Jordan Wallace, left, is being investigated in the deaths of, from top left, Savvas, Amy and Philip Savopoulos, and their housekeeper, Vera Figueroa. (Photos from Facebook, Instagram. Heavy.com graphic)
Court documents reveal that police are investigating the assistant of slain Washington, D.C., CEO Savvas Savopoulos, who admitted to police that he lied to them about the details of his delivery of $40,000 in ransom money to the Savopoulos’ home.
The assistant, identified by Fox 5 DC as 28-year-old Jordan Wallace, delivered the $40,000 in ransom money to the home in an upscale D.C. neighborhood on May 14, while police believe three members of the Savopoulos family and their housekeeper were being held hostage inside. The money was delivered just hours before the four victims were brutally beaten and stabbed to death.
Savvas Savopoulos, his wife, Amy, their 10-year-old son, Philip, and the family’s housekeeper, Veralicia Figueroa, were killed in the multi-million dollar mansion before it was set on fire on May 14. A 34-year-old man, Daron Dylon Wint, has been charged with four counts of murder, but police believe he was not alone in committing the killings.
The 10-year-old boy was tortured by his killers as they tried to convince his father to give them the money they were looking for, police said. He was found in his bed, where he had been doused in gasoline and set on fire.
Wallace has not been identified as a suspect, but court documents show that detectives obtained a search warrant for his cell phone as part of their investigation.
Police told the Washington Post they are hoping to identify other suspects. Another focus of the investigation is locating cell phones they believe were stolen from the family after they were killed, the Post reports.
Wallace, according to court documents, texted Amy Savopoulos after learning the family’s house was on fire, saying “Hey ms Amy are you ok, if so you need to get home I got a call that your house is on fire.” Police believe the four victims were already dead when the text was sent.
Here’s what you need to know about Wallace and the case:
1. Police Say They Are ‘Aware’ of a Connection Between Wallace & Wint
Jordan Wallace, far left, was a member of the Broke Racers Club.
A police official told journalist Nate Thayer they are “aware” of a connection between Wint and Wallace.
Thayer, who wrote an extensive profile of Wallace, first uncovered that Wallace and Wint once lived in the same Maryland apartment complex, which is also near where the Savopoulos family’s Porsche was abandoned and set on fire following the killings.
Public records show that Wallace’s father, Michael, lived in an apartment complex next to Wint for several years. It’s not clear if Jordan Wallace also lived in the apartment building.
2. Wallace Changed His Story When He Was Interviewed by Police After the Deaths
Crime scene tape sets a perimeter around the Savopoulos house, including items and a car left in their driveway. (Getty)
Court documents show that Wallace was not honest with police when interviewed by detectives after the deaths.
Wallace first told police that Savvas texted him on May 14 to tell him to get the money. He said he went to the bank with Savopoulos’ accountant and saw him put the cash in a manila envelope, which Wallace then took to the house, leaving it on the seat inside a car in the family’s garage, according to court documents.
He changed his story in a later interview with police, saying Savvas texted him on May 13, the night before he dropped off the money, telling him to get it. Phone records obtained by police confirm that Savvas texted Wallace on May 13 at about 8:30 p.m. Wallace also told police he didn’t actually go to the bank with the accountant, and that the accountant gave him the cash in a red bag. He moved the money into the envelope and then left it inside the car. He first told police the car was locked, but later said it was actually unlocked, court documents show.
Police have not said why Wallace changed his story, and Wallace has not yet responded to requests to be interviewed by several media outlets, including Heavy.com. He has also deleted several social media accounts.
Read the full affidavit below:
3. He Texted a Photo of the Ransom Money to a Friend
Jordan Wallace. (Instagram)
After retrieving the money, police said Wallace texted a female friend a photo of the red bag the ransom was being held in, according to the Washington Post. The woman respond, “Daamn … I wonder how much it is?” Wallace responded, “40,” and the woman said back, “Jesus.”
The text was made at 9 a.m. on May 14, about an hour before he dropped off the money at the Savopoulos home.
Read the search warrant application here:
4. He Met the Family at a Go-Kart Track Where He Previously Worked
The Savopoulos family met Jordan Wallace at a go-kart track where he worked and where 10-year-old Philip Savopoulos, pictured, often raced. (Facebook)
Wallace, a race car driver, was hired by the Savopoulos family to drive Savvas and other family members around, and do odd jobs.
He previously worked at a go-kart race track in Maryland from 2013 until March 2015 as competition director, according to his social media accounts. An employee of the track told Fox 5 DC that Wallace was fired. He said Savvas Savopoulos brought Philip, an avid go-kart racer, to the track, and that’s where Wallace met the family.
Wallace, a graduate of Annapolis High School, is an aspiring race car driver and a member of the Broke Racers Club.
“Autobahn helps with that — sponsorships and connections,” Wallace told the newspaper. “As a racer, this job, this opportunity, this place – it has been a godsend and a dream. I’ve been really blessed to have this happen to me at this point in my life.”
He was profiled in a 2014 story in the Capital Gazette newspaper about the Autobahn Indoor Speedway, where he was working at the time.
An Instagram photo posted by Jordan Wallace inside a car belonging to Amy Savopoulos. (Instagram)
Wallace often posted on his Instagram about his luxurious job with the Savopoulos’ family, including a photo taken inside a Porsche 911 that belongs to Amy Savopoulos. He also posted photos in a Bentley and other vehicles belonging to the family.
The Porsche became part of the quadruple homicide investigation after it was found, torched, in a Maryland parking lot. Neighbors said they saw the car being driven away from the Savopoulos’ home the morning before the fire.
“That’s Mr. Wallace’s problem — I mean, he clearly is connected and he’s clearly connected in a hard-to-explain way and that’s the problem he has,” Roscoe Howard, a former U.S. attorney for the District of Columbia, told Fox 5 DC.
5. Police Now Say Someone Forced Entry Into the Family’s Home
Daron Dylon Wint. (Facebook)
Police initially said the family let the killer or killers into their home and there were no signs of forced entry. But after further investigation it appears it was a forced home invasion, My Fox DC reports. A recently unsealed search warrant shows that detectives found a boot print on a door to the Savopoulos’ home.
Court documents also revealed that blood from one of the victims was found on the shoe of alleged killer Daron Dylon Wint. Wint was initially identified through DNA found on pizza crust left in the home, investigators said.
D.C. Police Chief Cathy Lanier has said that Wint worked at one point for Savvas Savopoulos at American Iron Works, but has not detailed their relationship or said when he worked for them.
