According to investigators, 27-year-old Piero Emanuel Fuentes-Hernandez of Capitol Heights, Maryland was arrested Tuesday and charged with felony murder. They say Hernandez is a known gang member, and he has confessed to the murders. Police stress that tips from the public were crucial in his apprehension.
Detectives believe the Spevaks were attacked on Thursday night or early Friday morning by a man who used a telephone cord to tie the couple up, stole three computers, credit cards, and the couple's car. According to court documents, police first saw the suspect on Ingraham Street, where they found the couples' burned out car. It's still unclear just how police connected Hernandez to the crime, but according to a court affidavit, he was first spotted by police on Sunday morning as he was going into the front door of 622 Ingraham Street. That's the same house where police found evidence connected to the crime in the backyard. When investigators took him in for questioning, they say Hernandez at first said he had nothing to do with the crime. But when they searched his home in Capitol Heights, the affidavit says they found a number of items related to the murders.
The document reads: "The evidence seized included an 8 X 10 color photograph of (Virginia Spevak) between the mattress and box springs of (defendants) bed, (Michael Spevaks drivers license and credit cards were recovered from the closet, Chuck Taylor tennis shoes with red stains consistent with blood were recovered from the floor next to the bed, a key which fit the (Spevaks) front door, a sharp curved blade with a wooden handle was recovered in a utility sink in the basement."
When Hernandez agreed to cooperate, police say he admitted to buying a gallon of gas and setting the couple's Toyota on fire. He told police he wanted to destroy his fingerprints.
The court documents also say: "(The defendant) also identified himself as a member of the MC Gang. The MC Gang is known as "Master Criminals". (this detective) knows that the MC Gang is an affiliate of the STC Gang (Street Thug Criminals Gang)."
The Spevaks were well known in their Chevy Chase community. Michael Spevak, 68, was a psychiatrist who worked with troubled youth, and Virginia Spevak, 67, was a retired school teacher who was involved in foster car