Under police questioning, Joseph Price maintained that someone broke into his home on Aug. 2, 2006, and killed Robert Wone, but couldn’t answer basic questions about what happened the night his friend died.
In a video of the interrogation shown Monday in D.C. Superior Court, Price said an intruder entered the Dupont Circle townhouse through an unlocked back door and fatally stabbed Wone, 32.
Price — along with Dylan Ward, 39, and Victor Zaborsky, 44 — is accused of cleaning up the scene and misdirecting police. But Price, 39, couldn’t explain why he didn’t hear anyone leave or why there was no evidence of a break-in. The three roommates are charged with obstruction of justice, tampering with evidence and conspiracy.
Price said he heard a chime indicating the back door had opened, but thought it was the occupant of the house’s basement apartment. A few minutes later, Price said he heard grunting and ran to the second-floor room where Wone was staying.
He said Wone was in bed with “a lot of” blood on his chest.
Price said it took just seconds to reach Wone’s room, but he didn’t hear anyone running down stairs. Price also said he didn’t hear the chime again.
“Where’d this guy go?” Det. Sgt. Daniel Wagner asked.
Price only repeated that he, Ward and Zaborsky were innocent. He admitted the situation “sounds crazy.”
“All I can tell you is it wasn’t one of them,” he said. “It wasn’t me.”
Price appeared upset with the questioning and assertions that there was no burglar.
“You guys are focusing on us,” Price said. “There was somebody else in that house.”
Earlier Monday, evidence technician Curtis Lancaster testified that there did not appear to be evidence of a break-in. He said no door or window in the house showed signs of forced entry and no fingerprints were recovered from the back door.
Also Monday, Metropolitan Police Sgt. Charles Patrick said the three defendants exchanged glares when police arrived, which he only considered to be suspicious a few days later. Another officer testified last week that Price gave Ward a “stern look” when Ward tried to explain what happened.
