Local
Wone hearing to discuss S&M devices
A prosecutors’ request to introduce evidence that police found a collection of S&M devices in the home of three gay men implicated in the 2006 murder of Washington attorney Robert Wone is expected to be debated Friday during a D.C. Superior Court hearing.
The hearing follows a prosecutors’ February court filing seeking permission to submit evidence at trial alleging that defendants Joseph Price, Victor Zaborsky and Dylan Ward engaged in “conduct” not identified in the charges pending against them that could further link them to the murder. The trial is scheduled to begin May 10.
The three have been indicted on charges of obstruction of justice, conspiracy to obstruct justice, and evidence tampering in connection with Wone’s August 2006 stabbing death inside their house near Dupont Circle. Authorities have yet to charge anyone with the murder itself.
The men have pleaded not guilty to the charges and have said an unknown intruder killed Wone after entering their home through a rear door while they slept in their respective bedrooms.
According to the prosecutors’ filing last month, the new evidence includes a collection of sex toys and S&M books and manuals seized from the defendants’ home. Some of the devices are used to tie and restrain someone engaged in S&M activity while other devices seized are used to administer an electric shock to a person’s genitals, the prosecutors say.
While noting that these devices are not illegal and their use does not constitute a crime, prosecutors say in the court filing that “said evidence clearly passes” federal rules of evidence “as its probative value is exceedingly high and the prejudicial effect is quite low.”
Police have said Wone was restrained, immobilized with a paralytic drug, sexually assaulted and then stabbed to death, most likely in a guest bedroom in the upscale townhouse where the three men lived at the time.
Legal observers say the request to use the S&M devices as evidence at trial suggests that prosecutors might use it to develop a possible motive for the murder that the defense claims is lacking in the government’s case.
But in a separate court filing in February, defense attorneys accuse prosecutors of seeking to use the S&M devices, which the defense labels “erotic accessories,” as sensational and inflammatory “evidence” that has no relevance to the case and which would prejudice the jury.
“Here there is no evidence that Wone was restrained in any fashion and absolutely no evidence that any one of the erotic accessories was used on Wone for any purpose, never mind in connection with his death,” defense attorneys say in their filing.
Among the items seized from the Swann Street home of the three men, according to the prosecutors filing, are “floggers,” “assorted dildos,” “scrotal harness with weight attachments,” and devices designed to administer an electric shock to various parts of someone’s body, including the penis and anal area.
The 39-page defense filing, among other things, disputes an assertion by prosecutors’ that an autopsy finding traces of Wone’s own semen inside his rectum and on his genitals is evidence that he was sexually assaulted before being murdered. Defense attorneys say in their filing that they will present testimony at trial by expert witnesses showing that the traces of Wone’s semen on his body did not contain any sperm cells.
The lack of sperm cells indicates that the semen found on the body was due to a normal discharge of various bodily fluids including urine and seminal fluids that occurs when men die and internal muscles relax, the defense filing says.
“There were no obvious, external signs of sexual assault, restraint or electro-torture,” says the defense filing. “Indeed, the government itself did not claim that Wone was sexually assaulted until after the FBI tested the forensic swabs [of Wone’s genital and anal areas] more than two years after Wone’s death,” it says.
Investigators said Wone, 32, who was a college friend of Price, spent the night at the men’s home after working late in his downtown office. Wone was married to a woman and lived in Oakon, Va. Family members have said he was straight.
Price and Zaborsky, who are domestic partners, and Ward told police an intruder killed Wone after entering the home while they were asleep in their respective bedrooms.
Police and prosecutors dispute that claim, saying there’s no evidence of a break-in. They point to an autopsy showing Wone suffered from three “clean,” surgical-like stab wounds, with no signs of struggle. They also have said the autopsy indicates the wounds could only have been inflicted if Wone was immobilized by a drug.
But the defense team says in its court filings that the autopsy and chemical tests of the body have not found any traces of a paralytic drug, and it disputes the government’s claim that such drugs quickly dissipate within the body and can’t be found by chemical tests. The defense filing does not address the issue of the “clean” stab wounds that prosecutors say could only happen if a person is immobilized by an anesthesia-type drug.
Killer ‘known to’ men?
In their Feb. 5 court filing, which was made public Feb. 15, prosecutors reiterate earlier statements that they lacked evidence to charge anyone with the murder itself. But for the first time, they say that they believe “the killer is someone known to and being protected by” Price, Zaborsky and Ward.
“Given the sophistication and success of the defendants’ cover-up of the murder of Robert Wone, the evidence obtained to date does not yet establish beyond a reasonable doubt who actually killed Robert Wone,” says the court filing.
“Although the government investigation into the murder continues, there is ample admissible evidence demonstrating the killer is someone known to the defendants, and not, as the defendants told the police, an unknown, unseen, unheard, phantom intruder who entered without force, took nothing from the home, went to the farthest reaches of the second floor of the home, stabbed Robert Wone (while Robert Wone lay immobile), and then fled without a sound and without taking any item from the home or disturbing anything therein,” it says.
The government’s filing also for the first time suggests that Joseph Price’s brother, Michael Price, could be a person of interest linked to the Wone murder.
In October 2006, two months after the murder, D.C. police arrested Michael Price and an accomplice on a charge of burglarizing the Swann Street home where the murder took place, saying they entered the then vacant home using a key that Joseph Price had given Michael Price sometime earlier. At the time, police said they had no evidence to link the burglary to the murder.
In their court filing last month, prosecutors say they found that Michael Price had been enrolled in a course at Montgomery College, studying to be a phlebotomist from June through August of 2006. A phlebotomist is trained to draw blood from patients at hospitals or other medical facilities through the use of special hypodermic needles.
“Course attendance records reflect that Michael Price attended each and every scheduled class beginning on June 7, 2006, and running through July 31, 2006,” the government filing says. “However, those same records reflect that the first time he missed class was on Aug. 2, 2006, the night Robert Wone was killed.”
The filing adds in a footnote, “It should be noted that Michael Price’s partner, Louis Hinton, provided an alibi for Michael Price at the time of the murder.”
In a related development, defense attorneys last week filed motions asking that the case against Joseph Price, Zaborsky and Ward be “severed” so that each one would have a separate trial.
These and the filings by prosecutors seeking to introduce the S&M-related evidence are expected to be debated at Friday’s court status hearing before Judge Lynn Leibovitz.
District of Columbia
Gay ANC member announces candidacy for Ward 1 D.C. Council seat
Community leader Brian Footer seeking seat held by Brianne Nadeau

Gay Advisory Neighborhood Commissioner Brian Footer, a community activist who has been involved for many years in local and national government affairs, has announced his candidacy for the Ward 1 D.C. Council seat up for election in 2026.
Footer, a Democrat, will be running in the city’s June 2, 2026, Democratic primary for the Ward 1 Council seat, but it is uncertain whether he will be running against incumbent Ward 1 Council member Brianne Nadeau (D). Nadeau has not yet announced if she plans to run for re-election for a fourth term following her 12 years on the Council.
Nadeau has been a longtime vocal supporter of the LGBTQ community.
If Footer were to win the primary and the November 2026 general election, he would become the Council’s second openly gay member. Ward 5 Council member Zachary Parker (D) is currently the 13-member Council’s only gay member.
Footer is a three-term ANC commissioner who currently serves as Chair of ANC 1E, which represents the city’s Adams Morgan neighborhood.
“Brian has worked at every level of government — federal, state, and local — building a career rooted in public service, aging policy, and inclusive urban planning,” a statement on his campaign website says.
“I’m running for Council because too many people in Ward 1 are doing everything right and still feel ignored by the city they call home,” Footer states on his website.
“I’m running because we can do better,” his statement continues. “That means making housing more affordable, addressing homelessness with real solutions, and keeping our neighborhoods safe with smart, community focused strategies.”
When contacted by the Washington Blade for comment, Nadeau said she was not ready at this time to discuss her plans about running again or about Footer’s candidacy.
“The primary is a ways away, and I’m very focused right now on the budget and the stadium deal and all the work that we’re doing at the Council,” she told the Blade. “So, I really haven’t had time to turn to my plans. So, as a result, I’m also not going to be commenting on anybody else who is determined that they’re running at this time.”
She first won election to the Council in 2014 after she defeated four-term gay Ward 1 Council member Jim Graham in the Democratic primary after Graham became embroiled in an ethics controversy.
In the 2022 Democratic primary Nadeau defeated gay challenger Salah Czapary in a three-candidate race, by a margin of 48.5% of the vote compared to Czapary’s 30.9%.
With the third candidate, Sabel Harris, receiving 20.4%, the outcome showed that the two challengers had a combined total vote count higher than Nadeau.
Further details of Footer’s candidacy can be accessed from his campaign website, brianfooterdc.com.
District of Columbia
Gay GOP group hosts Ernst, 3 House members — all of whom oppose Equality Act
Log Cabin, congressional guest speakers mum on June 25 event

U.S. Sen. Joni Ernst (R-Iowa) and three women Republican members of the U.S. House appeared as guest speakers at the June 25 meeting of Log Cabin Republicans of D.C., the local chapter of the national LGBTQ Republican group with that same name.
The U.S. House members who joined Ernst as guest speakers at the Log Cabin meeting were Celeste Maloy (R-Utah), Kat Cammack (R-Fla.), and Julia Letlow (R-La.).
Neither D.C. Log Cabin Republicans President Andrew Minik nor spokespersons for Ernst or the three congresswomen immediately responded to a request by the Washington Blade for comment on the GOP lawmakers’ appearance at an LGBTQ GOP group’s meeting.
“Please join us for an inspiring evening as we celebrate and recognize the bold leadership and accomplishments of Republican women in Congress,” a D.C Log Cabin announcement sent to its members states.
“This month’s meeting will highlight the efforts of the Republican Women’s Caucus and explore key issues such as the Protection of Women and Girls In Sports Act and the broader fight to preserve women’s spaces in society,” the message says.
It was referring to legislation pending in Congress calling for banning transgender women from participating in women’s sports events.
According to media reports, Ernst and the three congresswomen have expressed opposition to the Equality Act, the longstanding bill pending in Congress calling for prohibiting discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity in the areas of employment, housing, and public accommodations.
The Log Cabin announcement says the meeting was scheduled to take place at the Royal Sands Social Club, which is a restaurant and bar at 26 N St., S.E. in the city’s Navy Yard area.
D.C. Log Cabin member Stuart West, who attended the meeting, confirmed that Ernst and the three congresswomen showed up and spoke at the event.
“It was a good turnout,” he said. “I would definitely say probably 30 or 40 people attended.” West added, “Four women came to talk to a group of mostly gay men. That’s something you don’t see very often.”
District of Columbia
D.C. police seek public’s help in July 5 murder of trans woman
Relative disputes initial decision not to list case as hate crime

D.C. police are seeking help from the public in their investigation into the murder of a transgender woman who they say was shot to death at about 12:30 a.m. on Saturday, July 5, on the 2000 block of Benning Road, N.E.
But the police announcement of the fatal shooting and a police report obtained by the Washington Blade do not identify the victim, 28-year-old Daquane ‘Dream’ Johnson of Northeast D.C., as transgender. And the police report says the shooting is not currently listed as a suspected hate crime.
It was local transgender activists and one of Johnson’s family members, her aunt, who confirmed she was transgender and said information they obtained indicates the killing could have been a hate crime.
“On Saturday, July 5, at approximately 12:51 a.m., Sixth District officers were flagged down in the 2000 block of Benning Road, Northeast, for an unconscious female,” a July 5 D.C. police statement says. “Upon arrival, officers located an adult female victim suffering from gunshot wounds,” it says.
“D.C. Fire and EMS responded to the scene and transported the victim to a local hospital where after all lifesaving efforts failed and the victim was pronounced dead,” the statement says.
A separate police flyer with a photo of Johnson announces an award of $25,000 was being offered for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the person or persons responsible for the murder.
The flyer identifies D.C. police Homicide Detective Natasha Kennedy as being the lead investigator in the case and says anyone with information about the case should contact her at 202-380-6198.
Longtime D.C. transgender rights advocate Earline Budd told the Blade that one of the police investigators contacted her about the case and that she also spoke to Detective Kennedy. Budd said police confirmed to her that Johnson was a transgender woman.

One of Johnson’s family members, Vanna Terrell, who identified herself as Johnson’s aunt, told the Blade that Johnson used the first name of Dream and had planned to legally adopt that name instead of Daquane but had not gotten around to doing so.
Terrell said she and other family members learned more about the incident when one of two teenage high school students who knew Johnson’s brother contacted a friend and told the friend that they recognized Johnson as they witnessed the shooting. Terrell said the friend then called her to tell her what the friend learned from the two witnesses.
According to Terrell, the witnesses reportedly saw three men approach Johnson as Johnson walked along Benning Road and one of them called Johnson a derogatory name, leading Terrell to believe the men recognized Johnson as a transgender woman.
Terrell said one of the witnesses told the friend, who spoke to Terrell, that the man who shot Johnson kept shooting her until all of the bullets were fired. Budd, who said she spoke to Terrell, who also told her what the witnesses reported, said she believed the multiple shots fired by the shooter was an “overkill” that appears to have been a hate crime. Terrell said she too believes the murder was a hate crime.
In response to an inquiry from the Blade, Officer Ebony Major, a D.C. police spokesperson, stated in an email, “At this point there is nothing in the investigation that indicates the offense was motivated by hate or bias.”
Terrell said a memorial gathering to honor Johnson’s life was scheduled to be held Saturday, July 12, at River Terrace Park, which is located at 500 36th St., N.E. not far from where the shooting occurred.

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