Police: Sexual Ad Led to DC Lawyer’s Hotel Murder
WASHINGTON, April 3 (UPI) — The person who murdered a successful Washington, D.C., attorney in a hotel room there nearly two months ago had responded to a sexual classified posted by the lawyer on the Internet, authorities said.
David Messerschmitt, an attorney for the high-powered international law firm DLA Piper, was found stabbed to death Feb. 10 in a room at the luxury Donovan Hotel. After digging into the victim’s electronic communications, officials said they learned that Messerschmitt had posted a sexual classified ad on Craigslist the day before — and believe whoever the killer was responded to that ad.
For weeks, police studied surveillance video images from the hotel which showed a possible suspect wearing a dark hooded sweatshirt. However, investigators couldn’t definitively conclude whether the suspect was a man or woman.
Wednesday, authorities said they had tracked down the suspect — 21-year-old Jamyra Gallmon, a graduate of a prestigious military academy and military hopeful, and a former employee of a private security firm.
Because Messerschmitt’s online ad sought sexual activity with men, it is not yet certain why Gallmon decided to respond. The New York Daily News reported Thursday that Gallmon told police she only intended to rob him, but began attacking him with a knife when he grabbed her arm and wouldn’t let her leave.
When Messerschmitt grabbed her by the arm, Gallmon claimed, she had flashbacks of a prior assault and pulled out the knife to protect herself. She also claimed that she tried to back out of the hotel room before he first saw her, but failed.
Authorities said the 30-year-old lawyer was found face down in the room with seven wounds, including stabs to the heart and groin, and his credit cards were scattered on the floor. Police said his hands were hooked with zip ties that acted as makeshift handcuffs.
Investigators said they were able to piece together their theory by finding electronic communications, over email and cellphone, between Messerschmitt and Gallmon, WUSA-TV reported. Cellphone records also indicated that Gallmon was in the area of the Donovan Hotel around the time of the murder, a charging document said.
Messerschmitt, who was married, had reportedly told his wife he would be home soon before secretly checking into the Donovan Hotel the evening of Feb. 9. His widow, Kim Vuong, released a statement on Thursday after learning of Gallmon’s arrest.
“I would like to thank the Metropolitan Police Department for their hard work and continued diligence,” she said. “I have faith that the police and the courts will bring justice to David and all who loved him.”
During her initial court appearance Thursday, Gallmon entered a not guilty plea to a charge of first-degree murder. The court ordered her held in custody until her next appearance on April 10.
Two weeks ago, while police were still trying to identify the killer, a friend asked Gallmon whether she was the suspect from the surveillance video after noticing a resemblance, theWashington Post reported.
“I literally asked her. I said, ‘Jamyra, you look like that lady in the camera,'” Brandi Gordon recalled. “She said, ‘Girl, no, that’s not me. I’m trying to go into the Army.'”
Gallmon was employed last year by MVP Protective Services, but told the company she wished to resign to pursue a career in law enforcement.
“Everyone at our firm was extremely shocked to learn that she could have been involved in such a heinous crime and we are still trying to come to grips to what would cause her to do such a thing,” the security firm’s CEO, Melvin Key, said Thursday. “If Ms. Gallmon was in fact involved in the unwarranted taking of Mr. Messerschmitt’s life I wish the swift hand of justice upon her.”
