Summary: Washington D.C. lawyer, David Messerschmitt, was fatally stabbed in his hotel room after a robbery attack by Jamyra Gallman.
The attack in room 400 of the Donovan Hotel on February 9th left a D.C. area lawyer fatally stabbed multiple times in the abdomen, groin, and heart. The attacker, 21-year-old Jamyra Gallmon, stole $40 and a metro card after stabbing the lawyer in what she claims was a reaction to him grabbing her arm. She had gone to the hotel room in response to a Craigslist ad that lawyer David Messerschmitt placed for a male encounter.
Gallmon was first charged with first-degree murder for the attack on April 1st but finally reached an agreement to plead guilty to armed second-degree murder. She will face between 18 and 25 years in prison. Gallmon’s roommate Dominique Johnson was charged and pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit robbery after details surfaced that the two discussed a robbery plan in January. Johnson will face five years in prison. Her mother is a retired D.C. police officer.
Johnson initially denied any knowledge of the plan or encounter until she was faced with evidence from the day of the stabbing. Police have a video of Johnson and Gallmon in a CVS store across the street from the hotel shortly before the attack happened. Johnson then admitted to helping Gallmon purchase zip ties that were found in the hotel room. Johnson was released after her arrest. Gallmon has remained in jail since her arrest.
Gallmon and Messerschmitt had been exchanging emails that afternoon to agree on the time and place to meet that evening. He was in the room waiting when she arrived.
Messerschmitt was an intellectual-property attorney at DLA Piper that focused on Technology and Commercial Transactions. He received his Bachelors from Ohio State and his J.D. from Boston University School of Law.
Photo: nbcwashington.com