The Metropolitan Police Department has released surveillance video of a “person of interest” in last week’s slaying of a family and their housekeeper in a burned-out upscale home near the vice presidential residence in Northwest Washington.
The brief video footage, which was released late Saturday, shows a person wearing dark pants and a hoodie walking quickly behind a building. Police said the person may have operated a blue 2008 Porsche that was found in flames Thursday afternoon in a church parking lot in Prince George’s County, Maryland. The automobile belonged to the family, whose multimillion-dollar home also was set ablaze Thursday.
On Friday, police said three of the victims had suffered either blunt force trauma or injuries from a sharp object before the house fire started.
Two of the victims were identified as Savvas Savopopoulos, 46, and his wife, Amy, 47. The others are believed to be the couple’s 10-year-old son, Philip, and their housekeeper, 57-year-old Veralicia Figueroa of Silver Spring, Maryland.
Investigators are treating the case as a quadruple homicide, and Police Chief Cathy L. Lanier said the fire was set intentionally.
“On at least three of the four victims, injuries were discovered that appear to be blunt force or sharp object injuries,” Chief Lanier said, adding that the injuries were discovered through the autopsy process, which was not yet complete.
Mr. Savopoulos was the president of Hyattsville-based American Iron Works, a company that manufactures building materials. Mrs. Savopoulos was well-known in D.C. social circles.
Firefighters responded to extinguish a fire at the Savopoulos home, located in the 3200 block of Woodland Drive NW, around 1:30 p.m. Thursday. The bodies were discovered by first responders inside the home, which is located in Woodley Park — a stone’s throw from several embassies and the vice presidential residence at the U.S. Naval Observatory.
“Right now, we have nothing to suggest there was a random or forced entry into the home, but we want to have a little more time to sort through the evidence,” Chief Lanier said.
She declined to comment on speculation that the family could have been held hostage inside the home.
WTTG-TV (Channel 5) reported that Mrs. Savopoulos had texted another housekeeper not to come by the home Thursday because the family was sick. When the woman tried to call to respond to the text, no one picked up the phone.
Police are interested in the movements of the family’s car, which was taken from their home.
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Police said they are trying to the movements of the Porsche from Wednesday through the time it was discovered on fire at around 5:30 p.m. Thursday in a church parking lot in Prince George’s County. A witness reported seeing what could have been the Savopouloses’ Porsche speeding down the street the day before the deaths were discovered, The Associated Press reported.
The car has D.C. license plate number of DK2418.
Police documents show there were reports of unusual activity in the neighborhood, the AP reported. Neighbors reported seeing a man banging on the door of one home. There was an aggressive vacuum cleaner salesman at another house and reports of a prowler.
Crime scene tape continued to rope off sections of Woodland Drive near the home, and Chief Lanier said evidence collection would continue for several days.
• Andrea Noble can be reached at anoble@washingtontimes.com.
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