Local
Sexual assault may be dropped in Wone murder case
The lead prosecutor in the Robert Wone murder case startled courtroom spectators last
The lead prosecutor in the Robert Wone murder case startled courtroom spectators last week when he said the government would likely drop its theory that Wone was immobilized by a paralytic drug and sexually assaulted before being stabbed to death in the Dupont Circle home of three gay men.
The disclosure by Assistant U.S. Attorney Glenn Kirschner at a D.C. Superior Court hearing March 12 drew visible sighs of relief from defendants Joseph Price, Victor Zaborsky and Dylan Ward. Price gave a thumbs-up signal to his attorney, Bernard Grimm.
“This appears to be a major victory for the defense,” said D.C. attorney Dale Sanders, who practices criminal law in the District.
Sanders said that by withdrawing its earlier contention that Wone was sexually assaulted and drugged, prosecutors would make it easier for the defense to promote their own contention that an unidentified intruder killed Wone after entering the home of the three gay men through a rear door.
The men have been indicted on charges of obstruction of justice, conspiracy to obstruct justice, and evidence tampering in connection with the August 2006 murder. Authorities have yet to charge anyone with the murder itself. The trial is scheduled to begin May 10.
Kirschner told D.C. Superior Court Judge Lynn Leibovitz that prosecutors were still considering introducing other evidence at trial considered highly controversial: a collection of S&M sex toys seized by police from Ward’s bedroom, which prosecutors have said was located across the hall from where Wone was found stabbed in a second-floor guest bedroom.
Wone, a prominent Washington attorney, was friends with the three men and spending the night at their home after working late in his downtown office, the men and members of Wone’s family have said. Wone was married to a woman, and his family members said he was straight.
Leibovitz said she had yet to see sufficient evidence presented by prosecutors to justify the introduction of the “devices” at trial. She noted that defense attorneys presented arguments as to why such evidence was not relevant to the case and how it would be prejudicial to the jury.
She directed prosecutors to file a motion before April 2 explaining their rationale for introducing such evidence and said she would rule on its admissibility at that time.
Leibovitz denied a motion by the defense asking the court to order prosecutors to release more details surrounding their evidence and theories in the case, saying the government has complied with all “discovery” requirements for informing the defense of its evidence.
Last week’s hearing followed a court motion filed by prosecutors in February seeking permission to introduce evidence at trial that Price, Zaborsky and Ward engaged in possible criminal conduct not identified in the charges pending against them. Some of the alleged conduct cited in the court filing pertained to the use of S&M-related restraining devices as well as devices used to administer electrical shocks to a person’s genitals.
“Are you planning to tell the jury that he was sexually assaulted, restrained,” that sex toys were used on him and he was injected with something? Leibovitz asked Kirschner.
“We’re moving away from the sexual assault proof,” Kirschner replied. But he said prosecutors still planned to offer some evidence that “restraints” were found in Ward’s bedroom.
In response to another assertion made by prosecutors in their February court filing — that “the killer is someone known to and being protected” by Price, Zaborsky and Ward — Leibovitz asked Kirschner, ” Do you plan to say one or all of these men killed Wone?”
“Not directly,” Kirschner replied.
He said prosecutors also plan to present evidence from the autopsy of needle marks on Wone’s body, including marks he noted the government’s medical experts would show were not made by emergency medical technicians who arrived at the scene and tried to revive Wone.
Kirschner disclosed at the hearing that he had submitted a letter to the defense earlier in the day, which he also filed with the court, saying that the government obtained new information from medical experts that appeared to raise doubts over whether Wone had been sexually assaulted or immobilized by a paralytic drug.
Authorities first raised that theory in a lengthy criminal complaint filed at the time police brought criminal charges against the three men for obstruction of justice and evidence tampering.
The complaint cited an autopsy finding showing that Wone suffered three surgical-like, clean stab wounds in the chest and abdomen that could only have occurred if he were lying completely still. The complaint, and subsequent arguments by prosecutors, claimed that a person being stabbed would be expected to recoil in pain or move in a defensive way, causing the wounds to be jagged or distorted.
Prosecutors said a paralytic drug must have been administered to Wone to render him immobile, but they acknowledged that the autopsy and subsequent chemical tests could not find traces of such a drug in Wone’s body. They argued that the type of anesthesia-like drug in question usually dissipates quickly and cannot be detected in tests.
But defense attorneys say in their own court filings that they would present expert witnesses to show that such drugs are detectable in tests, and the government’s inability to detect such a drug shows it was never administered.
According to prosecutors, the sexual assault theory was based on another finding in the autopsy that traces of Wone’s semen were found inside his rectum. The defense later argued that its own experts would show that the semen had no sperm cells, indicating it was secreted naturally by the body after Wone died, as muscles relax during the post mortem processes.
Sanders said that although the apparent decision by prosecutors to put aside their earlier sexual assault and paralytic drug theory is a blow to the prosecutors’ case, other evidence obtained against the three men remains significant and strong.
He noted, among other things, that investigators found traces of blood in the lint trap of the men’s clothes dryer and in a drain outside the house; findings by evidence technicians that someone cleaned the crime scene by attempting to wipe blood spattered near the body; and that the bloody kitchen knife that the men said they found near Wone’s body bore fibers from a towel, indicating to evidence experts that Wone’s blood was wiped onto knife blade by someone, with another knife likely used to kill Wone.
Authorities also have said Wone appeared to have been dead a significant period of time before Zaborsky called 911 to report a stabbing; and rescue workers reported finding very little blood on Wone’s chest and body, indicating that someone cleaned the body before police and rescue workers were called, according to the police affidavit.
“They won this battle, but the war doesn’t look good for them,” Sanders said. “You can’t lose track of the big picture, which doesn’t look good for these guys.”
District of Columbia
‘Queer Love’ campaign launched to address domestic violence
D.C. event set for LGBTQ+ Domestic Violence Awareness Day on May 28
The D.C.-based Wanda Alston Foundation, which provides housing and support services for homeless LGBTQ youth, announced earlier this month that it has joined partner organizations to launch a Queer Love Shouldn’t Hurt campaign aimed at addressing domestic violence within the LGBTQ community.
In a May 18 statement, the Alston Foundation said the campaign involves a public awareness initiative leading up to LGBTQ+ Domestic Violence Awareness Day scheduled for May 28.
“Domestic and family violence in LGBTQ+ communities is real and too often invisible,” Cesar Toledo, the Alston Foundation’s executive director, said in the statement. “As a community, we do not talk about it enough, and that silence can leave survivors feeling isolated and alone,” he said. “We must break that silence.”
He added that culturally competent care for those impacted by domestic violence is available through a newly launched website, queerlove.org, “where people can safely access vital resources, educational toolkits, and support networks they need on their healing journey.”
The website announces one of the project’s first events, a Queer Love Community Social, was scheduled for Thursday, May 28, from 6-8 p.m. at the D.C. LGBTQ+ Community Center at 1827 Wiltberger St., N.W.
“Join us this LGBT+ Domestic Violence Awareness Day for a community social dedicated to visibility and survivor resilience,” the website statement says. “Let’s gather to strengthen our bonds, honor the path to healing, and share free resources,” it says of the May 28 event.
The website also announces a June 1 workshop called Empowering Survivors of LGBTQ+ Intimate Partner Violence, which it says will be presented by Jesse Wedell, an official with the D.C. LGBT+ Counseling Collaborative. The website provides an online form to register for the workshop upon which its location would be disclosed.
It identifies the partner organizations working with the Alston Foundation on the Queer Love Public Awareness Campaign as the LGBT+ Counseling Collaborative, Whitman-Walker Health, the D.C. LGBTQ+ Community Center, and Equality Chamber.
The resources and information provided by the project can be accessed at www.queerlove.org.
District of Columbia
Man accused of threatening to shoot D.C. bar employee after making anti-gay slurs
May 24 incident took place near Black Pride events on U Street
D.C. police on Sunday, May 24, at around 4:20 p.m. arrested a Maryland man for allegedly threatening to shoot an employee while using anti-gay slurs at Ben’s Next Door restaurant and bar at 1211 U St., N.W.
According to a statement released by police and a police incident report, the arrested man, identified as Delonte Fraley, 32, of Accokeek, Md., made the threats after the employee told a bartender not to serve the man alcohol.
“The suspect overheard the employee and threatened to shoot the employee and used homophobic slurs against the employee,” the police statement says. “When the employee left the restaurant for the day, the suspect was standing near the employee’s vehicle,” it says.
“The employee returned to the restaurant and called the police,” the statement continues. “The suspect was apprehended by responding officers,” it says.
The police statement says the arresting officers charged Fraley with Felony Threats (Hate/Bias).
D.C. Superior Court records show prosecutors with the Office of the U.S. Attorney for D.C., which prosecutes D.C. criminal cases, escalated the charge to Threatening to Injure or Kidnap a Person (Bias-Related Hate Crime).
The incident occurred during Memorial Day weekend when thousands of visitors and D.C. area LGBTQ advocates and supporters were attending D.C. Black Pride events held in locations across the city, including Black Pride parties hosted by LGBTQ bars in the U Street entertainment area near Ben’s Next Door.
Among the nearby LGBTQ bars hosting D.C. Black Pride events were Nellie’s Sports Bar and Thurst Lounge. Ben’s Next Door is located next to the popular longtime U Street eatery Ben’s Chili Bowl.
Court records show that Judge Robert R. Rigsby at a May 25 presentment hearing released Fraley on personal recognizance with a stay-away order — the details of which were not publicly disclosed pending a June 4 preliminary hearing.
A more detailed arrest affidavit filed in court by D.C. police says Fraley allegedly confronted the employee at Ben’s Next Door with anti-gay slurs on the day prior to his arrest.
“The complainant told the defendant that because he used homophobic slurs towards himself previously on May 23, 2026, and his hostess, as well as making threats to the complainant and calling him a faggot, he was unable to stay in the establishment,” the affidavit states.
It adds, “The defendant became irate stating, ‘I know where your Tesla is at. See me outside faggot, I will slap your ass’ and ‘I will shoot your ass.’” The affidavit says the complainant confirmed to police the Tesla referred to by Fraley was his vehicle. It says as the victim walked toward his car after getting off work, he saw Fraley standing directly in front of the car.
“The complainant stated he felt unsafe while the defendant was standing in front of his vehicle because he felt the defendant was capable of carrying out those threats,” says the affidavit. It says the victim then decided to return to the restaurant and call police without the defendant having seen him.
“The defendant was placed under arrest for Felony Threats Hate/Bias and was transported to the Third District Station for processing,” the affidavit concludes.
It couldn’t immediately be determined whether the victim identifies as LGBTQ or whether any of the Ben’s Next Door patrons had been involved with D.C. Black Pride.
“Established in 2008, Ben’s Next Door is a family-owned and operated restaurant and bar on U Street, Northwest in Washington, D.C.,” a statement on its website says. “As a Black-owned establishment, it’s our goal to deliver a warm, welcoming, familiar, and communal vibe to all guests,” the statement says.
The Comings & Goings column is about sharing the professional successes of our community. We want to recognize those landing new jobs, new clients for their business, joining boards of organizations and other achievements. Please share your successes with us at [email protected].
Congratulations to Peter Schott on being honored by Delaware Gov. Matt Meyer on National Honor our LGBTQ Elders Day.
Schott is a prominent LGBTQ advocate and seasoned political strategist who has spent decades advancing civil rights at the national and state levels. Following a distinguished 25-year career as a staff assistant in the U.S. House of Representatives, Schott leveraged his extensive legislative expertise to help organize the National Stonewall Democrats, serving as an influential member of its national board.
After moving to Delaware in 2002, he became a foundational figure in the state’s LGBTQ political landscape, co-founding the Delaware Stonewall PAC, (now Stonewall Delaware) to champion the election of pro-equality candidates. His strategic lobbying and community organizing were instrumental in the successful passage of Delaware’s landmark non-discrimination, civil union, and marriage equality laws. A former member of the State Human Relations Commission, he remains a vital voice for the LGBTQ community in the Mid-Atlantic, continuing to document and drive social progress through his activism and writing. Schott currently serves as vice chair of the Delaware Democratic Pride Caucus, and a board member of Speak Out Against Hate (SOAH). He was a delegate to two Democratic National Conventions.
He earned a bachelor’s degree in Political Science, New York University; and a master’s of Public Administration degree from American University.
Still marching: Rev. Troy Perry and the ongoing fight for liberation
Introducing Next-Generation Assisted Living & Memory Support.
Cedric Neal on his juicy narrator role in ‘Pippin’
Dual endorsement for Independent Council-at-large: Patterson or Crawford
What I learned from Barney Frank and a bit of queer history
PHOTOS: Helen Hayes Awards
PHOTOS: Black Pride Pageant and Unity Ball
PHOTOS: Black Pride Opening Reception
Bree Fram’s congressional campaign ends but her fight continues
