D.C. lawyer Robert Wone was restrained, incapacitated, sexually assaulted, and fatally stabbed in a Dupont Circle townhome in 2006, police say in an arrest affidavit released today.
Investigators say three men in the home at the time of the murder—Joseph R. Price, Victor Zaborsky, and Dylan Ward—obstructed the homicide investigation by "altering and orchestrating the crime scene, planting evidence, delaying the reporting of the murder to the authorities, and lying to the police about the true circumstances of the murder."
Ward, 38, was arrested on an obstruction charge Wednesday at a home in Miami Shores belonging to Price and Zaborsky, who are domestic partners. Price is an Arent Fox lawyer in the firm's litigation and intellectual property departments. Ward will be extradited to the District. He is being held in federal custody.
Price and Zaborsky have not been charged with a crime, but according to the police affidavit "there exists overwhelming evidence, far in excess of probable cause" that all three obstructed justice. A spokesman for the U.S. Attorney's Office declined to comment. "The investigation is clearly continuing, though," spokesman Channing Phillips said.
Police say three stab wounds found on Wone's body were inflicted when Wone was incapacitated. Investigators found needle puncture marks on Wone's body "that were not the product of any legitimate medical treatment." Police say Wone was drugged. The neat, clean room in which Wone was found is inconsistent with the theory that an intruder killed him, police say. Police found an insignificant amount of blood on the bed where Wone was found.
Shackles, metal and leather collars, wrist/ankle restraints, mouth gags, black spandex hoods, and other items were found in Ward's bedroom, according to police reports. A New Yorker magazine on the floor was opened to an article titled "Late Works, Writers Confronting the End."
Stay tuned to the BLT for more updates.
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