GUILTY DC - David Messerschmitt, 30, murdered in Washington hotel room, 9 Feb 2015 #1

Question:

Let's say that two people have identical mobile phones and one person sets their mobile up to look exactly like the other person's device (same apps, layout, contacts, etc). Obviously the person in this scenario has access to both devices.

Let's say the person switches the mobile devices so she has his device and he has her device (she would sign out of email and other things that could make it identifiable as her device). He uses her device all day thinking it's his. (This may be able to be pulled off by simply switching the SIM cards; I'm not totally sure).

Considering the verbatim of the SMS exchange has not been made public, is it plausible that the SMS exchange was: "How long until you get here?" "Less than an hour."

Let's remember that both work long hours and most anesthesiologists typically work weird schedules. What if due to both their workloads they decided at the last minute that this was the only night was they could be together to celebrate Valentine's Day early and would spend it at the Donavan.

Now if there was a phone switch, might it be possible that he sent the SMS to her asking when she'd be there (but to others it would appear to her to him). So when he opens the door he assumes it's her arriving for their night together and it's the killer. (If the SIM card scenario is plausible, killer takes the SIM from his phone)

I know it's an obviously complicated scenario but so is the possibility that someone was contracted to kill him and in that scenario I'd assume someone would go to great lengths to pull it off without it leading back to them.

If it's the consensus that this whole scenario is drivel then maybe parts of it might have value (hopefully)

Anything is possible when you consider this oddly clad hitperson waltzed through a snazzy hotel and through security (pass required), got to the victim, got in to his room, and left without blood splattered all over them. So yeah, anything is possible.

HastingsChi said:

Question:

Let's say that two people have identical mobile phones and one person sets their mobile up to look exactly like the other person's device (same apps, layout, contacts, etc). Obviously the person in this scenario has access to both devices.

Let's say the person switches the mobile devices so she has his device and he has her device (she would sign out of email and other things that could make it identifiable as her device). He uses her device all day thinking it's his. (This may be able to be pulled off by simply switching the SIM cards; I'm not totally sure).

Considering the verbatim of the SMS exchange has not been made public, is it plausible that the SMS exchange was: "How long until you get here?" "Less than an hour."

Let's remember that both work long hours and most anesthesiologists typically work weird schedules. What if due to both their workloads they decided at the last minute that this was the only night was they could be together to celebrate Valentine's Day early and would spend it at the Donavan.

Now if there was a phone switch, might it be possible that he sent the SMS to her asking when she'd be there (but to others it would appear to her to him). So when he opens the door he assumes it's her arriving for their night together and it's the killer. (If the SIM card scenario is plausible, killer takes the SIM from his phone)

I know it's an obviously complicated scenario but so is the possibility that someone was contracted to kill him and in that scenario I'd assume someone would go to great lengths to pull it off without it leading back to them.

If it's the consensus that this whole scenario is drivel then maybe parts of it might have value (hopefully)

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In order to not be caught, the killer would have to switch the phones back at the murder scene. Otherwise, LE would easily figure out he whose phone he really had. That means, the other person would have to have HIS phone at an appropriate cell phone tower when sending the text. Then turn off the phone and not use it. Get it across town within an hour and give it to the killer to switch at the hotel room.

I personally think an anesthesiologist would know easier ways kill someone and escape detection.

But you sure came up with a very creative idea that I hope nobody ever reads with ill intent.

Miss Muffet said:

In order to not be caught, the killer would have to switch the phones back at the murder scene. Otherwise, LE would easily figure out he whose phone he really had. That means, the other person would have to have HIS phone at an appropriate cell phone tower when sending the text. Then turn off the phone and not use it. Get it across town within an hour and give it to the killer to switch at the hotel room.

I personally think an anesthesiologist would know easier ways kill someone and escape detection.

But you sure came up with a very creative idea that I hope nobody ever reads with ill intent.

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Thanks

I know it sounds quite complicated but I bet it's possible.

For some reason I keep going back to the idea of an early Valentine's Day celebration due to the possibility that their schedules/other commitments might make celebrating on the 14th not possible.

From the initial Post article:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/local...07991c-b15b-11e4-886b-c22184f27c35_story.html

Police said they were called to the hotel about 11 a.m. after receiving a report of an unconscious person.

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Unconscious? I wonder how sure they are about time of death.

From the Post's second article:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/local...e440d8-b1e4-11e4-854b-a38d13486ba1_story.html

Firm spokesman Josh Epstein declined to let co-workers discuss Messerschmitt, citing a request made by his family, which appears to be from the Cincinnati area, that all communication go through a representative.

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Does it strike anyone else as very strange that the family essentially put a gag order on DM's colleagues which prohibits them from discussing DM?

Also within 24 hours of learning of DM's murder the family retains*Gary C. Meltz as a spokesperson who all communication must go through; why?

Furthermore, why does a Cincinnati-based family hire a DC-based spokesman for the family?
http://www.meltzcommunications.com

More oddities from the Post's third article
http://www.washingtonpost.com/local...5c6bf6-b2ad-11e4-886b-c22184f27c35_story.html

Messerschmitt’s wife, Kim Vuong, called police about 1:50*a.m. Tuesday to report him missing, saying he had not returned to their Capitol Hill apartment that night.

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This is not the odd part, this is:

Judge Dlott said that after Messerschmitt was reported missing, his parents flew to Washington, joining his brother, who lives in New York. “They were beside themselves,” the judge said.

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So DM is last heard from at 7:30pm Monday and reported missing circa 2am Tuesday morning and the parents fly to DC and arrive before the body is discovered at 11am Tuesday (9 hours later) and DM's brother had arrived in DC from NY prior to the parents arrival... That seems a little strange to me...

Maybe he paid for his own suicide/murder so his family could get the benefits. This has happened before. One guy hired somebody for the exact same thing but the guy couldnt get a gun so he stabbed the dude. But he also got caught and the life insurance was voided. So the suicidal guy died for nothing. Crazy but true story.

From the Post's February 18 article
http://www.washingtonpost.com/local...83647c-b7bf-11e4-9423-f3d0a1ec335c_story.html

A police report from last week listed items found in the room; neither the report nor the affidavit says that a cellphone was found.

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It would appear that the cell phone was the only item taken by the killer. Why?

The search-warrant affidavit says that police called the Donovan to ascertain whether Messerschmitt was a guest there. The document does not indicate why officers called that particular hotel.*

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If credit cards and all other identifying documents were found in the room with DM's wallet, why would police call the Donavan to check if DM was a guest there? Did they do this prior to discovering the body? If not, then after matching the face on the ID's to the face on the corpse wouldn't law enforcement simply have a manager check while they were at the hotel instead of calling? When the initial 911 call was made, wouldn't a manager inform the paramedics and officer that the room was registered to DM?

DexterMorgan said:

Maybe he paid for his own suicide/murder so his family could get the benefits. This has happened before. One guy hired somebody for the exact same thing but the guy couldnt get a gun so he stabbed the dude. But he also got caught and the life insurance was voided. So the suicidal guy died for nothing. Crazy but true story.

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This is intriguing. The firm benefits package for attorney's with DM's employment tenure does include a million dollar life insurance policy paid for by the firm.

Wife: Cincinnati man killed in D.C. hotel acted normally
by Keith Biery Golick Gannett/Cincinnati 3:02 pm Feb 13, '15

This piece has a scribs link with more information about David, a recommendation for him and some interesting versions of information.

A missing person's report acquired by The Enquirer incorrectly stated that Messerschmitt and his wife last talked Sunday evening. They last spoke via text on Monday evening, police said.

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DexterMorgan said:

Maybe he paid for his own suicide/murder so his family could get the benefits. This has happened before. One guy hired somebody for the exact same thing but the guy couldnt get a gun so he stabbed the dude. But he also got caught and the life insurance was voided. So the suicidal guy died for nothing. Crazy but true story.

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That sounds like something out of "Fargo"

HastingsChi said:

From the Post's February 18 article
http://www.washingtonpost.com/local...83647c-b7bf-11e4-9423-f3d0a1ec335c_story.html



It would appear that the cell phone was the only item taken by the killer. Why?



If credit cards and all other identifying documents were found in the room with DM's wallet, why would police call the Donavan to check if DM was a guest there? Did they do this prior to discovering the body? If not, then after matching the face on the ID's to the face on the corpse wouldn't law enforcement simply have a manager check while they were at the hotel instead of calling? When the initial 911 call was made, wouldn't a manager inform the paramedics and officer that the room was registered to DM?

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That article was from just before LE released more information on the 19th.

DexterMorgan said:

Maybe he paid for his own suicide/murder so his family could get the benefits. This has happened before. One guy hired somebody for the exact same thing but the guy couldnt get a gun so he stabbed the dude. But he also got caught and the life insurance was voided. So the suicidal guy died for nothing. Crazy but true story.

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A motivational speaker paid a hitman to kill him so his family could benefit from his $14 million life insurance policies, a court heard today.

Prosecutor Peter Casolaro told jurors at the New York* trial of Kenneth Minor: 'When you're paid money to kill another person that makes you a contract killer, a murderer.

'This isn't a case about helping a close family member or friend.'

Minor, 36, is accused of the second-degree murder of 52-year-old Jeffrey Locker, from Long Island.

Casolaro clashed with defence lawyer Daniel Gotlin who described Locker as the 'ultimate con man, a motivational speaker.

'This is an arrogant individual who used another person to end his life.'

Both lawyers agreed that Locker was desperately in debt and wanted to die so his family could cash in his multi-million life insurance policies.

Locker was stabbed to death inside his car in East Harlem after convincing* Minor - a man he'd never before that night - to help.

Casolaro said: 'To make sure his plan worked, he had to put out a contract on his own life.

'This plan was misguided, to say the least. The evidence is going to show that Jeffrey Locker was a foolish, dishonest, pathetic man, but that Kenneth Minor is a vicious and callous one.

Accused: Kenneth Minor has always insisted that a suicidal Jeffrey Locker hired him to assist in his suicide so that his family could claim the life insurance money

'He's a 36-year-old, streetwise person that is eager, and is willing, to participate in this crime and that unhesitatingly chose to kill Locker so that he could profit.'

Prosecutors say that in the last months of his life, Locker, a father of three, researched funeral arrangements online, gave his wife instructions on how to divvy up his life insurance policies and shield their assets 'when I am gone.' .

Casolaro told the jury that Locker first did deal with a career criminal he met in Harlem, with plans for the man to shoot him in exchange for money.

But when that man fled, Locker settled on Minor - who he found in the early morning hours of July 16 on Second Ave., near 123rd St.

'He offered him the same proposition, 'You kill me and I will pay you money,'' Casolaro said.

But Gotlin insisted that Locker committed suicide and tried to make it look like murder. He added: 'He wasn't killed by some wicked man. He killed himself - that's what happened here.

'This was a stupid, stupid decision that Mr. Minor made.'

In a statement, Minor claimed that at Locker's direction, he tied his hands behind his back with wire, got a knife out of Locker's glove compartment and held the blade while Locker repeatedly lunged into it.

Minor said: 'He said it had to look like a robbery so his family can get what they deserve.'

FindHG said:

That article was from just before LE released more information on the 19th.

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Thank you!

Very disappointed in the Washington Post for not updating the February 18 article (or writing about Messerschmitt since) to indicate that a mobile device was included in the list of items found in the room.

I now see WTOP reported the cellphone being found on the 19th as you mentioned.

FindHG said:

Wife: Cincinnati man killed in D.C. hotel acted normally
by Keith Biery Golick Gannett/Cincinnati 3:02 pm Feb 13, '15

This piece has a scribs link with more information about David, a recommendation for him and some interesting versions of information.

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So if reports are correct, her story is inconsistent:

Washington Post, February 12:

she told police that “everything seemed fine today” when they talked by phone.

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So at one point she claimed they had a verbal conversation.

A D.C. police report says Vuong last saw her husband Sunday, although the precise time was unclear.

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Are we all in agreement that one of them did not sleep at home on Sunday night? (Because if they slept together overnight on Sunday the story would be that he was gone when she woke up, which may not be unusual, but the towels were wet or the coffee was made; whatever the normal routine is)

A report obtained by The Washington Post states that Messerschmitt texted his wife at 7:34 p.m. Monday, saying he expected to be home by 8:30 p.m.

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Which indicates that yes there was SMS exchanged between them.

Source: http://www.washingtonpost.com/local...5c6bf6-b2ad-11e4-886b-c22184f27c35_story.html

HastingsChi said:

More oddities from the Post's third article
http://www.washingtonpost.com/local...5c6bf6-b2ad-11e4-886b-c22184f27c35_story.html



This is not the odd part, this is:



So DM is last heard from at 7:30pm Monday and reported missing circa 2am Tuesday morning and the parents fly to DC and arrive before the body is discovered at 11am Tuesday (9 hours later) and DM's brother had arrived in DC from NY prior to the parents arrival... That seems a little strange to me...

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Am I understanding correctly, that OH and NY family members flew to DC in early early am Tues prior to body being discovered? Perhaps family member(s) suggested to LE to call Donovan?

monkey222 said:

Am I understanding correctly, that OH and NY family members flew to DC in early early am Tues prior to body being discovered? Perhaps family member(s) suggested to LE to call Donovan?

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IMO The wife notified his family that he never returned home. They all make their way to DC in a panic thinking he is missing, before he is discovered.

After further thought, the cell phone switch would not work for a home and hotel a far distance away from one another. Via location tracking, LE would be able to determine the phone locations were switched between the victim and killer. It would be a surefire way for LE to identify the killer if the killer's phone was connected to the killer's identity.

monkey222 said:

Am I understanding correctly, that OH and NY family members flew to DC in early early am Tues prior to body being discovered? Perhaps family member(s) suggested to LE to call Donovan?

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That's what the Judge is quoted as saying in the article I linked to.

I find that really peculiar; don't get me wrong, I hope and pray that if I'm ever in a similar situations my parents and siblings act so quickly but there's something weird about it:

I think that we can all agree that the wife contacted DM's parents and brother in the first hours of Tuesday (after midnight turned Monday into Tuesday), but why?

Did she contact:
- DM's colleagues?
- DM's friends?
- DM's cellular carrier to ascertain the location of his mobile?
- If DM commuted by automobile, did the car have an On Star or a similar service? If so did she contact that service to locate his vehicle (if he had a car)?
- If DM commuted via Metro, did she contact the Metro police to report him missing and potentially persuade them to review footage?
- Did she contact his credit card company to review most recent charges to potentially get an idea of where he went after leaving the office?
- If he usually went to the gym after work, did she contact the gym to inquire if his card was scanned checking him into the gym?

Any one of the items I listed above would have done more to assist the police and narrow the search area when she filed the missing persons report than calling family members hundreds of miles away to alert them that it's four hours later than DM said he'd be home and DM is still not home and therefore he's missing.

Reminds me of Laci Peterson's mom found it very strange that when Scott called her on Christmas Eve he said "Laci is missing."

HastingsChi said:

From the Post's February 18 article
http://www.washingtonpost.com/local...83647c-b7bf-11e4-9423-f3d0a1ec335c_story.html



It would appear that the cell phone was the only item taken by the killer. Why?



If credit cards and all other identifying documents were found in the room with DM's wallet, why would police call the Donavan to check if DM was a guest there? Did they do this prior to discovering the body? If not, then after matching the face on the ID's to the face on the corpse wouldn't law enforcement simply have a manager check while they were at the hotel instead of calling? When the initial 911 call was made, wouldn't a manager inform the paramedics and officer that the room was registered to DM?

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Cell phone is listed on the search warrant Return portion where the officer who executes the warrant lists what they observed and took into evidence. I love that someone here (I'm sorry I can't remember who posted it) the link to the search warrant. Very cool.

HastingsChi, I so am in agreement with you.
Seems normal to me to wait to see if missing would show up at work in the am, especially since:
1) all was "normal " the day before
2) he left work on time that day
3) there was no weather related or other delaying disasters in DC that evening
4) he was not in an isolated location without access to transpo, atms etc., rather the most opposite.

Something not right. IMO.