Additional Details Emerge In DLA Piper Associate’s Killing

What did suspect Jamyra Gallmon allegedly tell the police?

UPDATE 4/8/15: Police have made a second arrest. Read about it here.

When DLA Piper associate David Messerschmitt was found murdered in a D.C. hotel room with condoms, lubricant, and an enema, some observers wondered whether perhaps he had been seeking a clandestine sexual encounter with another man. One ATL reader wrote to us and said it reminded him of the death of former Cravath partner David Schwartz, who was killed under just such circumstances.

But a different reader, after scrutinizing the hotel’s video footage, insisted to us that the “person of interest” was a woman. The D.C. police later came around to this conclusion — and last night they arrested a 21-year-old woman, Jamyra Gallmon, and charged her with Messerschmitt’s killing.

So what exactly transpired? Here is law enforcement’s theory, as reported in the National Law Journal:

The suspect in the murder of Washington lawyer David Messerschmitt planned to rob him, police said in charging documents disclosed Thursday, but stabbed him after he grabbed her to prevent her from leaving his hotel room.

Messerschmitt, an associate at DLA Piper, posted an ad on Craigslist on Feb. 9, the date of the murder, “soliciting responses from other men,” the Metropolitan Police Department said in the charging documents.

The ad was answered by “chrissanchez0906,” an account that police connected to an email address that belonged to a 21-year-old woman named Jamyra Gallmon of Southeast Washington. She was arrested at 3:30 p.m. on Wednesday and charged with first-degree felony murder while armed.

According to the allegations in the complaint, Gallmon admitted involvement in the killing:

15. After arrest, the defendant was read her Miranda rights. She invoked. Moments later, the defendant reinitiated contact with detectives by knocking on the door to the room in which she was held. The defendant was re-read her Miranda rights. This time she waived her rights and agreed to speak to police. During the interview, the defendant admitted going to the hotel on the 4th floor with the intentions of robbing the decedent. The defendant stated that once she reached the room, the door was open and she went inside.

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If these allegations are true, one can see how Gallmon operated. She would pose as a man and target men seeking secret sexual encounters with other men, presumably on the theory that such men would be less likely to turn to law enforcement if robbed. She would tell the targets to leave the door unlocked and wait for her on the bed — but instead of coming to the bed for a sexual encounter, she would take their property and immediately leave the premises.

According to the defendant, the decedent did not know she was in the room until she turned to walk out of the room. At that time, the decedent got up off of the bed and attempted to stop the defendant from leaving. The defendant stated that the complainant grabbed her arm causing her to flashback to a memory of when she was assaulted. The defendant stated that the decedent started fighting with her and she pulled a knife that she had in her sweatpants and stabbed the victim. The defendant further stated that the decedent continued fighting so she stabbed the decedent again and again causing him to back up. The defendant stated that when she realized that the decedent could not hurt her any more, the decedent staggered towards her and eventually fell to the floor. The defendant said that after the decedent fell to the floor, she stabbed him again. She believed she stabbed defendant probably three times.

16. The defendant stated that she stole the decedent’s SmartTrip Metro card. Further investigation revealed that the defendant also took cash from the decedent. The defendant admitted to bringing colorful zip ties to the hotel room, but denied using them. The defendant also said that she put the clothes she wore at the time of the homicide in a bag and disposed of them in a sewer near Alabama Avenue, Southeast (near a Safeway). The defendant stated that she threw the clothes away because they were bloody. In addition, the defendant stated that she took the decedent’s cell phone and threw it away in a trashcan on 14th Street, Northwest, near The Donovan Hotel. She also said the knife she used was black and at her house.

Police recovered a black knife in their search of Gallmon’s house. They also found a cellphone connected to the communications at issue in this case, with Chrissanchez0906@yahoo.com as a saved address.

In light of these allegations and evidence, how does Gallmon plan to fight the charges? Per the NLJ:

In court Thursday, Gallmon’s lawyer, Matthew Davies, said his client was not admitting the facts alleged in the charging documents. Even if the events did happen as reported, he said it was a case of “imperfect self-defense.”

In the charging documents, Gallmon reportedly told police that she turned to leave the room soon after entering. She said Messerschmitt grabbed her arm to stop her, “causing her to flashback to a memory of when she was assaulted.”

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After Gallmon’s arrest last night, David Messerschmitt’s wife, Kim Vuong, released a statement:

I would like to thank the Metropolitan Police Department for their hard work and continued diligence. I have faith that the police and the courts will bring justice to David and all who loved him. I will have no further comment until his case is resolved and I continue to ask for privacy for me and family.

If you have information about this crime, including if you have had any contact with the email address Chrissanchez0906@yahoo.com, please contact the D.C. Metropolitan Police.

Police: DLA Lawyer Killed After Craigslist Connection [National Law Journal]
Who is Jamyra Gallmon? [Fox D.C.]

Earlier: Arrest Made In DLA Piper Associate’s Killing
Police Reveal More Details In Messerschmitt Killing