David Messerschmitt's Murderer Gets Sentenced

How long of a prison sentence did Jamyra Gallmon receive for the murder of DLA Piper associate David Messerschmitt?

Prosecutors sought a 25-year prison sentence for Jamyra Gallmon, the D.C. woman who stabbed DLA Piper associate David Messerschmitt to death in a robbery gone bad. Gallmon’s lawyer — who claimed that his client suffered sexual abuse and rape as a child and teen, and relived memories of that trauma in a “struggle” with Messerschmitt in a hotel room — sought 18 years. Who prevailed?

The final sentence fell much closer to the prosecution’s request, as reported by the Washington Post:

The D.C. woman charged with fatally stabbing and robbing a lawyer in an upscale hotel after answering an online ad he had posted seeking sex with a man, was sentenced to 24 years in prison Friday.

Jamyra Gallmon, 21, pleaded guilty in May to second-degree murder in the Feb. 9 killing of David Messerschmitt, 30, who worked at the international law firm DLA Piper. Messerschmitt was found dead of multiple stab wounds at the posh Donovan Hotel at Thomas Circle….

Gallmon’s alleged girlfriend and former roommate, Dominique Johnson, 19, of Washington who pleaded guilty to a charge of conspiracy to commit robbery for her role in the events on the day of the murder, was sentenced to six months in jail.

The high sentence for Gallmon shouldn’t come as a surprise given the brutality of the murder; the premeditated nature of the robbery, in which Gallmon preyed upon a married man seeking sex with another man, presumably on the theory that such a victim would be less likely to report the crime to law enforcement; and the powerful letters submitted by Messerschmitt’s friends and family urging D.C. Superior Court Judge Michael Ryan to sentence at the top of the range.

You can read those letters here (via the Legal Times). The letters from David Messerschmitt’s parents and from his wife, Kim Vuong, are heartbreaking.

One of the strongest letters to Judge Ryan came from a fellow jurist, Judge Susan J. Dlott, whom Messerschmitt interned for in 2007. Judge Dlott wrote:

It’s a persuasive letter, made more persuasive by Judge Dlott noting that it’s the first sentencing letter she has sent to another judge in her 42-year legal career. Interestingly enough, if you review all the letters, Judge Dlott’s is one of the few that expressly alludes to the gay angle. Good for Judge Dlott for acknowledging the elephant in the (court)room; any sense of shame over why David Messerschmitt was in that hotel room was exactly what Jamyra Gallmon was exploiting.

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Once again, we extend our condolences to David Messerschmitt’s family and friends. Nothing can replace him, as the sentencing letters make clear, but at least his killer has been brought to justice.

DLA Piper Atty’s Killer Gets 24 Years [Law360]
D.C. lawyer’s killer sentenced to 24 years in prison [Washington Post]
Slain DLA Lawyer’s Colleagues, Friends and Family Reflect on Loss [Legal Times]

Earlier: David Messerschmitt’s Murderer Pleads Guilty
Arrest Made In DLA Piper Associate’s Killing
A Second Arrest In The DLA Piper Associate Slaying

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