave Joe. Na. I think Joe just liked having evidence that he and Dylan had something, anything, binding them.
Are both contracts still in effect, or did one or the other have a sunset provision and/or escape clause? Hmmmm.
What else was stored on Joe’s work computer — a catalogue of the household’s erotica for insurance purposes, a travelogue of the trouple’s sojourns in Italy, and/or Dyl’s official transcripts from Simmons College? And, why would one store such a personal item such as a glamour shot or an S&M “pre-nup” on a work computer? That seems rather dumb to me, given that we live in the Age of Surveillance.
I hear ya, Bruce. But I’d advise the cat to get herself some outside representation before placing her paw on the dotted line….
Re a contract taking the “fun” out of an S&M relationship, we know part of the appeal for JP was the “torture.” As mentioned earlier, the contract itself, assuming there was one, probably held some appeal.
I do wonder what Lynn really thought about that S&M relationship, even if she ruled discussion of it out of bounds at the criminal trial.
BTW, Editors, did you get to speak to Lynn at that conference in late summer? Sharing the dais must have been quite an honor for you all.
Susan, dear, Joe may have liked “torture” then, but, with the change in presidential administrations and definitions of torture, his tastes in leisure may have transposed to a refined preference for Asian massages, the kinds done by Pure Energy.
Five years after the “burglary” which so distracted the “very active” investigation into Robert’s murder, have Michael and Phelps been scared “straight” into becoming upstanding citizens?
Whose brother would rob a house in which one’s dear friend was murdered just a few weeks before? Why would one work with police to have the charges against the offending brother and his accomplice dropped? Why would one bad-mouth one’s brother to detectives, while spinning the intruder theory? It just does not add up!
Wonder if Joe, no longer rolling in dough, will have to say ‘no’ to Baby Bro Michael too much and risk Michael exchanging info on Joe the NEXT time Michael gets in trouble. Maybe he’s turned his life around, maybe not.
I do wonder what Dyl thought (or thinks) about Michael: recall Mr. Ward’s reported fright upon discovering the “burglary” — why would one be scared then but not during the evening of August 2-3?
If Michael’s silence/assent needs to be bought, one might surmise that Victor or the Wards would assuage the lesser Price at a lesser price.
With increasing age, Michael may be far less likely to get into trouble, either for drugs and/or via his Manhunt. My guess is that, in his advertised spectrum of mild to wild, it’s much more mild these days.
Dear Clio:
2 questions as to your first paragraph above:
(1) What makes you come to your conclusion that Mr. Ward was not scared the evening of August 2-3? How can you know that? I know of nothing to indicate that he wasn’t scared that night. What contrary evidence do you have?
(2) Why wouldn’t anyone be frightened by coming upon a burglary in a Murder House? Wouldn’t you be? I would. Especially after what happened in that house before. Assuming for just a millisecond that Mr. Ward is innocent, he and anyone else would be more than reasonable in being frightened upon coming on a burglary at that Murder House. Yes?
Just asking.
Clarification – I believe Dylan was frightened of Michael Price in relation to the “burglary.” My recollection is that he got Scott Hixon’s assistance because he was afraid Michael might still be inside.
Well, DW did say he was “worried” that the murderer was somewhere still in the house as he went off by himself to sit on the couch in another room.
BTW, Bruce, I think Bea’s point was that he seemed more frightened of a potential burglary by M. Price than he did of being in the house the night of Robert Wone’s murder. He was fine sitting off in another room, not locked in, just a-sittin’ and “worried.”
For a person who studied literature and was fairly successful at soliciting donations for E-VA it was an interesting choice of word to use. And an interesting choice of action to take. Interesting all around.
Any “worry”, dear Bruce, on the evening of August 2-3, felt by Lil Dyl, most probably revolved around his possible loss of patronage and familial support due to a self-inflicted predicament. When faced with possible discovery, one cannot always be confident in the blind faith of others in one’s innocence.
As for the self-reported “fright” in the wake of the burglary, Dyl had become — by that time — much better at the theatrics of a crime scene. Of course, Bruce darling, anyone with a pulse would be frightened at another crime in the same sight, even if this particular, later “crime” seemed to be either a cruel misunderstanding or a sloppy, desperate gamble. And, by then, they had all moved on to Aunt Marcia’s.
Oops, read “site”, not “sight”, in the post — one should not have a glass of wine before posting!
Dearest Clio:
My respect and awe at your mind reading abilities, regarding Lil Dyl’s feelings, is surpassed only by my near rapture at the feet of your apparent infallibility and confidence in those mind reading feats! Live long and prosper.
Bruce, doll, one need not be from the planet Vulcan (or from the state of Illinois for that matter) in order to perceive the oddness of Mr. Ward’s demeanor that fateful evening. And, it would be only natural to speculate about the reasons behind the incongruities of Lyl Dyl’s response to the events of August 2-3. One can only wonder why the detectives did not probe (or flesh out) those rationales a bit deeper than they apparently had done.
Mr. Phelps Collins indicates on his Facebook profile that he is the CEO of “Iceman Phasions.” He better keep Joe’s number handy. If “Iceman Fashions” of Denmark phinds out that Phelps is using using a brand name so similar to their trademark, Mr. Collins may phind himselph in bit of trouble.
CD – it’s great to see you phound your way back here again. You’ve been gone too long.
CD, I agree. Interesting re Phelps and phunny too. BTW, last time I looked online it appears he was residing with his mother and her spouse in Naperville.
William and Mary Website
In Loving Memory: A plaque created in Robert Wone’s memory reads, “Rest awhile and enjoy the wonderful world around you.”
Tribe family remembers Robert Wone ’96
News about:
by Brian Whitson | November 3, 2011
Homecoming 2011: Old friends, new traditions
Tribe Athletics
The College community gathered over Homecoming weekend to remember one of their own.
On Oct. 22, 2011, two benches and two Chinese pistache trees were dedicated in memory of Robert Eric Wone ’96. Dozens of friends and family gathered on Barksdale Field to remember Wone, who would have celebrated his 15th class reunion that weekend. Plaques in Wone’s memory read “Rest awhile and enjoy the wonderful world around you.” The William & Mary alumnus was murdered in Washington D.C. in 2006 in what remains an unsolved crime.
“The benches and trees are ideally located on Barksdale Field on the William& Mary campus, a field that overlooks a large grassy area where children are free to play and where students will often soak in the sun/pretend to study,” Wone’s wife, Kathy, wrote in a message following the event to classmates and friends thanking them for their hard work to raise funds for the tribute.
“This has been one of my happiest days since Robert’s tragic death.”
Wone’s death five years ago has affected many at the close-knit College community. By all accounts, he had a remarkable career at William & Mary. As an undergraduate, Wone served as both a president’s aide and a tour guide for prospective students and their families visiting campus. A Monroe Scholar, he received many honors, including membership into the Golden Key International Honor Society and Omicron Delta Kappa, the national leadership honor society for college students. At his Commencement ceremony in 1996, Wone, who majored in public policy at the College, received one of the two student Algernon Sydney Sullivan Awards.
“I always thought that award was very fitting for Robert,” said Sam Sadler ’64 M.Ed ‘71, who became good friends with Wone while serving as vice president for student affairs. Sullivan Award recipients are chosen based on their “heart, mind and helpfulness to others.”
“Robert was a top student. He was the kind of person who could have been elected to any office on campus but he always chose to work from behind the scenes,” said Sadler, who spoke at the dedication. “He was very, very committed to his friends.”
As an undergraduate, Sadler said, Wone became interested in the history of the College. He met and became good friends with the late Davis Y. Paschall, who served as William & Mary’s 22nd president from 1960 to 1971. He once wrote to Paschall and thanked him for inspiring a young student “to seek greatness in anonymity,” Sadler remembered. “He went on to say that ‘One of the most important things he found here was a loving group of friends.’
Sadler added, “Both thoughts are defining characteristics of Robert. He was constantly teaching me how to be a friend. He was just a remarkable person.”
David Aday, professor of American studies and sociology, knew Wone well as both a student in his class and an advisee. Aday said Wone, who was part of an exceptional cohort of students that came to William & Mary in the mid-1990s, made a positive impact on many people.
“There was always this incredible combination of kindness and vision,” Aday said.
Following his William & Mary graduation, Wone went on to earn his law degree from the University of Pennsylvania before working as an attorney in the nation’s capital. At the time of his death, Wone was serving as general counsel for Radio Free Asia.
Kathy Wone said the dedication was her first visit to campus since 2006. It had been “too painful, too lonely” to return, she said in her message to friends. Now, however, she has a reason to return on a regular basis: “To make sure the trees are growing healthy and strong and to watch the benches get that well-worn sheen from lots of bottoms sitting on them!”
And she offered a suggestion for friends and family when they return to campus.
“I hope you’ll take to heart the sentiment chosen for the plaques made in Robert’s memory – to rest awhile and enjoy the wonderful world around you.”
Editor’s note: The William & Mary News included excerpts from Kathy Wone’s email to friends with permission from
Reading this brought tears to my eyes. My loathing for the three men withholding information that could solve this case has grown a hundred-fold.
Thanks, Burke. Like Bill2, hard not to get teary following this case and reading that. At this link you can see pictures:http://www.wm.edu/news/stories/2011/tribe-family-remembers-robert-wone-96-123.php
This news does atone, a little, for the Homecoming 2006 awards ceremony presided over by Joe Ray Price himself. I do wonder if W&M’s current Rector — who actually defended Joe in the press in the opening days of the scandal — will publicly embrace this tribute: if so, we’ll know then for sure that even his own Tribe has abandoned the former Errant Faux partner to his tropical oblivion of Sun Belt obscurity.
Clio, dear.
Logic check.
Why would the current Rector, who — as you say –“actually” defended Joe at one time, have any hesitancy in embracing such a wonderful tribute to Mr. Wone? There is absolutely nothing inconsistent in “defending JP” and embracing a tribute to and honoring Robert Wone. Please have another glass of wine, dearie. It might clear up your thinking. It works for me.
Bruce, do you really believe that there is “nothing inconsistent” in advocating for Culuket and, at the same time, in honoring Robert Wone? Did Lynn’s “cold comfort” find that to be the case?
My dear dear dear Clio.
With all due respect, I am afraid you need to take off your JP guilt-tinged glasses for a moment and look at things with fresh and normal perspective, and apply some basic logic.
Again, there is absolutely nothing inconsistent in honoring the life and the person of Robert Wone on the one hand…
…and being unsure as to who murdered him, or supportive of someone you know (as apparently the new Provost did) as to who the murderer is.
In your world, apparently, if one has any sympathy or questions the quilt of any of the Swann 3, that person must hate and disrespect Robert Wone. That is illogical, and does not compute, dear.
Only in Wonderland, Alice, is that illogical. Please explain how it is illogical in detail so my brain synapses can take a break.
That you can’t seem to grasp that simple distinction worries me, as you know I am concerned and worried about your gorgeous mind and usual rational thought processes becoming warped. Alien abduction? A bad day? And do remember, dear one, love means never having to say you’re sorry.
Bruce, doll, given the gathered and publicly-known evidence five years after the murder, one could NOW not be both honoring Mr. Wone and then defending Culuket, Lil Dyl, and Ma’am at the same time: that does not compute, if placed in historical context!
I’m sure that the “alien abduction” angle did cross Mr. Price’s mind as a possible explanation for the murder, right before Diane Durham arrived. It is too bad that he didn’t stick with it: he’d probably be doing time right now if he had!
Clio, doll face, the fact that you find it illogical that one can (1) honor and celebrate the life of Mr. Wone; and (2) question someone’s culpability for his death….
….is the reason this blog became irrelevant to serious debate very soon after it came into being. That this blog was one sided, closed minded and severely logic impaired, is why it was written off by so many who apply critical thought and logic.
Please continue your bashing, it must be somehow theraputic for you. And, I hear that Walmart has some great sales this weekend!!!
When it comes to bashing, Bruce, you have demonstrated many times over, that you’re the real pro in that category. It’s also no surprise that you would be well aware of the latest sales and happenings at Walmart.
Dear, dear Bruce: As you may know, “it’s a messy world out there,” and it’s best that one “relax, rebalance, [and] rebuild,” as one Miami Beach-based website has noted.
Accordingly, Happy Thanksgiving to all — except those giving thanks for the incompetence of the MPD following the murder!! X,O Clio.
Well, at the risk of being cheeky, there is at least one (formerly bossy) bottom that one hopes never gets to sit there in complacent triumph! Hmmm, I wonder who that could possibly be, Bruce?
OK, I’ll take the challenge, darling……Michele Bachmann’s husband?
LOL! Now, that’s the Bruce we all “know” and love.
In the spirit of the jaunty humor of our favorite counselor from the land of Lincoln, I would add Senator Lindsay Graham as a possibility in answering the riddle above, followed by actress Joan Collins.
“Louis Hinton Price”–if you type that in to Google just like that, you will get a few links-one to a Radaris page that shows “Louis Hinton (Price)” with what seems to be a pic of a younger L. Hinton and some background. Is he married to a Price? Did he just take on that name? Is it something else? Strange.
I have always suspected that Mr. Hinton knows much more than he has told anyone, including the lesser Price.
Perhaps, the following may be a thought from the Samuel Pepys of Silver Spring: “Dear Diary, why did I ever go from ‘mild-to-wild’ with the likes of Michael Price?”
It really is odd that “(Price)” is part of his name there. And that is him. Wonder how often he gets down to Florida to visit the brothers Price.
Re everyone out in Fla, it seems ultimately their clan may grow apart. Are they not sick of each other already?
While they may be sick of each other and could be growing mentally apart, do they dare move apart? Don’t they have to keep watch on each other to be sure that nobody reveals the secrets they share regarding the death of Robert Wone? If one of them announced that he wanted to leave, would the other two allow it to happen?
It seems to me that they’re stuck with each other. Perhaps one who may be less involved in the murder, will begin to resent the bond that keeps them glued together.
Sadly, I think that’s Victor, and he spends his time making sure that the other two keep him with them, not unlike the annoying little brother that must be tolerated.
When Zaborsky leaves Miami to work on a milk campaign, does he wonder who will be jumping into his bed while he’s away? Does J.Price have a list of contacts who are ready to visit when the coast is clear?
My guess is that Victor KNOWS, even if he doesn’t know, that the moment he leaves on business his bed becomes a playground for Joe. My other guess is that Joe’s attractiveness meter has taken a major hit (far less money and influence, far more pounds) and thus the boys parading through may be far less desirable – does that make Victor feel better? How sad.
I trust that Joe has given up his pursuit of men: food has become his only friend.
OMG – Please give this up. This has gone far beyond a strange fixation to bizarre obsession. Please, this is just not healthy. Mrs. Wone has moved beyond. I strongly suggest that you all do as well. Otherwise, form a 12 Step Support group. This isn’t heathy.
You must’ve checked in, Bill. What’s up with that?
No doubt Michael Skakel would have said something similar to those seeking justice for the death of Martha Moxley, though he had different reasons for wanting the case to be forgotten. 27 years after her murder, there was an indictment. Just as people never gave up hope that the killer of Martha Moxley would find himself in prison, we are part of a group who anticipate justice for Robert Wone. Hopefully, this won’t take 27 years.
Well said. And I’m sure Kathy Wone would like very much for her husband’s killers to be caught, tried, and convicted. It’s absurd to think otherwise.
The newly-resurrected case of Natalie Wood also comes to mind here; could the star of “Hart to Hart” and Culuket actually have something in common?
Indeed, the lack of mainstream media coverage and celebrity connections in this case (unlike in the Moxley or Wood cases) continues to necessitate the existence of this weblog, long after Lynn’s rendering of “cold comfort.” Alas, Eric Holder is no Robert Kennedy, and Lil Dyl is no Christopher Walken.
I do think that one of these days, something will give. Be it Michael getting busted for something serious, one of the three having a meltdown (or pillow-talking to the wrong fellow), an “inner circle” member being dogged by conscience – something. I wish I hadn’t given up on Victor growing a spine, but I have.
Or, Sarah will sparkle via P90X? Or, Tom and John will go through a nasty divorce? Or, the Texan tourist and/or Mr. Pring will become a born again Christian? Or, some other unforeseen impossibility …?
Thanks for the suggestion, but I’m going to keep on following this. It’s not really a “bizarre obsession” to want to see a murderer (or murderers) brought to justice. What exactly do you think is unhealthy about that concept?
You said it, Bill Orange. This murder case is still unsolved. I’ll still be checking in and remembering Robert. Their grisly deeds should continue to haunt Joe, Dylan, and Victor for the rest of their lives.
Bill, I disagree sharply with your “ostrich in the sand” indifference to seeking justice, but I love your new avatar/symbol above — who knew that members of Team Price had such whimsy!
Back to stuffing the turkey, Clio.
The Advocate’s year-in-review for 2011 has yet another update on the Isabella Miller-Jenkins case — the ongoing custody battle in which Culuket once had played a valiant knight. What’s fascinating is that, in this go-round in the Advocate, Joseph Price has been written out of the story; compare that to just three years ago in Newsweek.
I guess that a fitting punishment for a self-obsessed, ambitious jurist might be historical neglect or oblivion. History’s dustbin is full of would-be do-gooders turned bad: is it finally time to take out the trash?
http://www.asianweek.com/2011/11/18/who-murdered-robert-wone-blog-over-but-not-out/
How and why did Asian American leaders remain relatively silent on the Wone murder? Was it the garden-variety gay angles, or the possibility, however remote, of a straight man cheating on his wife with a man? Throughout most subcultures, the DL husband has now become the least sympathetic character trope, down there with pedophilic coach and lesbian separatist. So, because of the bad media coverage and the culturally-incompetent police work, community leaders — whether Asian, gay, Asian and gay, etc — consciously or subconsciously blamed Robert for putting himself in that den of iniquity: score other one for Culuket!
Once again, watching and listening to a segment of Dylan Ward’s VCB interview I am reminded how his statements and Victor’s don’t sync up. He comes out of his room and, in one account, see’s VZ in RW’s doorway speaking with JP and 911. In V’s acct, Dylan is the guy in the doorway.
Also, I just noticed that not only does J. Price apparently make stabbing motions for the “benefit” of Kathy Wone at her house in his accting of that night but he does it in the “coming to Jesus” segment of the VCB interview as well. I’d be sick to my stomach myself simulating those motions if my friend had just been murdered in my house. Actually, just thinking about it makes me sick. Wonder if he reprised that display for anyone else out there.
Word, Susan.
Anyone a Sopranos fan besides me? I came across the term “alexithymia”and found this reference to a Sopranos episode in which Tony (the sociopath) is speaking with his therapist:
“During an appointment with Dr. Melfi, Tony is introduced to the idea that he may exhibit some conditions consistent with a condition known as alexithymia. Melfi raises the subject by asking Tony if he knows why sharks were always in motion. Tony replies, “They have to”, showing some knowledge of what she was talking about. Melfi goes on to explain that this is a condition that affects people with antisocial personalities.”
In other words, they keep themselves excessively stimulated so as to never have to consider their actions. The primary hallmark is the inability to assign words to emotions or describe feelings (it is entirely separate from sociopathy or psychopathy but is ‘comorbid’ in some). Alexithymia is defined by:
1. difficulty identifying feelings and distinguishing between feelings and the bodily sensations of emotional arousal
2. difficulty describing feelings to other people
constricted imaginal processes
3. a stimulus-bound, externally oriented cognitive style.
The core issue is that alexithymics have “poorly differentiated emotions limiting their ability to distinguish and describe them to others. This contributes to the sense of emotional detachment from themselves. Alexithymia creates interpersonal problems because if they do form relationships with others they tend to position themselves as either dependent, dominant, or impersonal, such that the relationship remains superficial.” (The all-knowing Wikipedia is my fab resource here).
This may have no relevance here but it struck a chord. With a guy as bright as Joe Price, I found his affect and choice of words so strange during interrogations – about a night in which he sat next to a dying close friend (with whom he’d trade places because he “liked him so much”). A while ago, I wrote a guest column for this blog – here’s something I noted:
Only once did he mention wanting to help find Robert’s killer – when asked if he would tell the police if he knew Dylan or Victor had killed Robert, Joe said he would tell the police. When asked why the police should believe him, he responded with a strangely unremarkable answer: “Because why, why not tell you? I mean, why not? I want to find who did this. You know?”
“Despite trying to stay ahead of the detectives, certain elements of Joe’s behavior (which he knows is being taped) are revealing. His emphatic and vocalized concern over Dylan’s whereabouts and well-being seem odd at best when compared to his lack of concern for Victor (who Joe described as “hysterical” previously). His continued answer of “it’s not possible” and “it’s not even a possibility” to questions about Victor’s or Dylan’s involvement in the murder sounds more like an argument of a teenager accused of breaking curfew than a well-reasoned response of a trial attorney. He uses the same phrase when asked if he, Joe, murdered Robert. He uses one particular analogy twice – once in each set of interviews with different detectives – that “it’s like finding a hippo in your house” (the first time to describe the surreality of the night, the second to describe how it felt to find Robert lying on the bed); another analogy was that “this is as crazy as having a rocket land on your house.” To me, the escalating hyperbole is akin to arguments waged by my teen-aged nephew to my sister in support of his denial that he’d been drinking at a party.”
Just food for thought.
Mr. Price did not ask but once about the murderer, because he knew who did it. He did ask about Dyl in inordinate and odd ways, though, so either the saturnine sidekick may have done the crime, or, perhaps, Mr. Price was worried that Dyl was going to spill the beans about Culuket’s direct involvement. Again, it’s all about Joe!
BTW, is Mr. Price practicing law in Miami? Or, has he become a desperate housewife bent on throwing the best holiday party on the block? Disgusting!
Bea: Your post is good “food for thought,” and I enjoyed reading it. This Alexithymia is very interesting. You say: “Melfi goes on to explain that this is a condition that affects people with antisocial personalities.” In reading your post, the “condition” seems to describe sociopathic behavior, rather than being a condition that sociopaths may have. Can non-sociopaths suffer from the “condition?”
Also, I have to speak up on behalf of your teenaged nephew. 🙂 I have dealt with several very challenging ones. I have come to the conclusion, which also seems to be supported by some recent reported research, that teenagers’ brains are not fully formed until about age 22 or so. I’m confident that you care for your nephews like I do. I’m also sure that we share some of the same horrors of witnessing a train wreck. Happy holidays!
Hi Bruce,
Nice to be nice to one another again! Teenaged nephews have bad excuses for a reason, as you note, as were my excuses (undoubtedly) when I was that age (and likely drinking when questioned).
Alexithymia is apparently more often associated with autism than sociopathic behavior spectrum disorgers and can, I think, stand alone as well. The Wikipedia entry on the particular Sopranos episode did try to associate both disorders (via Melfi’s discussion with Tony) though clearly his sociopathy is more of her concern (and Tony’s victims’ concern:)).
I doubt that Joe has alexithymia but I am struck by his crummy analogies and poor self-expression during the interrogations. Both Victor and Dylan did a better job, in my opinion – even regarding the shower-leaking experiment that was Joe’s experiment, Joe didn’t make sense. It wasn’t until reading/hearing Victor’s explanation did I know what the heck was going on. While Joe was expressive (hands, eye contact) during his interviews, his word choice was simply awful. Strange for a litigator.
Was Joe actually a litigator?
If you mean did he argue cases before, say, the Virginia Supreme Ct.(Miller v Jenkins, e.g.),then, yes.
And, is he a litigator today, chasing down ambulances from a strip mall base just five minutes from “home”? If so, that’s certainly a come-down from arguing before the Virginia Supreme Court. A suitable punishment, perhaps?
And, how is Victor’s latest advertising campaign going? It must be hard for Ma’am to once again monitor her boys, but, advancing age, weight, and the scandal ironically may have made her “duty” easier. She’s on top and intends to stay there?
As for Dyl, he’s probably more content than in 2005 — content with the very limited goals that may seem incongruent with his potential and credentials. Staying out of jail is really a low bar for a Georgetown grad, I am afraid — just sayin’.
Bea, never heard that word before but he does seem detached and/or either hyper aware he’s being taped in that room, esp. when he answers the phone when Tom calls and says in one breath that his friend was stabbed by someone who broke in “in the process of attempting to rob us, basically.” He throws that in knowing both he and the police saw absolutely no evidence whatsoever of any attempt at robbery.
https://whomurderedrobertwone.com/2010/08/19/jp-vcb-1-of-3/
There’s just no break in his talking. It’s like nervous chatter. It goes on and on.
Re what you wrote about him only once mentioning an interest in findingn RW’s murderer, what is noticeable is that there’s no sense of being shaken up or having rage, etc. The only person who seems shaken is Victor Zaborsky. But he doesn’t exhibit rage either.
Have to add that it’s really funny that in this same interview he mentions that no one would give a nickel for what they had on the groundfloor (stereo, etc.) in a pawn shop when his brother got more than a nickel from robbing him and hocking the stuff at a pawn shop.
The Brothers Price came from nothing and will end up with nothing, but, in the mean time, they will have taken much from all of us. Premature marriage in East Texas is never a good thing, Susan!