A trio of gay lovers made a pact to cover up the stabbing death of promising young lawyer Robert Wone to protect their “powerful bond,” a prosecutor charged in opening statements Monday.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Glenn Kirschner told Judge Lynn Leibovitz that housemates Joseph Price, 39, Victor Zaborsky 44, and Dylan Ward, 39 acted as a family to mutually protect each other after Wone was stabbed to death in a posh Dupont Circle town house. The three defendants are accused of cleaning up the crime scene and misdirecting police to throw investigators off the trail of Wone’s killer.
“At least in the short term, they got away with it,” Kirschner said.
In an unusual twist, none of the men — and no one else– has been charged with Wone’s murder. Prosecutors say because of the cover-up they can’t say who committed the murder.
The three men are charged with conspiracy, obstruction of justice and tampering with a crime scene, and could receive 38 years in prison if convicted of all counts.
Wone’s Aug. 2, 2006, death has drawn national attention because of its lurid circumstances and its almost-famous personalities. Zaborsky was the marketing wunderkind who dreamed up the “Got Milk?” slogan for America’s dairies.
Price and Zaborsky had been featured in USA Today for a feature on gay parenting. In the aftermath of Wone’s death his widow, Katherine, was represented by Eric Holder, who has since become the U.S. attorney general. Holder and Wone, 32, had both worked at Covington and Burling law firm.
In three separate opening statements, defense attorneys pounded home their contention that the government’s case was based on speculation and innuendo.
“Police got infatuated with a theory based not on evidence but based in part on ignorance,” said Bernard Grimm.
Defense attorney David Schertler, the former assistant U.S. attorney for D.C., said that police “tried to fit evidence into a preconceived theory.”
To make the point, he produced a knife that had been missing from a set in the house where the murder occurred. Police had theorized the missing knife was the murder weapon. But Schertler said the knife was in Seattle all along and prosecutors would have learned that had they done a thorough investigation.
Prosecutor Kirschner said the three-way relationship — led by Price, a powerhouse lawyer at Arent, Fox firm — was so strong that the trio agreed to conceal Wone’s murder rather than break up what they called their family. The cover-up included false leads designed to baffle police, Kirschner said.
Wone’s wife, Katherine, testified at the end of Monday’s session and is slated to return to the stand when the trial resumes. The proceeding is expected to last for several weeks.
Prosecutors began to suspect the three men the night of the murder. Their statements didn’t add up and they exhibited odd behavior.
Despite three stab wounds, the first paramedic on the scene found hardly any blood.
During the 911 call, Zaborsky began planting the story that the intruder ran off with one of their knives, even though there was no way he would know that, Kirschner said.
Police found bondage paraphernalia in the house, and prosecutors later theorized Wone was injected with a paralytic drug and sexually assaulted before he was stabbed.
Prosecutors concede they don’t know who killed Wone, or precisely what motivated the killer.
“Murder and motive don’t always go hand in hand,” Kirschner said. “Sometimes motive is inexplicable, if not counterintuitive.”
Staff writer Bill Myers contributed to the story.
