Slain DC couple gave $40K to Van Hollen

by Scott Wong - 05/21/15 4:10 PM ET

The iron company executive and his wife who were killed last week at their multimillion-dollar mansion in Washington had donated nearly $40,000 over the years to Rep. Chris Van Hollen’s campaign efforts, according to public records.

Those contributions include $10,800 for the Maryland Democrat’s Senate campaign, which Van Hollen launched in March.

A manhunt in D.C. and New York City was underway Thursday for a suspect who is believed to have killed American Iron Works President and CEO Savvas Savopoulos; his wife, Amy; their 10-year-old son, Philip; and the family’s housekeeper, Veralicia Figueroa.

{mosads}Their bodies were discovered one week ago after firefighters responded to a fire at the family’s stately brick home in a tony part of Washington, near many embassies and the vice president’s residence at the Naval Observatory.

Van Hollen, who is running to succeed retiring Sen. Barbara Mikulski (D-Md.), had known the family for more than two decades. His spokeswoman did not immediately respond to questions about the donations, but the congressman had previously said he was saddened to learn about the slayings.

“My heart goes out to the Savopoulos family at this time of unspeakable tragedy,” Van Hollen said. “They were an important part of the community and will be deeply missed.”

There is not thought to be any connection between Van Hollen and the killings.

Savvas and Amy Savopoulos were bipartisan in their campaign contributions, according to finance reports from the Federal Election Commission. They donated $4,600 to Republican Mitt Romney’s 2008 presidential campaign, and $5,500 to Sen. Olympia Snowe’s (R-Maine) leadership PAC, Olympia’s List, before Snowe’s 2012 retirement.

Others who received donations from the family include Reps. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen and Gus Bilirakis, both Florida Republicans; former Sen. Tim Johnson (D-S.D.); and former Rep. Zack Space (D-Ohio).

Tags Chris Van Hollen