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Wone trial video shows interrogation of Price, Ward

Gay defendants insist intruder killed Wone

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As the conspiracy trial continued this week for three gay men implicated in the 2006 murder of Washington lawyer Robert Wone, it remained unclear whether the men would take the witness stand to testify.

But defendants Joseph Price and Dylan Ward effectively appeared as virtual witnesses Monday and Tuesday as prosecutors showed in the courtroom a police video of homicide detectives questioning the men about the murder.

The interrogations took place in the early morning hours of Aug. 3, 2006, a few hours after Wone was found stabbed to death in a second-floor guest room at Price, Ward and Victor Zaborsky’s upscale townhouse on Swann Street, N.W., near Dupont Circle.

“At no time did Price appear very emotional or upset,” reported Craig Brownstein, a writer with the Who Murdered Robert Wone blog, which described Price’s responses to questions by two detectives sitting beside him in the interrogation room.

Brownstein reported that Ward watched the video intently while sitting behind the defense table, but Price looked straight ahead at the lawyers and never looked at the video.

The men have been charged with obstruction of justice, conspiracy to obstruct justice and evidence tampering. If convicted on all three counts, they face a possible maximum sentence of 38 years in prison. No one has been charged with Wone’s murder.

Transcripts of the videotaped interrogations of Price and Ward show that detectives repeatedly challenged their claim that an unidentified intruder killed Wone after entering their house from a rear door while they were asleep in their respective bedrooms.

Wone’s wife testified last week that her husband, a longtime friend of Price from their days as students at the College of William & Mary, spent the night at the men’s house after working late at his nearby office.

The detectives noted that they found no evidence of a forced entry into the house. They said nothing was taken or disturbed, including valuable items in clear view on the first floor, including a flat screen television. Why would an intruder presumably arriving to burglarize the house bypass expensive items, go upstairs, walk past Ward’s bedroom and enter the room where Wone was sleeping and stab him, the detectives wanted to know.

“I understand it doesn’t make sense,” Ward told them.

Defense attorneys, including gay former D.C. Attorney General Robert Spagnoletti, asked the detectives during their cross examination whether investigators and prosecutors “jumped to conclusions” that the three men were implicated in the murder because of their sexual orientation and their three-way romantic relationship.

The defense has repeatedly referred to Det. Sgt. Daniel Wager’s questioning of Price about why Wone, whose family says he was straight, wanted to stay at their house.

“I got three homosexuals in a house and one straight guy,” he told Price in the interrogation room. “What is he doing there?” Wagner added, “I think you were all drinking wine and you know what’s going to happen tonight.”

Price responded by calling what he considered Wagner’s suggestion that the gay housemates were interested in a sexual encounter with Wone as being “insulting.”

Spagnoletti and defense attorneys David Schertler and Bernard Grimm each pressed the detectives in cross examination about whether they pursued other scenarios in the investigation, including Price’s claim that other people such as contractors had keys to the men’s house. Grimm repeatedly asked Wagner whether his approach to the investigation was shaped by his “attitudes” toward homosexuals.

The detectives replied that, after what they called a thorough assessment of the evidence, they concluded that no intruder entered the house on the night of the murder.

Police and prosecutors say they have evidence showing the three men delayed calling 911 to report the stabbing and appeared to have tampered with the crime scene and covered up evidence to protect the killer. Prosecutors say they believe one or all three of the men know the killer’s identity.

Defense attorneys say they will show that police botched the investigation by failing to pursue and identify the intruder that the defense says murdered Robert Wone.

The trial is expected to continue for at least another three weeks. Judge Lynn Leibovitz, who is presiding over the trial, will decide the defendants’ guilt or innocence following their decision to give up their right to a jury trial.

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World Pride 2025

Episcopal bishop to speak at WorldPride human rights conference

Trump demanded apology from Mariann Edgar Budde over post-Inauguration sermon

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The Right Rev. Mariann Edgar Budde. (Screen capture via PBS NewsHour/YouTube)

The Right Rev. Mariann Edgar Budde is among those who are scheduled to speak at the WorldPride 2025 Human Rights Conference that will take place from June 4-6.

Budde, who is the bishop of the Diocese of Washington, in January urged President Donald Trump “to have mercy” on LGBTQ people, immigrants, and others “who are scared right now” during a post-Inauguration service that he and Vice President JD Vance attended at the Washington National Cathedral. Trump criticized Budde’s comments and demanded an apology.

The Right Rev. Mariann Edgar Budde speaks at the Washington National Cathedral on Jan. 21, 2025. (PBS NewsHour clip)

A press release the Washington Blade received notes Icelandic Industries Minister Hanna Katrín Friðriksson, UK Black Pride founder Phyll Opoku-Gyimah, and Bob the Drag Queen are among those who are also expected to participate in the conference.

The conference will take place at the JW Marriott (1331 Pennsylvania Ave., N.W.) and registration is open here.

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World Pride 2025

Pabllo Vittar to perform at WorldPride

Brazilian drag queen, singer, joined Madonna on stage in 2024 Rio concert

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Pabllo Vittar (Screen capture via Pabllo Vittar/YouTube)

A Brazilian drag queen and singer who performed with Madonna at her 2024 concert on Rio de Janeiro’s Copacabana Beach will perform at WorldPride.

The Capital Pride Alliance on Thursday announced Pabllo Vittar will perform on the Main Stage of the main party that will take place on June 7 at DCBX (1235 W St., N.E.) in Northeast D.C.

Vittar and Anitta, a Brazilian pop star who is bisexual, on May 4, 2024, joined Madonna on stage at her free concert, which was the last one of her Celebration Tour. Authorities estimated 1.6 million people attended.

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District of Columbia

$3.7 billion RFK stadium proposal draws support from Team DC

Washington Commanders ‘proud’ to champion LGBTQ community

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The long-suffering RFK Stadium will be razed to make way for a new domed facility that could one day host the Super Bowl. (Washington Blade file photo by Michael Key)

Miguel Ayala, president of the D.C. LGBTQ sports organization Team D.C., has expressed support for the $3.7 billion deal reached between Mayor Muriel Bowser and the Washington Commanders football team to bring the team back to D.C. in a redeveloped site on the grounds of the city’s long shuttered RFK stadium.

With the deal calling for the city to provide $1 billion in taxpayer funds for infrastructure related costs for the massive redevelopment project — and with the Commanders to provide the remaining $2.7 billion — as of this week the deal did not have majority support on the D.C. Council, which must vote to approve it.

Ayala’s support for the project on behalf of Team D.C. raises the question of whether members of the city’s influential LGBTQ community might play some role in urging the D.C. Council to approve the project.

The proposal comes at a time when the Washington Commanders team includes a message of support for the LGBTQ community on its website. The message follows its hosting last October of its 4th annual LGBTQ Pride Night Out at the Commanders game against the Cleveland Browns.

“The Washington Commanders are proud to champion the LGBTQ+ community and its allies,” the team states on its website. “Through the unifying power of sports, we aim to create a culture where all feel welcome and celebrated.”

In a statement released to the Washington Blade, Ayala points out that the Commanders are among every D.C.-based professional sports team that hosts a Pride Night Out event, which Team DC helps to organize.

“Each year, our events have grown stronger, with vibrant tailgates, on-field celebrations, and powerful moments that shine a spotlight on our community,” Ayala said. “We can’t wait to kick off our first Night Out at the Commanders Stadium in 2030.”

He was referring to plans by the Commanders organization and the D.C. mayor’s office to have the stadium deal approved by the D.C. Council in July, with construction of the new stadium to begin then, and with a planned completion in time for the 2030 professional football season.

Ayala also points out that the RFK stadium grounds currently serve as home to LGBTQ-related sports activity, including the D.C. Gay Flag Football League and the D.C. Front Runners group. He added that the RFK grounds will serve as the playing fields for this year’s WorldPride Capital Cup sports competition, where LGBTQ rugby and soccer teams from around the world will compete.

“This new stadium will be more than just a field – it will be a powerful new addition to the vibrant, diverse, and proud communities we champion every day,” he said in his statement.

At an April 28 news conference, Bowser, Washington Commanders owner Josh Harris and other city officials provided details of the stadium project, noting that it includes a massive development of the new stadium and the surrounding 180 acres of land.

In addition to the 65,000-seat domed stadium, officials said the project would include 5,000 to 6,000 residential housing units, with 30 percent designated as “affordable” for low- and moderate-income residents. They said the project would also include parks and recreation areas, hotels, restaurants, retail, and neighborhood amenities.

“As we focus on the growth of our economy, we’re not only bringing our team home, but we’re also bringing new jobs and new revenue to our city and to Ward 7,” Bowser said in a statement

Opponents of the project, including D.C. Council Chair Phil Mendelson (D-At-Large), have said they don’t believe the city should use its own funds for a stadium and the related development. 

So far, just four Council members have expressed support for the project. Mendelson and two other Council members have expressed opposition, and the remaining five have not yet said whether they would vote for or against it. The project needs seven of the current 12-member Council for it to be approved.

Council member Zachary Parker (D-Ward 5), the Council’s only gay member, who initially had not taken a position on the proposal, this week said he was looking at the project more favorably, according to news media reports. 

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