Local
Wone trial video shows interrogation of Price, Ward
Gay defendants insist intruder killed Wone
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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Congratulations to Jaime Christopher Pierce on their appointment to serve as a member of the Virginia Governor’s LGBTQ+ Advisory Board. Pierce was sworn in on Sept. 3 by Greg Parks, clerk of the Alexandria Circuit Court.
Pierce currently serves as vice chair of the Alexandria City LGBTQIA+ Task Force and as a member of the Alexandria Pride planning committee. They previously served on the board of directors of Equality Virginia.
Upon being sworn in, Pierce said, “Public service has been a central part of my life for more than 30 years, and this appointment gives me an opportunity to serve the Commonwealth in a different and very personal way. My career has allowed me to work with people and communities throughout Virginia, and I hope to bring that experience, along with my own lived experience and my involvement in the LGBTQ+ community, to the work of the Board.” They added, “Having Greg administer the oath makes the occasion even more meaningful because of his own historic role as Virginia’s first openly gay elected circuit court clerk.”
Pierce also serves as Circuit Court Services Manager for the Department of Judicial Services, at the Office of the Executive Secretary of the Supreme Court of Virginia. They began their career in Virginia’s judiciary in 1994 as a deputy clerk with the Virginia Beach Circuit Court and have since held several professional and leadership positions within the court system. Pierce is a member of the National Association for Court Management (NACM) and the Mid-Atlantic Association for Court Management. At the national level, Pierce participated in the workgroup that developed the National Association for Court Management’s Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Guide, a resource designed to help court professionals advance inclusive practices and strengthen access, fairness and belonging within the justice system.
Pierce earned a degree in Criminal Justice from Liberty University, and a certificate in Paralegal Studies from Norfolk State University.
Maryland
Md. groups receive state grants to fight hate crimes
Pride Center of Maryland among recipients
Maryland Gov. Wes Moore and the Governor’s Office of Crime Prevention and Policy are awarding a total of $10 million in grants in the 2027 fiscal year to nonprofit organizations that work to prevent hate crimes in the state.
The funds will be used to support those who feel targeted or discriminated against because of their race, religion, sexual orientation, gender identity, or disability status.
The Pride Center of Maryland is among the recipients. Churches, synagogues, mosques, and LGBTQ organizations are all eligible to receive grants
“The safety and security of all Marylanders is my top priority, so we are drawing a hard line because we have no tolerance for hate,” said Moore, according to media reports. “We are committed to protecting and ensuring safe and sacred spaces stay that way by investing in non-profit organizations, houses of worship, and community centers to protect and honor every community that makes our state so diverse and special.”
“Protection Against Hate Crime funding has strengthened the Pride Center of Maryland’s ability to protect, educate, and support the communities we serve … at a time of heightened concern associated with the Trump administration’s anti-LGBTQ/SGL (same-gender-loving) policies and pressures,” Pride Center of Maryland CEO Cleo Manago said. “PAHC funding helps us do more than improve physical security — it strengthens our community’s knowledge, preparedness, connection to resources, and ability to respond to hate with greater awareness and support.”
Maryland’s hate crimes law includes both sexual orientation and gender identity. The state’s nondiscrimination statute is also LGBTQ-inclusive.
District of Columbia
Blade welcomes fall intern
Alexis McLean is student at University of North Florida
The Washington Blade this week welcomed Alexis McLean as its fall intern.
Alexis is studying political science at the University of North Florida in Jacksonville, Fla. She is interning with the Blade as part of a continued partnership with the Washington Center.
“I am looking forward to spending my time in the fall with the Washington Blade, as this is a new experience for me,” said Alexis. “I have not experienced any journalist jobs in the past so this would be my first time, and I am excited to better my writing and communications skills with this internship.”
Alexis’s internship with the Blade ends in early December.
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