The defense finished presenting its case in the Robert Wone conspiracy trial Wednesday, bringing the trial, now in its fifth week, closer to a conclusion.
Closing statements in the trial of Joseph Price, Dylan Ward and Victor Zaborsky will take place Thursday. D.C. Superior Court Judge Lynn Leibovitz will then decide the fate of the three men, who elected to forgo a jury trial.
Price, 39, Ward, 40, and Zaborsky, 44, are accused of covering up Wone’s Aug. 2, 2006, stabbing death in their Dupont Circle town house. The 32-year-old Wone, who had been friends with Price since college, was spending the night at their house when he was stabbed three times in the chest.
On Wednesday, the three defendants waived their right to testify. Under oath, they affirmed that they understood they had the right to testify, that they were satisfied with the help of their lawyers and that the decision not to testify was their own.
All three men face charges of conspiracy and obstruction of justice. Ward and Zaborsky were acquitted last week of tampering with evidence, but that charge still stands against Price.
Price could face up to 38 years in prison if convicted of all charges; the maximum sentence for Ward and Zaborsky is 35 years.
In presenting its case, the defense has tried to discredit prosecutors’ claims that the defendants cleaned up the crime scene, planted a knife by Wone’s body and had time to plan the coverup.
Well-known forensics expert Henry Lee testified this week that the blood on the knife found at the scene likely wasn’t produced by wiping the knife with a towel, as prosecutors allege. He said the blood on the knife was consistent with a knife used in a stabbing.
Ward’s mother also testified for the defense, saying Ward never owned the knife — a missing piece from a cutlery set found in Ward’s bedroom — prosecutors say was used to kill Wone.
Most of the bleeding from Wone’s wounds would have been internal, a heart surgeon testified, explaining the relative lack of blood at the crime scene.
Prosecutors spent 3 1/2 weeks pressing their case. They focused on proving that the crime scene knife was planted and debunking the defense theory that an intruder broke into the house at 1509 Swann St. NW and stabbed Wone.
