The murder of Robert Wone.

[Nell]

Did Robert Wones's friends rape and kill him? His widow thinks so.

The murder of Robert Eric Wone is a murder case in Washington, D.C., that remains unsolved; the body was found in the home of a college friend in August 2006. Wone, who was 32 years old at the time, was a lawyer living in suburban Oakton, Virginia but had been working as general counsel at Radio Free Asia in downtown Washington, D.C. and stayed the night at the home of friends located about one mile from his office. According to police affidavits, Wone was believed to have been "restrained, incapacitated, and sexually assaulted" before his death.

Within weeks of the murder, D.C. police alleged that the crime scene had been tampered with, but no charges were filed for over two years. The residents present in the townhouse when Wone was attacked were charged in late 2008 with obstruction of justice and conspiracy related to alleged crime scene tampering. The men have not been charged with Wone's killing, but his widow has filed a $20 million wrongful death lawsuit against them.

In August 2007 the Washington Post reported Katherine Wone's frustration with the FBI crime lab, "It has been trying at times as we continue to wait for the FBI to complete their analysis of all the samples that were taken."[16] Over one year the case had been transferred to three separate prosecutors, earning it "vagabond status" in the U.S. Attorneys' office.[18] On the one-year anniversary of Wone's death, Katherine Wone held a press conference to appeal for public assistance in finding the killer, her first public comment on the case.[16][19] During the press conference, Holder publicly pleaded with the three residents to provide additional information, saying "You need to ask yourself, 'Have I provided police with all the information I know?'"[19][20] Interested parties, such as the OCA, used the first anniversary of Wone's death to criticize what they deemed as police inaction in the investigation.[7] In contrast to the first anniversary of Wone's murder, there was no press conference on the second anniversary, and neither the Wone family nor police made any statements to the press.[17]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Murder_of_Robert_Eric_Wone

[ScribbleMuse]

So she believes that it's his FRIENDS who killed him in this way?

What a horrible situation. I always feel so much sorrow on behalf of family members who have no answers--the crime itself is bad enough, to know what your loved one suffered is probably the worst thing I can imagine. However, to know all of that AND have no justice or answers, or worse, to have knowledge in some way (even by intuition) that the murderers are NOT being prosecuted would be another level of torture on top of everything else.

Interesting story Nell--thanks for bringing it up. I'm going to dig around and see what else is out there about it, and please do update if you hear anything or know anything more. I hope this lady gets her answers and justice!

[Etoile]

Bump to note that despite major public interest in finding Wone's killer (thanks to an article in the local monthly glossy, the Washingtonian), all three defendants were acquitted on May 17th, 2010. Insufficient evidence was available, and none of the guys were going to admit anything at all. The next step is a civil suit for Wone's wife, who at the time lived just a few minutes from me (not sure if she still does).

The tragedy continues to be chronicled at WhoMurderedRobertWone.com.

I'm so glad that despite my involvement in DC's gay scene, I don't know these guys.