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The “trouple” may not have been harmonious. Taking the stand in a packed courtroom yesterday, the ex-roommate of accused conspirators Joe Price, Dylan Ward and Victor Zaborsky, spilled a few details on the trio’s three-way relationship. In August 2006, when attorney Robert Wone was found stabbed to death in their Swann Street NW home, Price was involved in a committed relationship with both Zaborsky and Ward.
Friends with the three men, whom she described as “polyamorous,” Sarah Morgan also lived in the basement apartment of their swanky three-story rowhouse (paying $1,000 to $1,100 per month in rent, she noted). That gave her ample opportunity to see Price express affection to both men. “They were very caring and loving,” Morgan said. Prosecutors have suggested that Price is at the center of what the men consider to be a family—and that they have covered up Wone’s murder in order to protect that family. The night he was killed, Wone was staying the night as a guest of the trio, who contend he was stabbed by a mysterious intruder.
Probing the family’s dynamics, prosecutor Glenn Kirschner asked Morgan to describe the relationship between Price and Ward. The defense erupted into objections. While lawyers approached the bench, a seemingly recently tanned Ward dug two fingers into his jaw and looked tense. Morgan’s testimony was allowed to proceed and she revealed that, talking with Ward several years ago, she learned he thought he’d soon have Price all to himself. “He mentioned that he thought that Joe would break up with Victor and that he would become Joe’s partner,” Morgan said.
That didn’t pan out. Not only did Zaborsky remain Price’s squeeze, he slept in the house’s third-floor master bedroom with Price while Ward was relegated to a bedroom on the second floor.
Morgan was away the night of Wone’s murder. “I went to watch TV at a friend’s house and then was invited to spend the night while I was there,” she said, adding that she had activated the home’s alarm system before leaving.
Prior testimony indicated that Price later turned the alarm off.
Morgan received a call from Price at 5:50 a.m. the next morning. He told her not to go back to the house, she said.