New Wrinkle in DC Murders: a Dropoff of $40K at House

Whoever killed four people in a DC mansion appears to have gotten away with at least $40,000 in cash. The Washington Post reports that an assistant to businessman Savvas Savopoulos dropped off a package with that amount at his home last Thursday while the family and a housekeeper were being held captive. It's not clear whether the assistant knew the package contained money, why he dropped it off, or whether he had any inkling that anything was amiss. Hours later, the mansion was in flames, and firefighters found the bodies of Savopoulos, wife Amy, their 10-year-old son Philip, and housekeeper Veralicia Figueroa.

Investigators think the four had been held for about 10 hours. In fact, WUSA9 reports that two Domino's clerks say a delivery person brought a pizza to the house at some point during that stretch. The station is floating the theory, based on an anonymous source, that the killers coerced Savopoulos into coming up with money. Authorities haven't said much about how the victims died, only that three had wounds. DC police chief Cathy Lanier says detectives are "passionate" about the case, particularly because Philip was only 10. One of the few public clues is an image of a hooded figure running. (More murder stories.)