 |
|
|
|
 |
 |
The 14-page affidavit for an arrest warrant pries open the lives of the three men who lived at 1509 Swann Street, revealing, for the first time, key pieces of evidence leading investigators to conclude the men -- Joe Price, Victor Zaborsky and Dylan Ward -- "obstructed justice by altering and orchestrating the crime scene, planting evidence, delaying the reporting of the murder to authorities and lying to the police about the true circumstances of the murder".
 |
|
Dylan Ward, 38 |
Police sought, and received, an arrest warrant charging Price, 38, with obstruction of justice. He remains in custody in Miami, Fla., where he now lives. His lawyer says Price will not fight extradition.
The men told police they believed an intruder entered the home, took a kitchen knife and stabbed Wone, a story investigators found implausible. The affidavit reveals five key aspects of the investigation, including pieces of evidence -- or missing evidence -- that led investigators to conclude the men were not telling the truth about what happened the night of Aug. 2, 2006.
The Delay:
Investigators say the knife recovered from the bedroom was inconsistent with the Wone's wounds.
Investigators believe someone used a towel to smear blood on the knife the length of the blade. The stab wounds were not deep enough to bloody the knife up to the hilt.
Investigators say they recovered a cutlery set from Ward's bedroom which was missing a knife. A duplicate knife obtained by investigators was consistent with the stab wounds Wone suffered, according to the affidavit. The missing knife was never recovered, police said.
Police say the blood stains on the sheets are inconsitent with a violent attack, likely indicating Wone had been incapacitated before his murder.
A cadaver dog indicated the presence of blood in a drain accessible from the back patio and in a lint trap in the home's dryer. Police suspect after the killer washed himself and his clothes, he washed the blood down the drain and dried his wet clothes in the dryer.
The men told investigators that they called 911 immediately upon finding Robert Wone wounded body in a second-floor bedroom. They told the call taker someone was performing first aid, holding a towel over the stab wound, police said. But investigators believe the men waited at least 19 minutes, and as long as 49 minutes, to report the stabbing.
Records show Victor Zaborsky called 911 at 11:49 p.m. But a neighbor who shares a wall with the bedroom where Wone's body was found reported hearing a scream while watching ABC 7 News at 11 p.m.
The emergency medical technicians who responded to the scene minutes after the 911 call told investigators that Wone had been dead "for some period of time."
The EMTs were also shocked by the behavior of the residents of the home, their conduct "made the hair on the back of {one of the EMS worker's} neck stand up."
The other EMS worker said "it appeared as if {wone's} body had been stabbed, 'showered, redressed, and placed in the bed."
The Knife:
Investigators also say the knife found at the crime scene is not consistent with the wounds Wone suffered. Also, investigators believe somebody used a towel to smear the blood with knife, apparently to make it look like the murder weapon. The knife had fibers from a towel on it, but not from Wone's T-shirt, which was perforated during the stabbing, police said.
The Missing Knife:
Investigators also focused on a knife set found in the second-floor bedroom of Dylan Ward. It was missing one knife, which was never recovered, police said. Police obtained the same make and model knife. A forensics exam concluded it would be consistent with the stab wounds Wone suffered, police said.
The Autopsy:
Wone's autopsy revealed he had suffered some degree of suffocation, possibly by having a pillow placed over his face. There were also several puncture marks on his neck, chest, foot and hand that could not be explained, according to the affidavit. A screen for toxins in Wone's blood did not turn up any, but investigators suspect Wone was injected with a paralytic agent, perhaps to immobilize him. Investigators were partially led to that conclusion by crime scene evidence, which indicated Wone had not struggled or fought against his attacker, even though none of his wounds would have been immediately fatal.
Wone's body had been found on a bed, and there was no sign of struggle, police said. There was very little blood spatter and blood pooling around the body. Most of the blood stayed inside Wone's body, police said.
This lack of evidence raised detectives' suspicions.
The autopsy also turned up evidence of sexual assault, investigators said. Investigators concluded through multiple interviews and sources that Wone was exclusively heterosexual.
Blood Evidence:
Police brought cadaver dogs to the house, which detected blood residue in a dryer lint trap and in a drain in the enclosed back patio area. There was also That led investigators to suspect someone had washed themselves and clothes in the back patio area and then washed the blood down the drain. Detectives suspect the killer then dried the wet clothes in the dryer.
All of the evidence led investigators to dismiss the men's story about an intruder. They believe someone likely incapacitated Wone with an injection, sexually assaulted him, and then fatally stabbed him. Investigators believe the men obstructed the investigation.
Ward is the only man charged with obstruction of justice. No one has been charged with murder in the case.
Ward's attorney, David Schertler, proclaimed the men's innocence Friday:
We area adamant that Dylan Ward and the two other men who lived in the house on Swann Street had nothing to do with the murder of Robert Wone, and certainly had nothing to do with impeding the investigation," They're innocent of any crime and we believe that we'll be able to prove that at trial.
ABC 7 News to leave comments on news stories.