Attorneys for the three housemates facing a wrongful death suit filed by the widow of slain D.C. lawyer Robert Wone are asking a judge to ban parties in the case from speaking publicly about it.
Wone was found stabbed to death in the Dupont Circle townhouse of Joseph Price, Dylan Ward and Victor Zaborsky in August 2006. All three were acquitted of conspiracy, obstruction of justice and tampering with evidence at a criminal trial this summer.
Their motion argues that press coverage of the case has “the effect of poisoning the jury pool,” making it “impossible for the Defendants to find an impartial jury.”
The filing cites comments Katherine Wone’s lawyer, Patrick Regan, made to reporters after a September status hearing, in which attorneys said the three men were citing the Fifth Amendment in refusing to respond to written questions. “Defendants don’t assert their Fifth Amendment rights if they are not guilty of something,” Regan told reporters.
Regan’s statement was “patently incorrect” and prejudices potential jurors, the motion says.
