One More Year, Too Many Unanswered Questions
Seven years ago today at 1509 Swann Street NW, Robert Wone was slain in the home of his three “friends” Joseph Price, Victor Zaborsky and Dylan Ward.
It is yet one more year too many that have passed without justice. That said, we continue to believe that someone, somewhere, holds the key to this tragedy. And that one day, they will come forward – wittingly or otherwise – and help solve what should have been solved years ago.
This is a dark anniversary. But those who still care can help to continue the good deeds and work that Robert pursued during his life. Please make a hefty contribution to the Robert Wone Memorial Trust:
Holtzman, Vogel, Josefiak
45 North Hill Drive Suite 100
Warrenton, Virginia 20186
Seven years since Robert Wone’s murder at 1509 Swann Street, but also only two years to the day that a settlement was entered with Joseph R. Price/aka whatever name is being used now, Dylan M. Ward/aka whatever name is being used now, and Victor J. Zaborsky with R. Wone’s family whereby the three agreed to PAY an undisclosed sum to the Wone estate and to a law clinic at R. Wone’s alma mater. We’ve seen that some great kids have been beneficiaries of the award at the school in R. Wone’s name.
RIP, Robert: you were brutally taken away from this world and your family far too soon — regardless of whatever happened “that fateful evening.”
Thinking about what a good young man Robert was, how his life was stolen, and all those loved ones whose lives were irrevocably changed by his murder. I appreciate the Editors who’ve done all the work to keep this site and case alive; I suspect that the other “veterans” of this site, like me, keep coming back because we cannot forget, and because we suspect that on some level that even our tiny vigilance prevents the public outrage from fading away. I hope that someone with knowledge has a change of heart, or that another, perhaps not in the innermost circle but in the larger one, will have the courage to ask questions that shakes loose critical information. Justice for Robert.
Justice for Robert.
David
Hello all, or for the few who remain committed to checking this website every now and then. This is Kathy, Robert’s wife. No joke. “Thank you” is simply not enough for all the support you continue to give and for all the hope you continue to have in finding justice for Robert. Many, many thanks.
-Katherine Wone
Always know that there are more than just a few who look forward to the day when there will be justice for Robert.
Hi Kathy, I’m sure I’m not the only one here who feels a personal connection to you and think of you often. This case has been – and continues to be – a terrible outrage. I do think that one day there will be justice. My very best to you.
Kathy:
We met briefly after one of the court hearings. I represented this website and its authors when the defendants sought a gag order against further reporting. You are a strong and wonderful person. And please know that Robert is with us — he is introducing people (including me) to good people who seek the truth and justice. I know (believe me, I know) that cannot come close to bringing back your Robert, but he is with us in spirit, in deed and in love.
With enormous respect,
MetoDC
Kathy,
How nice to see your note. As David said above, “Justice for Robert.” And justice for you and the rest of the Wone family.
Take care.
Ms Wone,
Please know that many of us will NEVER stop hoping for justice for Robert.
God bless you Kathy. You are an inspiration to all.
Does anyone know if Fen Bruce Covington worked for the same law firm as Mr Wone or any of the others who where in that house the night that the murder took place? It has come to my attention recently that there may have been a connection at the law firm Covington & Burling. It would be very coincidental if that were the case.
Robn,
We looked into the Smithson case and its resemblance to Robert’s case in this blog post from 2009:
https://whomurderedrobertwone.com/2009/06/16/eerie-resemblance/
Outside of the fact that Bruce Covington and Covington & Burling have similar names, we hdon’t know of any connection. Joe Price, who was in the home the night Robert was murdered, probably knew people outside of Robert who worked at Covington & Burling.
What connection has come to your attention?
David, Editor
At Smithson’s latest appeal hearing on September 10th, Guy Smith who was Bill’s attorney during the trial stated, under oath, that Fen (F) Bruce Covington’s cousin, is the partner (Covington) at Covington & Burling. Bruce Covington did work there when he lived in Washington DC. While he was on the stand, Guy Smith also said that he conducted a thorough investigation of Covington and he believes that Covington is responsible for the Murder of Jason Shephard. Guy Smith has no reason to lie about this. He has already lost the trial and was on the stand to discuss the insufficient council he provided to Bill during his trial. Guy spoke with us candidly after the hearing and reiterated that he believes that Covington is the one that killed Jason Shephard. There are too many similarities in these 2 cases for you not to examine the fact that Bruce Covington worked, lived and played in the DC area. There could be a connection. Especially if you examine the details of the 2 crimes Covington is connected to. I will attach the links below that will exemplify
what this man is capable.
Covington walked away from a rape he was accused of because the victim was deathly afraid to go up against him in court so the accuser did not appear and it was dismissed. In Bills case he was protected by tricky legal maneuver’s in my opinion in part because he IS a lawyer and at the time was a high level administrator at St Joseph’s University – a very prestigious university on the main line in Philadelphia where many of the officials in the county where Bill was tried earned their degrees. I saw with my own eyes and through the eyes of others how protected this man was during the investigation and trial, in Delaware County PA where Bill was tried and in Montgomery County where he was charged with the rape. I can only imagine how protected he may be in Washington DC after reading about the firm he worked for (Covington & Burling) and clients they deal with.
David, I am not trying to gain your support in proving my friends innocence. I am simply asking you to look at the profile of this man and to consider the fact that he is walking the streets when he may be the one who is responsible for the death of Jason Shephard, the rape of a man in Montgomery County and the missing link to the unanswered questions about your friends murder. There are more strange accusations about this man than I have discussed with you here but I really want to keep this relevant to your concerns. I want you to know that my intentions here are not just to help my friend. From the beginning I have wanted to see our court system function in a way that would give comfort to all who are involved; the public, Bills family and friends but most of all to Jason Shephard’s family and friends, even if that meant finding out that my friend was guilty. Instead I found that the courts fueled exaggerations about Bill to prevent the public and the Shephard family from knowing the truth about Bruce Covington’s role in the crimes that he committed. If Bill did not have friends and family like you in the Robert Wone case, then many of the details about Covington’s profile may not have come to light. I am just asking you, if you have any way of finding out if Bruce Covington could have been in or around the DC on the night of Robert’s murder please do. I know it is as a long shot but I think it is too coincidental that so many similarities in the 2 cases and the six degrees of separation that Covington may have.
http://www.epgn.com/view/full_story/23592621/article-Hearing-held-in-Shephard-murder?
http://www.epgn.com/view/full_story/2795420/article-Man-connected-to-Shephard-murder-gets-probation?
Can someone refresh my memory, was a GHB test given to Robert?
Christy – no, it wasn’t done. One of many arguable mistakes from the Medical Examiner’s office.
I had to look up GHB. It’s a urine test for date rape-type drugs.
In the news today or yesterday about the DC police solving a cold case murder using dna. Was absolutely no dna other than Robert’s found on him? I know about the Ashley’s Regent for the walls. Anyway, nice to know cold cases continue to be solved.
Has there been any update from the “very active” investigation? Merry Xmas — even if the case remains unresolved.
Clio – someone should ask Police Chief Lanier. Although frankly, she does seem to have a lot on her plate lately.
Chief Lanier has demonstrated by the inaction on this case that she can’t handle what’s on her plate and hasn’t been able to handle it for years. Scott Hixson, Sarah Morgan and Sarah’s friends (where she stayed on the night of the murder) should have been re-interviewed five years ago. I firmly believe that Chief Lanier shoved this case to a back burner a long time ago and has no intention of giving it any further consideration.
I don’t see any activity on any of the three defendants on Google. Joe Price is a common enough name that the murder of Robert Wone isn’t the first thing that pops up, but there isn’t anyone there that looks like THIS Joe Price. The other two names pull up the murder of Robert Wone in the first few hits. Anyone know what the three defendants are up to these days?
Another year has drawn to a close, but Robert Wone’s murderer(s) shall not be free forever. Thank you for keeping this website up. Happy holidays.
Interesting news item: http://business.time.com/2014/02/24/got-milk-campaign-ends-in-favor-of-milk-life/
No mention of Victor. Wasn’t he supposed to be more or less in charge of the whole “got milk?” campaign? I wonder if he still has his old job.
He was managing that campaign, which has now gone away. We’re not sure what he was doing with MilkPEP after the trial, but can confirm that he still had some sort of professional relationship with them.
I’m happy to hear that Victor is no longer profiting from the milk industry. I had switched to Silk years ago to protest his cowardly stance regarding the twin scoundrels hiding in his bed. I’ll be glad to resume drinking milk. BTW that posted pic of “the original ‘got milk'” ad is oddly appropriate with the carving knife, the question about Burr’s killing, and the guy who loses because he can’t talk. Victor’s a looser.
Sooo glad you faithful ones are still here when I return to post every now and then. Robert was the example of faithfulness.
A book! A book! That’s what’s needed. A book got the Martha Moxley murder case back into public view and ramped up the investigation. Finally, they got a conviction.
Today, the author of “The Price of Silence” about the Duke lacrosse team scandal was interviewed on NPR. Every time they mentioned the name of the book, I thought of this case and how the silence that we have now, keeps the trio walking free.
There needs to be new interviews with Scott Hixson, Sarah Morgan and Sarah’s friends.
“Milk = Life”? Really? What about “Water = Life?” Or even “Life = Life”? But of course, there’s hemp milk, oat milk, rice milk, almond milk, soy milk= life.
http://www.agweb.com/article/milk_equals_life_NAA_Wyatt_Bechtel/
On an NPR talk show tonight – onpointradio.org – the topic is “Crowdsourcing Criminal Investigations In The Digital Age.” A new army of freelance amateurs is using the Internet to solve cold cases – long-unsolved homicides across the country.
Guest is Deborah Halber, author of “The Skeleton Crew: How Amateur Sleuths Are Solving America’s Coldest Cases.” (@DeborahHalber)
On TV, cold cases get solved with a magical high tech ease. Here’s the body. Here are the teeth. Here’s the DNA swab. Done. In real life, lots and lots of deaths, murders, bodies just remain mysterious. Unidentified. Unsolved. Frozen. Buried. Forgotten. Police and detectives eventually have other things to do. But some people don’t. They’re obsessed. They’re online. And they’re endlessly playing with the puzzle pieces. Sleuthing after hours. Connecting the dots of unsolved deaths and crimes.
– – – – – – – – – – – – – –
There is no chance that the DC police chief will ever look at the Robert Wone case again. The only hope is for outsiders to look at this case.