1509 Swann Street NW is the house where Robert Wone was murdered on Aug. 2, 2006. It was sold by the owners who also lived there at the time of the murder. That purchaser put it on the market earlier this summer and it sold on July 29.
Robert Wone was murdered on August 2, 2006, in a townhouse at 1509 Swann Street NW. To date no one has ever been charged with his death. The three residents of the house were charged with obstruction of justice in the case, but were acquitted in a bench trial last year.
Wone’s widow filed a $20 million wrongful death civil suit against the three men of Swann Street, but yesterday a settlement was reached on the fifth anniversary of his death.
The house on Swann Street was sold in June 2008 by the three owner-residents. The purchaser had put the house on the market again earlier this summer, and Redfin says it sold on July 29 for $1.495 million. The sales history of 1509? In May 2002 it went for $799,000, then sold for $1.276 million in Apri 2005 before fetching $1.475 million in June 2008, just $20,000 less than the most recent sale.
Lots of coverage:
The editors at the website, Who Murdered Robert Wone, put up a post late Wednesday afternoon with the headline,”The Civil Trial That May Never Be.” We won’t steal their news, but here’s the opening:
“We’ve heard from a source that a settlement has been reached in the civil trial between Kathy Wone & family, and defendants Joe Price, Victor Zaborsky and Dylan Ward. We’re trying to confirm this with the case principals.”
The case was scheduled to begin in October in D.C.
Robert Wone was murdered on August 2, 2006, in a row house at 1509 Swann Street NW. No one has ever been charged in Wone’s murder. However, Price, Zaborsky and Ward were tried for obstruction of justice and evidence tampering in the case. They opted for a bench trial and the judge came back with a not guilty verdict last June.
Sidewalk barricades went up on the west side of the 1800 block of 14th Street NW earlier this week in preparation of demolition of buildings on the block. The strip from S to Swann Streets NW will become District Condos, a residential-retail development. The former Whitman-Walker building facade will remain. (Luis Gomez Photos)
From Michelle Lancaster
ANC 2B Says No to Chancery at Tourtorsky Mansion
ANC 2B voted 8 to 0 Wednesday night to recommend that the Republic of Congo (Brazzaville) not be allowed to use the Toutorksy Mansion at 16th Street and Riggs Place NW as a chancery. Borderstan’s Tom Hay reported Monday on the property and the Congolese government’s desire to use the historic property as an embassy chancery. While the ANC’s resolution is only advisory, the DC Board of Zoning Adjustment is required to give it consideration. Commissioner Jack Jacobson (2B04), whose district includes the property, told Borderstan that the resolution of disapproval passed after the commission reviewed photos of the Republic of Congo property at 16th Street and Colorado Avenue NW. The photos show serious maintenance problems with the property.
The 1500-block of Swann Street NW, where Robert Wone was murdered on the night of August 2, 2006. (Photo: Luis Gomez.)
Three years ago tonight, Robert Wone was murdered on Swann Street NW: August 2, 2009. It will probably remain the most famous-infamous crime in Borderstan for as long as I am alive (which I hope is several more decades).
To date, no one has been charged with Wone’s death, which occurred in a house at 1509 Swann Street NW (remember that the house was sold and the three residents-owners have long since moved away). Attention has centered on the three residents of 1509 Swann; the three were indicted for obstruction of justice in the case.
In addition, many questions have been raised about how DC Police handled the investigation, especially the evidence in the case. You can listen to the recording of the 911 call on the night of the murder. The affidavit filed in the charges against one of the three residents, Dylan Ward, obstruction of justice is here (PDF).
The 1500-block of Swann Street NW. (Photo: Luis Gomez.)
The Washington Post has a two-part story on the August 2006 murder of Robert Wone at 1509 Swann Street NW. You can even listen to the 911 call to police on the night of Wone’s murder.
Sunday’s article is “The Robert Wone Stabbing: Anatomy of a Murder Case; Authorities Think Housemates Killed the Lawyer in a Dupont Circle Home, but Proof Is Elusive.”
Earlier Borderstan postings:
- Web Site Devoted to Robert Wone Murder; $25K Reward
- Robert Wone Murder: Judge Puts Civil Case on Hold
- 2006 Swann St. Murder: 3 People Indicted
- WaPo: Update on 2006 Swann Street Murder (w/ Affidavit)
- Arrest Made in Connection with 2006 Swann Street Murder
You can read an affidavit in the case (PDF) that was filed in the Superior Court of the District of Columbia on Oct. 27, 2008, when Dylan Ward was arrested for obstruction of justice. There is some incredible and horrifying information in the document; if you have been following this case and want to learn more, be sure to read the affidavit.
Search Results for ‘Wone’
Web Site Devoted to Robert Wone Murder; $25K Reward
Posted in D.C. crime, Dupont Circle, PSA 208, on crime, on the blogs, tagged “Who Murdered Robert Wone?” Web site, D.C. crime, Swann Street NW, Wone murder on March 21, 2009 | Edit | 1 Comment »
It is surely the most famous modern-day D.C. murder that happened oh-so-close to Borderstan: the Aug. 3, 2006, murder of attorney Robert Wone. It happened on the 1500-block of Swann Street NW, just one street above Borderstan’s northern border of S Street.
The unsolved murder has garnered so much coverage–due to the strange circumstances of the […]
Robert Wone Murder: Judge Puts Civil Case on Hold
Posted in D.C. crime, Dupont Circle, Media, PSA 208 on March 6, 2009 | Edit | 2 Comments »
There is a new legal development in the Robert Wone murder case from 2006. Wone was found stabbed to death in a house on the 1500-block of Swann Street NW in August 2006. The Washington Blade has the story in today’s print edition:
2006 Swann St. Murder: 3 People Indicted
Posted in on crime, tagged crime, Dupont Circle, MPD, murder, Robert Wone, Swann Street murder on November 25, 2008 | Edit | 2 Comments »
In case you somehow missed it… new developments last week in the 2006 murder of Robert Wone on the 1500-block of Swann Street NW:
“3 Indicted In Alleged Coverup of D.C. Killing” (The Washington Post, November 21)
“Bail request dropped for men charged in Wone murder; Price, Zaborsky plead not guilty to obstruction of justice” (Washington Blade, November […]
The 1500-block of Swann Street NW (photo from Luis Gomez Photos).
The Washington Post’s online story about the 2006 murder of Robert Wone in a house on the 1500-block of Swann Street NW has been updated at least twice since yesterday.
In addition, Borderstan.com has a copy of the affidavit that was filed in connection with the arrest of a suspect in Florida (this is public information); click here to download and read the PDF document.
Here is the latest version of the Post story, as of this morning, Saturday, November 1:
A police affidavit made public yesterday provided a wealth of new details about one of the District’s most mysterious homicide cases, yet it failed to answer the central questions of who killed prominent lawyer Robert Wone in an elegant Dupont Circle townhouse — and why.
The people who probably could help provide that information — three male housemates who lived in the $1.2 million residence — covered up evidence in a bid to mask what actually happened, the affidavit alleges. One has now been charged with obstructing justice as authorities step up pressure to solve the case.
Authorities said from the start that Wone, 32, general counsel for Radio Free Asia, was fatally stabbed late Aug. 2, 2006, while staying overnight at the Swann Street NW townhouse. Yesterday, they revealed that he was probably drugged into a paralytic-like state and sexually assaulted. The three stab wounds were neat and nearly identical, suggesting that Wone was incapacitated and unable to fend off his attacker, the affidavit says.
Wow! Yes, this is about the 2006 murder of Robert Wone in a house on the 1500-block of Swann Street NW. It’s important to note that the investigation is still ongoing. Why? This arrest is NOT for Wone’s murder, but for the obstruction of justice by Dylan Ward. Ward was the roommate of the owners of the Swann Street house where Wone was murdered on the night of August 2, 2006. Read on!
From The Washington Post:
Authorities arrested a man this week on obstruction of justice charges in the two-year-old investigation into the slaying of a prominent lawyer found stabbed in a townhouse near Dupont Circle.
Dylan Ward, a resident of the home where Robert Wone was killed, was arrested Wednesday in Dade County, Fla., where he now lives, authorities said yesterday.
The arrest is the first in the case since Wone, 32, was stabbed three times in the chest as he stayed overnight in the home Aug. 2, 2006. Wone was general counsel for Radio Free Asia. Read entire article.
From the Washington Blade:
An arrest has been made in connection with the 2006 murder of prominent local attorney Robert Wone.
Dylan Ward, a roommate in the home where Wone was stabbed to death, was arrested in Dade County Florida and charged with obstruction of justice, according to Channing Phillips, a spokesperson for the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia.
Phillips said Ward was scheduled to appear before a federal court in Florida, where he now lives, at 10 a.m. Friday. He was not arrested on a murder charge; more information about the charges should be available Friday morning. Read entire article.
