By Zoe Tillman and Jenna Greene, from Legal Times

Jamyra Gallmon went to a downtown Washington hotel on Feb. 9 to rob a man she’d met on Craigslist, according to charging documents.
David Messerschmitt, a 30-year-old associate at DLA Piper, didn’t realize Gallmon was in his room at The Donovan Hotel until she turned to leave, Gallmon allegedly told police. He grabbed her arm to stop her. That triggered a memory of a previous assault. She pulled out a knife and stabbed him.
After Messerschmitt fell to the floor, she allegedly stabbed him again before leaving.
Police arrested Gallmon, 21, on Wednesday after weeks of trying to identify a person of interest caught on the hotel’s surveillance cameras.
Gallmon pleaded not guilty Thursday afternoon in District of Columbia Superior Court to first-degree felony murder while armed.
Gallmon’s lawyer, Matthew Davies, told the judge that his client was not admitting the facts alleged in the charging documents. Even if the events did happen as reported, he said, it was a case of “imperfect self-defense.”
Davies argued against holding Gallmon until her next court appearance, citing her lack of criminal history, her ties to the community and the fact that she hadn’t tried to leave the city. The prosecutor countered that the evidence proved that Gallmon was a danger to the community.
Magistrate Judge Renee Raymond ordered Gallmon held until her next court date on April 10. Explaining her decision to keep Gallmon behind bars, the judge said the alleged crime was premeditated and that Gallmon was accused of stabbing Messerschmitt after he moved away from her.
According to charging documents, Messerschmitt posted an ad on Craigslist “soliciting responses from other men.” The ad was answered by “chrissanchez0906,” an account that police said they connected to a phone number and email address that belonged to Gallmon.
Davies said in court on Thursday that his client was not conceding the robbery motive, and that there may have been “coercion” when she spoke to police. He declined to comment on the case after the hearing.
Gallmon allegedly stole Messerschmitt’s subway card and cash. She also reportedly told police that she took Messerschmitt’s cellphone and threw it away in a trashcan near the hotel.
Messerschmitt’s widow, Kim Vuong, reported him missing the morning of Feb. 10. His body was found in Room 400 of the Donovan Hotel several hours later. He was stabbed at least seven times, according to charging documents.
Messerschmitt was stabbed in his chest, abdomen, right groin, upper arm, back and spinal column and had defensive wounds on his hands. DNA tests on blood found on the handle of the door leading to the fourth floor stairwell at the Donovan Hotel revealed a female, single-source profile.
When police arrested Gallmon, they recovered a folding pocket knife, black boots and black gloves, and a bag of zip ties similar to ones found attached to Messerschmitt’s fingers and fashioned into makeshift handcuffs.
Cellphone records show a phone that belonged to Gallmon was in the vicinity of the Donovan Hotel at the time of the murder, according to police.
The charging documents identified Gallmon as the person of interest on a surveillance camera recording. The person was recorded walking inside the Donovan Hotel the night that Messerschmitt was killed.
Detectives and Vuong last week made a plea for the public’s assistance to identify the person seen on the hotel surveillance camera.
Vuong said in a statement on Thursday morning: “I have faith that the police and the courts will bring justice to David and all who loved him. I will have no further comment until his case is resolved and I continue to ask for privacy for me and family.”
IMAGE: Jamyra Gallmon, left, and David Messerschmitt, right.
For more on this story go to: http://www.nationallawjournal.com/legaltimes/id=1202722436206/Police-DLA-Lawyer-Killed-After-Craigslist-Connection#ixzz3WMf0ZaR0
See also iNews Cayman related story published March 11 2015 at: http://www.ieyenews.com/wordpress/killing-of-dla-lawyer-david-messerschmitt-remains-unsolved/