Mansion Murders: Jordan Wallace testifies in trial against Daron Wint
WASHINGTON - A key witness in the Mansion Murders trial took the stand today at DC Superior Court on Monday.
Jordan Wallace spent the afternoon on the stand explaining to the jury how he delivered a $40,000 ransom to the house and where he was when the fire started and the bodies were found.
Wallace, who worked as an assistant to Savvas Savopoulos, had never spoken publicly about what happened until taking the stand.
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Prosecutors played a voicemail left for him which said, "Hi Jordan, slight change of plans. Please go straight to the office. Probably leave around 10 or so. Plenty to do. I will be back in touch with you. Appreciate it."
When asked whose voice it was, Wallace said, "Savvas," and broke down into tears on the stand.
Prosecutors said they believe the voicemail was sent right around the time that Daron Wint abducted Savvas Savopoulos, his wife Amy, their son Philip, and their housekeeper Vera Figueroa.
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Wallace testified that Ted Chase, the CFO of American Ironworks, the business that Savvas Savopoulos owned, took the $40,000 that Savvas Savopoulos requested and gave to Wallace, saying "guard this with your life."
"I said 'OK,'" Wallace said on the stand. "To myself, I thought, 'Holy crap that's a lot of money.'"
Wallace said Savvas Savopoulos told him to drive the money to the home on Woodland Drive in the District and to call him back when he was 10 minutes away. Wallace said he spoke to Savvas Savopoulos who told him, "Don't knock. I will be on conference calls. Go to Chantilly I will be right behind you."
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When asked about delivering the money, Wallace said he put the $40,000 in the Moseley sports car parked in the garage, pushed a button to close the garage door and then jogged to his BMW.
Once inside his vehicle, Wallace said he texted Savvas Savopoulos and wrote, "package delivered." The message was sent at 10:26 a.m.
Wallace said he looked at his phone and saw three gray dots appear, indicating Savvas Savopoulos was typing a reply, but said he never received a text.
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Wallace said he went out to Chantilly where they were working on a martial arts studio and he later was sent to Lowes to pick up items for the contractor. The jury was shown video of Jordan at the Lowes and the timestamp indicated he was there at about noon. The jury was also shown a receipt from an Arby's where Jordan had purchased food at 12:24 p.m.
Wallace admitted to deleting a text to his girlfriend with a picture of the cash and a note that it was $40,000. He told the jury he was afraid Savvas Savopoulos would see the photo and fire him.
On cross-examination by the defense, Wallace admitted he deleted the text after learning about the fire at the home. He also admitted to initially lying to police about the exact steps he took to put the money in the car, but the reason why he lied may not come up until Tuesday when he returns to the stand for re-direct testimony and questioning from the prosecutor.
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