GUILTY DC - David Messerschmitt, 30, murdered in Washington hotel room, 9 Feb 2015 #2

[Miss Muffet]

With the limited amount of CCTV they have released on this POI in David’s case, I wonder if that is the police intention here. Because it is puzzling why they have not also released further CCTV of this unidentified person leaving the premises, perhaps in different outer clothes than the ones she arrived in.

That never puzzles me. LE likes to keep as much evidence as private as possible. They don't want suspects to know how much evidence they have against them.

 

[CocoChanel]

A press conference certainly isn't the place to express anger at the husband for putting himself in a risky situation. What wife wouldn't be angry at her husband's killer for taking him from her?

My opinion is that this press statement, given over a month after the murder, indicates to me that Mrs. DM does not have any doubts that her husband was a totally innocent victim and had NOT put himself into a risky or risque situation with a illicit lover of any sort. She spoke of him in glowing terms, which would be challenging to do if you were faced with evidence that he had a secret life away from you. I do believe she loved him and is not of the belief he had done anything untoward by being in that hotel room. If she did think the opposite, I do not think she could have made the statement she did. She IS angry at the killer, and of course rightfully so. I sure don't dispute that.

 

[rosesfromangels]

What he was doing in that hotel room is relevant to the investigation, but not to the wife's heart at his point. He is deceased. She is focusing on the right objective, finding the killer, and getting them prosecuted. The rest matters not at this point. She loved him.

 

[Happyshoes]

IMO Everything was staged. Soup to nuts. The gym bag. The texts. The embarrassing items. All staged.
I think David was there with someone he was familiar with and that person set this all up.
I believe DC LE know exactly who and why.
All MOO

Me, too - that's why I call it a crime of passion/obsession; it wasn't about money to me in any way, debt or life ins. I think that if you're on the same page as me, no wonder wife is angry at press conference. I'll bet she is. Other woman was cray cray, IMO, JMO, etc...Speculating only, gut feeling, and all that.

 

[cluciano63]

Somehow, DM made arrangements to meet someone at the hotel.
If LE can't or hasn't found evidence of these communications, then he must have had another phone, a "secret" phone, Imo. And the perp took it. If this is the case, I can't imagine how they will trace this person, if they really do not know who it is. I just don't believe this was all arranged verbally.

But I still think he was lured there to be killed, by someone who was acting on behalf of another person. The person requested that his death be made to look like something else, i.e not a straight robbery, suicide or accident and did not mind if DM was humiliated. Who benefits from his death in any way? Or hated him enough to have him murdered? I don't think it was about money owed. DM would have had to double-cross someone, or cause them great harm in some way. A jilted mistress isn't working for me, though.

Jmo

 

[Miss Muffet]

My opinion is that this press statement, given over a month after the murder, indicates to me that Mrs. DM does not have any doubts that her husband was a totally innocent victim and had NOT put himself into a risky or risque situation with a illicit lover of any sort. She spoke of him in glowing terms, which would be challenging to do if you were faced with evidence that he had a secret life away from you. I do believe she loved him and is not of the belief he had done anything untoward by being in that hotel room. If she did think the opposite, I do not think she could have made the statement she did. She IS angry at the killer, and of course rightfully so. I sure don't dispute that.

I disagree. When people are killed after putting themselves in risky situations, family members are often outspoken like DM's wife. We expect society to not kill our loved ones regardless of what they are doing. No matter what he was doing in that hotel room, he didn't deserve to be killed.

Just look at the Tammy Meyers family. That woman put herself in harms way. She went out and instigated a high speed chase with her son brandishing a gun in the passenger seat and her husband is outraged she was killed.

If a husband has an affair or sees prostitutes, he's still a husband and a wife has a right to be angry the killer took her husband away. Knowing or not knowing about the affair/prostitute ahead of time is the same result: That "other" woman took her husband twice---in marriage and in life.

There can even be denial about what he was doing in the hotel room. Even if LE shows a spouse pictures of a prostitute, I can imagine some grieving spouses not being able to accept it.

Most of us are viewing this from our own perspectives. Maybe you'd be angry or hurt at your husband if he was killed while in a hotel room doing things that are embarrassing and hurtful. Maybe you'd be too embarrassed to go before cameras and speak to the public in that situation. But I'd be more focused on the fact my husband was dead than what he was doing before he died, and I'd do just what DM's wife did.

 

[Miss Muffet]

But I still think he was lured there to be killed, by someone who was acting on behalf of another person. The person requested that his death be made to look like something else, i.e not a straight robbery, suicide or accident and did not mind if DM was humiliated. Who benefits from his death in any way? Or hated him enough to have him murdered? I don't think it was about money owed. DM would have had to double-cross someone, or cause them great harm in some way. A jilted mistress isn't working for me, though.

Jilted mistress doesn't work for me either.

But I think he went there on his own free will. He was an educated, professional adult man capable of making his own decisions. Lured implies something beyond someone's control. He wouldn't have been there if he hadn't made the decision to go there. He registered the room himself.

Who benefited from his death? We have no way of knowing that because we don't know anything about him. Someone could have been blackmailing him for all we know.

 

[cluciano63]

Jilted mistress doesn't work for me either.

But I think he went there on his own free will. He was an educated, professional adult man capable of making his own decisions. Lured implies something beyond someone's control. He wouldn't have been there if he hadn't made the decision to go there. He registered the room himself.

Who benefited from his death? We have no way of knowing that because we don't know anything about him. Someone could have been blackmailing him for all we know.

By lured, I mean he was led to believe one thing would take place and then another did, obviously. He was enticed to go for sex, or for a confidential meeting, i.e. I imagine lawyers meet in strange places sometimes, for privacy, though I doubt this was a legit legal matter. Jmo

 

[rosesfromangels]

Miss Muffett,

GREAT posts this evening. I agree on all points, well said.
I think you are the first to use the term blackmail. You are on to something. This is deeper than just ellicite sex games. this was business that went bad. Very bad.

 

[StarrChance]

I see something else as well, look from . 45 to 1.05, the man in the background, with yellow shirt, I'm not sure if he is a security guard? Looking at body language, he looks uncomfortable as if he knows more, he shifts, scratches his neck, licks his lips, and covers his mouth. Btw in no way do I think he is connected IMO

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=CbX67iY_wPA&feature=youtu.be

This is the camera angle where I see it.

 

[colette]

I see something else as well, look from . 45 to 1.05, the man in the background, with yellow shirt, I'm not sure if he is a security guard? Looking at body language, he looks uncomfortable as if he knows more, he shifts, scratches his neck, licks his lips, and covers his mouth. Btw in no way do I think he is connected IMO

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=CbX67iY_wPA&feature=youtu.be

I believe he is one of the detectives.

 

[Dushi]

Miss Muffett,

GREAT posts this evening. I agree on all points, well said.
I think you are the first to use the term blackmail. You are on to something. This is deeper than just ellicite sex games. this was business that went bad. Very bad.

So.. is he doing the blackmailing or the victim of it? (Supposition of course)

I have forgotten what kind of law he practised

 

[Dushi]

I don’t know if anyone here followed the case of Jill Meagher, an Aussie girl who was murdered by Adrian Bayley.

When Jill was killed, the police released CCTV footage of a man (Bayley) following Jill along a street and trying to strike up a conversation with her. They asked for the public’s help in identifying this man.

Turns out they knew exactly who he was all along. They were simply trying to track down his movements on that night so they could tighten up their case against him and lay charges.

With the limited amount of CCTV they have released on this POI in David’s case, I wonder if that is the police intention here. Because it is puzzling why they have not also released further CCTV of this unidentified person leaving the premises, perhaps in different outer clothes than the ones she arrived in.

This ^

If they do not know who this individual is, I too expect that more video would have been released.
She had to leave the room
If she changed out of the bulky clothing, she would have to carry them , they were not in the room AFAIK

 

[Dushi]

There were a couple of MSM reports broadcast quoting the hotel manager about that particular elevator not working that day, forgive me for not finding them. An WSer on the thread did call the front desk and inquire about methods of payment they required, in determining whether that may have tipped LE off in locating David. What stands out to me, is that after realizing the elevator doesn't work, she comes out facing the figure near the entry, then lingers, scopes the corner and decides to head for the stairs. What do you make of that?

To me, it appears that the broken elevator threw her off, wasn't the way things were planned. Complete speculation on my part, but maybe she was trying to inform someone about the change of plan

 

[Dushi]

Thanks .. I found a link about the broken elevators. I wonder if that means that all/both the elevators were broken? That would be an unusual coincidence, for them both to break down at the same time.

White said the hotel's elevators were not working properly that day due to "maintenance issues."

http://www.foxnews.com/us/2015/02/1...death-young-attorney-inside-washington-hotel/


I don't make a lot of that person in black. Could be anyone hanging around and just watching other people ... they could even have called out to the perp after a bit and said 'hey, I don't think the elevators are working properly, the stairs are around there'. In all the photos I have looked at of the lobby there, there always seems to be people lingering in the lobby.

But I am still wondering how the perp accessed David's floor from the stairwell. That door should have been locked from the stairwell side, unless the staff opened all the stairwell doors because the elevators weren't working properly. I did notice that the first stairwell door was left open (where I could see the reception desk outside the door).

Thanks to everyone for finding info on the elevator. Broken.
I am curious about stairwell doors in hotels.
Are they locked? Fire regulations?
Not much point in having secure elevators if stairwell doors are open

 

[Miss Muffet]

Thanks to everyone for finding info on the elevator. Broken.
I am curious about stairwell doors in hotels.
Are they locked? Fire regulations?
Not much point in having secure elevators if stairwell doors are open

I don't think the elevators are secure. Just broken. Many hotels have open stairwells for moving from floor to floor. I use them all the time for exercise when traveling.

 

[Dushi]

Snipped respectfully from SouthAussie

I'm thinking key card ... because two different people in these hotels reviews say that you are required to use your key card at The Donovan to use the elevators to get to a room floor, and to gain entry to the hotel at night after 1am.

http://www.tripadvisor.com.au/ShowUs..._Columbia.html


Apparently you do need to use a key card to gain access to elevator and front door after 1AM, so not relevant

 

[Dushi]

Reading the travelers reports above, it says you need a key card to access hotel after 1 AM and you need it to access the elevator, BUT no time given

 

[Kip]

Somehow, DM made arrangements to meet someone at the hotel.
If LE can't or hasn't found evidence of these communications, then he must have had another phone, a "secret" phone, Imo. And the perp took it. If this is the case, I can't imagine how they will trace this person, if they really do not know who it is. I just don't believe this was all arranged verbally.

But I still think he was lured there to be killed, by someone who was acting on behalf of another person. The person requested that his death be made to look like something else, i.e not a straight robbery, suicide or accident and did not mind if DM was humiliated. Who benefits from his death in any way? Or hated him enough to have him murdered? I don't think it was about money owed. DM would have had to double-cross someone, or cause them great harm in some way. A jilted mistress isn't working for me, though.

Jmo

That's what I've been stuck on from the beginning - how DM communicated to the perp what room he was in.

1. He could have called or texted her.
2. The person he was meeting could have been waiting in the lobby and followed him up.
3. He requested a specific room # at the desk and had told the woman, "I'll be in room X unless I tell you otherwise."

All of those possibilities must have been checked out. The only thing that makes sense is his having a burner phone that the perp took.

 

[Dushi]

If you call a burner phone with a regular mobile, does it register the number and can it be traced?
I know nothing about burner phones