GUILTY DC - David Messerschmitt, 30, murdered in Washington hotel room, 9 Feb 2015 #3

[Dushi]

David was expecting a man was he not?
If I am correct, he must have realized he had been set up early on or did he not know immediately that it was a woman.
She did (IMO) manage to get the things on his hands...

 

[Miss Muffet]

I've heard all I need to hear. What they did is sickening. I don't need more information. I'm outta here.

 

[cluciano63]

Unfortunately, a trial in this case will attract a lot of attention, Imo, due to the "back story". This is not the type of murder that simply anyone could have been a victim of, i.e it was specific to a certain lifestyle, so will attract interest for being "sensational", well-to-do young attorney using Craig's List or equivalent to seek out sexual encounters, etc...and ends up being robbed and murderd. That is why I almost wish for a plea deal, just to prevent any more of DM's past to surface. It has to be torture for his family already. I hate to see the likes of the Nancy Grace show covering this case if it goes to trial...jmo.

 

[TuttiFrutti]

There is Gallmon’s statement that she stole $40 and killed a man in self-defense. Yet, she is being held without bond.

(imo) --The “flashback” reasoning sounds like a post-traumatic stress war story, yet she never made it to the military.

Is there a text/email paper trail that will reveal more showing her intent? Or, his bank transactions that reveal more than $40 cash? Did she think she was in the clear and minimize the cash amount because she deleted everything?

And would LE know otherwise because LE can retrieve deleted texts/emails/messages from the communications companies’ servers in a murder investigation? And is this part of what led to a solid second arrest in conspiracy commit robbery?

She hatched a plan, posed as a man, and had back up. Either she stole more than $40, or IF it was a veiled hook-up went ballistic in disbelief that a lawyer didn’t have wads of cash in his hotel room.

Maybe she is an inexperienced criminal but the intention doesn’t get much more vicious than this.

~all imo~

Post traumatic stress is not only combat related. It can be related to other traumatic events in a persons life such as rape, prolonged sexual abuse, childhood trauma, robbery, kidnapping, being held hostage, the list could go on.

 

[Elley Mae]

I do not even know how to express in words how closed minded you come across as.
Yes an early 30's newlywed couple in an A Sexual marriage is far more common then I guess you have any idea of.

Do you think that one day when a person is in their 40's or 50's or 60's that they magically become A Sexual? Do you have to be a certain age or married for a certain length of time to one day become an A Sexual? Why is it sooo strange to you that a newlywed couple in their early 30's might just happen to be in a nonsexual / A sexual relationship??

um no. Similar to how a person does not magically turn gay at age 40 or 50 or 70.

We all know now that David was clearly not A sexual but maybe Kim was. Maybe they entered into what would appear to be a heterosexual marriage but they had a secret understanding that no sex was ever going to happen because maybe Kim was A sexual.
Maybe they wanted to have children and pose as a straight mom and dad. A lot of gay couples do not want to have children as a gay couple for many reasons - one being that kids are very cruel and if a peer in their class has 2 daddy's or 2 mommy's they will be tormented. For years. So sometimes gay couples choose to pose as straight and get married for that reason. It is not uncommon at all.

[/QUOTE]

bbm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asexuality

A study in 2004 placed the prevalence of asexuality at 1% in the British population.

1% is not even close for me to comfortably say "more common". jmo idk

It's not my opinion that Kim was asexual, it's my opinion that David was cheating on her in the worst possible way. I don't care how educated he was or what his sexual preference was, as a married man he cheated. And from everything that has been printed so far leads me to believe that this was not his first rodeo. jmo idk

 

[colette]

Post traumatic stress is not only combat related. It can be related to other traumatic events in a persons life such as rape, prolonged sexual abuse, childhood trauma, robbery, kidnapping, being held hostage, the list could go on.

I believe all that but in this case I think she made it up. Davis was cuffed and in a vulnerable position. She was the aggressor, she was the robber, she was the sneaky assassin climbing up the stairwell. Yes PTSD is real but in this case it was used to justify cold blooded murder.

 

[rosemadderlake]

Unfortunately, a trial in this case will attract a lot of attention, Imo, due to the "back story". This is not the type of murder that simply anyone could have been a victim of, i.e it was specific to a certain lifestyle, so will attract interest for being "sensational", well-to-do young attorney using Craig's List or equivalent to seek out sexual encounters, etc...and ends up being robbed and murderd. That is why I almost wish for a plea deal, just to prevent any more of DM's past to surface. It has to be torture for his family already. I hate to see the likes of the Nancy Grace show covering this case if it goes to trial...jmo.

Bbm: I thought the same thing at first, but then I thought well, maybe the worst has already happened? In one of the articles I read investigators said his wife (KV) didn’t know he was at the Donovan Hotel. And in the face of all that happened -she really stepped up and honored her husband, and so did his family when she personally made a public appeal. She didn’t have to do that. Police could have just released the surveillance pictures indicating POI.

Back up thread another poster mentioned (sorry I can’t find the post so am paraphrasing!) in referring to KV’s public appeal that “love trumps all”. -I agree and think that is exactly the example here.

“In one day, I lost the most important person in my life and the man I loved so much,” Vuong said at the news conference. “And I have no answers.”

She added, “I am here because I need people to know about David. My husband was the gentlest and kindest hearted person I knew. “

http://www.washingtonblade.com/2015/03/25/wife-of-murdered-d-c-lawyer-appeals-for-publics-help/

If it goes to trial, I think it will be a very quick trial, and I would think that with the legal minds surrounding DM, they would want to see maximum justice for this kind of heinous crime.

Whether it was his first time, or everyone knew, DM’s choice highlights the perils of the “hook up” culture, too. –Kind of scary how technology made it easy for Gallmon to fool him. And how, in this kind of situation, perhaps one’s survival skills are eclipsed by the speed of technology, anonymous free sex, and better judgement gone out the window.

 

[panthera]

If he only had $40, it sounds more like a meet-up than a transaction for money, unless sex workers will come to a hotel room for that small of a sum. Just all so strange and horrible.

Curious how it has been confirmed he only had $40.00. If true, however, I agree it would appear the ad wasn't for paid services but rather one where the parties are looking for a meet-up. How tragic for DM that the meet-up wasn't first in the bar or lobby of the hotel instead of having this person he had never met coming directly to his room. One never knows who is answering these ads....



MOO

 

[panthera]

She killed him cold blood. A person defenfing themselves would ask for help. Not bury bloody clothes in a sewer.

I cannot imagine how she could possibly claim self-defense if she was the one who went into that hotel room armed with a knife and zip-ties, and admits it was a robbery "gone bad". The only part I believe about her "gone bad" is that the victim didn't have more cash on him. Hopefully she'll spend the rest of her worthless life in prison.



MOO

 

[colette]

Johnson told LE : Gallmon talked to her about committing a robbery back in January and she expressed opposition to the idea, calling it “crazy.”

According to the affidavit, Smith told detectives Gallmon purchased a supply of zip ties at the CVS as part of her plan to “scare the robbery victim.”
The arrest affidavit for Gallmon says at the time police found Messerschmitt’s body in the hotel room they discovered zip ties had been placed on all of his fingers and were configured into makeshift handcuffs.

https://www.washingtonblade.com/201...-accompanied-murder-suspect-to-donovan-hotel/


2 new things to me... Gallmon wanted to rob a bank first and that David had zip ties on ALL of his fingers.

 

[1&2&3]

I cannot buy her story of self defense! She and DJ had plenty of time to come up with a story that would sound believable in their young minds. Also, the $40.00 is an amount that is even less reasonable to believe. Just not buying that as I suspect LE doesn't either. It makes me think the perp thought by admitting to stealing a low amount of cash, the penalty would be lighter. She forgot about the heavy charge for killing her innocent victim!

This is my opinion only.

 

[CookieM]

Johnson told LE : Gallmon talked to her about committing a robbery back in January and she expressed opposition to the idea, calling it “crazy.”

According to the affidavit, Smith told detectives Gallmon purchased a supply of zip ties at the CVS as part of her plan to “scare the robbery victim.”
The arrest affidavit for Gallmon says at the time police found Messerschmitt’s body in the hotel room they discovered zip ties had been placed on all of his fingers and were configured into makeshift handcuffs.

https://www.washingtonblade.com/201...-accompanied-murder-suspect-to-donovan-hotel/


2 new things to me... Gallmon wanted to rob a bank first and that David had zip ties on ALL of his fingers.

I don't recall that Gallmon wanted to rob a bank, but just that she told DJ that she wanted to commit a robbery back in January, but I'm not sure if I missed another article.

 

[Dushi]

I cannot buy her story of self defense! She and DJ had plenty of time to come up with a story that would sound believable in their young minds. Also, the $40.00 is an amount that is even less reasonable to believe. Just not buying that as I suspect LE doesn't either. It makes me think the perp thought by admitting to stealing a low amount of cash, the penalty would be lighter. She forgot about the heavy charge for killing her innocent victim!

This is my opinion only.

I don't recall if LE mentioned $40.00 or if it was media only.
It would be hard to know how much cash he was carrying if there was no large debit from his account that day

 

[colette]

I don't recall that Gallmon wanted to rob a bank, but just that she told DJ that she wanted to commit a robbery back in January, but I'm not sure if I missed another article.

Thanks. I read that article wrong. It said she wanted to commit a robbery and nothing about a bank. I really think that the girlfriend is much more culpable than she lets on and I think she should be charged with more than she is.

 

[rosemadderlake]

--“Imperfect self-defense” if successful, reduces the crime from murder to manslaughter. I guess we’ll see how Gallmon is going to prove “a flashback” and the ‘belief in imminent danger’ justification when the victim’s fingers were discovered bound. --Based on DM’s stab wounds and the crime scene, can the coroner and detectives recreate the struggle and the sequence of events, of what happened to him? --I think they can.

While Gallmon’s accomplice in robbery may not have known it would end in murder, she sure knew it was about murder when they found DM and it was all over the news. But I am thinking she may not have anticipated Gallmon would kill this man so brutally.

However, I do think these two actually thought they got away with it which is why they continued to use DM’s metro card and didn’t dispose of the weapon, etc. If not for the surveillance video in the stairwell, and “her” blood left behind, would LE have known they were looking for a woman? I think these two are in deep, deep trouble.

I want to say it is almost a sophisticated plot botched by the inexperienced ‘young mind’. I agree, it could have escalated quickly because wouldn’t DM have known instantly “she” was not a man? --A woman really can’t mask her voice as a man as easily as the reverse (falsetto vs. chest voice musically).

IMO - I am thinking the opposite of flashback - she may have threatened and tied him up at knife point. –Then killed him.

Police: Woman held in D.C. lawyer’s slaying planned only to rob him

Matthew Davies, Gallmon’s defense attorney, said the case was one of “imperfect self-defense.” Davies argued that when Messerschmitt allegedly grabbed her arm and became aggressive with Gallmon, she had a flashback to a previous incident and reacted.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/local...6536ea-d944-11e4-ba28-f2a685dc7f89_story.html

Imperfect self-defense
: a defense based on self-defense that does not shield the defendant from all liability but reduces the liability esp. because the defendant actually but unreasonably believed that he or she was in imminent danger of death or great bodily injury –

See more at:
http://dictionary.findlaw.com/definition/imperfect-self-defense.html#sthash.2ig3XWW8.dpuf

 

[FelicityLemon]

--“Imperfect self-defense” if successful, reduces the crime from murder to manslaughter. I guess we’ll see how Gallmon is going to prove “a flashback” and the ‘belief in imminent danger’ justification when the victim’s fingers were discovered bound. --Based on DM’s stab wounds and the crime scene, can the coroner and detectives recreate the struggle and the sequence of events, of what happened to him? --I think they can.

While Gallmon’s accomplice in robbery may not have known it would end in murder, she sure knew it was about murder when they found DM and it was all over the news. But I am thinking she may not have anticipated Gallmon would kill this man so brutally.

However, I do think these two actually thought they got away with it which is why they continued to use DM’s metro card and didn’t dispose of the weapon, etc. If not for the surveillance video in the stairwell, and “her” blood left behind, would LE have known they were looking for a woman? I think these two are in deep, deep trouble.

I want to say it is almost a sophisticated plot botched by the inexperienced ‘young mind’. I agree, it could have escalated quickly because wouldn’t DM have known instantly “she” was not a man? --A woman really can’t mask her voice as a man as easily as the reverse (falsetto vs. chest voice musically).

IMO - I am thinking the opposite of flashback - she may have threatened and tied him up at knife point. –Then killed him.

BBM
I also wonder how this works - or if it will work at all - if the death occurred during the commission of a felony; the armed robbery. Self defense, so overused.

 

[Dushi]

I can't see a self defense case at all.
How dangerous would he be with twist ties on his fingers?
What I don't understand is when he realized he was dealing with a woman.
There is nothing released by LE that stated that the texts contained a disclosure about her being a woman.
Everything i have read suggests DM was looking to meet up with a man.

It seems to me, DM must have thought it was a man in his room , at least up until the twist ties were put on his fingers.
It would make fighting for your life difficult
How big a threat could he have been, so what caused a flashback?
He may have gotten very angry when he realized Gallmon was a woman .

IMO , LE will be able to recreate the struggle

 

[cluciano63]

The defense has to offer up something...she already admitted she killed him. Nothing is too bizarre or crazy for lawyers, Imo. I just hope a deal is reached...I think a trial could be more damaging to DM's memory, i.e his sex life will be on trial.

Jmo

 

[rosemadderlake]

Would DM’s wife and family have a say in a plea deal?

It hardly seems like a manslaughter case given the intent, planning, and horrifically violent death of this young man. –Imo. Would a 2nd degree murder plea deal be acceptable to the prosecution, to the family?

If I were his family, I might be thinking that maybe even worse than DM’s ’M4M experimenting history’, and soliciting on Craigslist, is the very nature of his death which would be publicized in a trial; partially clothed, blood everywhere, fingers tethered, and his death struggle.

Would there be an attempt from the defense to portray DM as perhaps edgy, in a SMBD kind of way, which would be used to justify the “imperfect self-defense”, i.e. kind-hearted family man and consummate professional by day, contrasted with a SMBD alternate ego, dual personality, at the hotel by night. Would it flush out that his wife and family had no idea?

The more I think about this case, the more I really feel for his wife especially, and family who I think had no idea about his alternate life. -I wonder where they stand on the potential legal possibilities and ramifications.

~all imo~


-One case where the victim’s family was stunned and not consulted in a plea deal.

The Role of Victims in Plea Bargaining

So what role, if any, should the victims of crime or their families have in plea bargaining?

The goal of plea bargaining is to resolve a case quickly, while still imposing an appropriate punishment on the defendant. Plea bargaining may not be perfect, but it’s a necessary evil: it keeps the criminal justice system from getting bogged down; and it saves the state money.

When considering plea bargaining, it’s important to remember the prosecution’s role.

Unlike a defense attorney, who only represents the defendant’s interests, the prosecutor represents the state and must do what’s in the best interests of the general public—not just the victim.

In many cases, the interests of the victim or his/her family mirror the state’s interests. But in other cases, those interests will diverge.

…This unexpected resolution of the case on the eve of trial came as quite a shock to Garza’s family. Ivan Garza,

http://www.thecrimereport.org/viewpoints/robin-barton/2012-03-the-role-of-victims-in-plea-bargaining

 

[colette]

New court documents have been unsealed. David was leading a secret life his wife knew nothing about. He was using Grindr & Craigslist to met other men. He also had a secret Google voice number.

From the article : David asked "Chris Sanchez" from a Yahoo account to meet him at Room 400 between 7 and 7:30 p.m. on the night of the murder.
Detectives believe it was Jamyra Gallmon who was using that Yahoo account and they believe it was her seen on surveillance video entering the hotel at 7:45 p.m. on February 9.
Just days following the murder, Messerschmitt's wife showed police a portable tablet computer with her husband's Gmail account. It is not until a full month after Messerschmitt's body was discovered that detectives uncovered the chrissanchez0906 Yahoo account.

Five days after that, Messerschmitt's wife, Kim Vuong, was asked by police to speak publicly outside D.C. police's headquarters. This occurred exactly one week before Gallmon was arrested for Messerschmitt's murder.


http://www.myfoxdc.com/story/28886575/court-documents-unsealed-donovan-hotel-murder