Wyn Delano
WMAL.com
WASHINGTON (WMAL) — Jury selection begins today in the so-called “Mansion Murders” case from 2015. Daron Wint has been the only person formally charged in the case and is accused of extorting, torturing, and killing a family of three along with their housekeeper. He then, according to prosecutors, set the family’s mansion in northwest D.C. ablaze and fled.
The latest wrinkle in the case came on Friday, when the Judge presiding over the case ruled that evidence existed for defense lawyers to argue what is known as a “Winfield defense” – where lawyers will present evidence in an attempt to argue that someone other than Wint committed the crimes.
Notably, the Defense will not have to share its argument with prosecutors as the information they will be using to form their case came from the government’s own evidence. D.C. based criminal defense attorney David Benowitz (whitecollarattorney.net) explained that even if evidence of a second suspect comes to light, “it would be up to the Government as to make a decision as to whether or not to actually charge that person.”
“Its not a decision that would be made at this particular trial,” Benowitz added.
The 2015 case grabbed the attention of the media and public, offering up sensational details like DNA evidence from a crust of pizza ordered during the alleged torture of the Savopoulos family at the hands of Wint.
Benowitz says the case could drag out longer than usual: “The length of the trial may be extended because of the nature of the evidence that is likely to be presented,” he speculated. “A lot of it will be forensic evidence and that takes a long time to present.”
Benowitz also downplayed the possibility of a plea bargain, saying that “the possibility of making a [plea] deal is usually exhausted” by the time a trial comes around. He added, however, that there is nothing specifically prohibiting making such a deal – it’s just uncommon.
The publicity surrounding the now three-year-old case also will likely drag out today’s jury selection which, according to Benowitz, is not necessarily a bad thing. He adds, “the more that the attorneys and the presiding judge know about the jurors – the more information that each of the parties have – the better it is. It makes the parties better able to select a fair and impartial jury.”
After the jury is selected, the trial will move directly to opening statements and presentation of evidence.
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