Washington D.C. police are currently investigating suspect Daron Dylon Wint’s involvement in the quadruple homicide in the multimillion-dollar mansion of the Greek-American Savopoulos family. He is believed to have had at least one accomplice to have helped him subdue businessman Savvas Savopoulos, his wife Amy, their 10-year-old son and housekeeper Veralicia Figueroa on May 13 before slaying them the next day.

Investigators are closely scouring footage showing a man, wearing a hooded top, parking Amy Savopoulos’ blue Porsche at a church parking lot before the car was set on fire later in the day. Furthermore, witnesses describe a man “with short, well-groomed hair” driving the Porsche away from the family’s house in Northwest Washington.

The family’s funeral is taking place at the St. Sophia Greek Orthodox church they regularly attend at noon on June 1. Amy and Savvas were known in their local community for being active in a number of charities. The Greek-American community knew them well as active parishioners and for maintaining close ties with Greece.

George Petroheilos, a close friend of the CEO of American Iron Works, told Proto Thema: “Savvas was a very shrewd businessman with many activities, many companies and multifarious interests. Each year he offered millions of dollars to charity groups.”

Savvas and Amy had booked a sailing vacation for themselves and their three children in August and were to have visited Mykonos before their lives were cut short.

Following the capture of Wint, the surviving members of the family issued a statement:

“We are thankful to law enforcement who have worked so diligently to bring about an arrest in this case. While it does not abate our pain, we hope that it begins to restore a sense of calm and security to our neighborhood and to our city. We are blessed to live in a community comprised of close circles of friends who have supported us and grieve with us.

We are grateful, as well, to the men and women of the fire department for their professionalism and caring.

Our family, and Vera’s family, have suffered unimaginable loss, and we ask for the time and space to grieve privately.”

The Greek side of the family

Savvas Savopoulos’ grandfather had left Prokopi, Cappadocia, in 1924 following the Asia Minor Catastrophe. He travelled through Thessaloniki to Chalkida, Evia.

Phillip Savopoulos (father of the victim) and his younger sister grew up in Chalkida before he left to study engineering at the University of Maryland. He created American Iron Works in 1948 before marrying Gale. Together they had one son, Savvas.

Savvas took over his father’s business 20 years ago after studying Law at the American University and Philosophy at Maryland. As a young child, he worked near his father and he took over the business, making it thrive while bringing in contracts worth millions of dollars. The last contract that the company had was for an office tower in Washington that was to have been the tallest of the city.

Though Phillip, the company’s founder spoke perfect Greek, Savvas never managed to learn the language but nonetheless kept the customs of Greece and loved the culture. Savvas and Amy had three children: Abigail, aged 19, and Katerina, aged 16, as well as young Phillip, aged 10.

Each year, the family would vacation in Greece with Mykonos being their favorite destination.

The Savvopoulos’ family were also regular churchgoers and attended mass at Saint Sophia in Washington practically every Sunday. Press publications state that they offered 100,000 dollars to the National Cathedral School.

Savvas and Amy had also helped create American Institute of Welding for people who had lost their jobs.

“The family, silently and discreetly, sent aid to Greece offering scholarships to our association worth 10,000 euros. This money went to young people from Cappadocia, to help them continue their studies at a post-graduate level or for research in fashion or language,” said Konstandinos  Avanidis, treasurer of the Greek Union of Cappadocians.

“Four years ago the father, son and grandson flew from Washington to Thessaloniki, and from there to Cappadocia to accompany Patriarch Bartholomew in a liturgy,” says a family friend. “Even though they were very rich they never took any security measures. They never had a bodyguard and would open the door of their home to whoever knocked. That’s what they did when their murderer knocked on the door.”

Phillip Savvopoulos, was brutally tortured before being killed so that pressure could be applied on his father to cave in to Wint’s demands for money.

The surviving daughters of Savvas and Amy Savopoulos:

Happier days: