By Zoe Tillman From Legal Times,

The wife of David Messerschmitt—the Washington lawyer killed at a downtown hotel in February—made an emotional plea on Wednesday for information about her husband’s death.

Standing with her family in front of the Metropolitan Police Department headquarters and fighting back tears, Messerschmitt’s widow Kim Vuong asked the public to help police identify a person of interest captured on surveillance cameras less than 24 hours before Messerschmitt’s body was discovered on Feb. 10.

“I know there are people out there who could bring justice to David and me, to our families and friends, and to everyone in Washington who deserves to live in safety,” Vuong said.

Lt. Anthony Haythe of the Metropolitan Police Department, speaking after Vuong, said police still considered the case an “active investigation.” Revealing one new piece of information, Haythe said police had reason to believe that the person of interest, whose face is partially obscured in the video, is a woman.

Haythe declined to comment on whether there was information about a possible motive, whether there was evidence of a forced entry into the hotel room where Messerschmitt’s body was found, and whether police had gone through his cellphone records.

Asked whether Messerschmitt had used any apps to meet up with people at the hotel, Haythe said “that’s something that we’re looking into, and I can’t go any further than that.”

Messerschmitt, 30, most recently an associate at DLA Piper, was found dead on Feb. 10 in Room 400 of The Donovan Hotel in downtown. He was stabbed multiple times in the back, according to police. Investigators found blood on the door, walls and floor of the hotel room.

Shortly after Messerschmitt was discovered, police released surveillance video of a person of interest who was recorded walking into the hotel.

Vuong, who declined to take questions from reporters, said in her statement that police officials “have assured me they are doing everything they can to find whoever caused this terrible tragedy.”

“I am here because I need people to know about David. My husband was the gentlest and kindest-hearted person I knew,” Vuong said. “He worked hard at everything. He was a brilliant lawyer who people trusted. He was deeply dedicated to his family and spent a great deal of his time traveling to be with them.”

Vuong reported Messerschmitt missing in the early hours of Tuesday, Feb. 10. She told police she last saw her husband at home on Feb. 8 and, according to The Washington Post, Messerschmitt last texted her at 7:34 p.m. on Feb. 9 to say he would be home in an hour.

Police called the Donovan Hotel looking for Messerschmitt several hours after Vuong reported him missing. Hotel management went to check his room and found him lying face down on the floor and unresponsive. There was a wallet next to his head and credit cards and other identifying documents were scattered around the room.

Surveillance video shows a person of interest entering the hotel on Feb. 9. The first part of the video is time-stamped at 7:44 p.m. After appearing to press a button for the elevator and waiting several seconds, the person walks to a stairwell nearby.

The video perspective switches to a camera inside the stairwell. The person of interest, wearing gloves and a dark jacket with the hood up, walks up the stairs. After briefly making eye contact with a camera, the person pulls up a face covering over his or her mouth.

The Metropolitan Police Department is offering a $25,000 reward for information that leads to an arrest and conviction.

“Please help us heal,” Vuong said.

Messerschmitt had worked as an associate at DLA Piper since April 2014. He moved to Washington in 2012, transferring from the Chicago office of his former firm, Mayer Brown.

IMAGE: Kim Vuong, wife of David Messerschmitt, who was found dead in a room of The Donovan Hotel, addressing media outside the Metropolitan Police Department building, Wednesday, March 25, 2015.

Photo: Diego M. Radzinschi/NLJ

For more on this story go to: http://www.nationallawjournal.com/legaltimes/id=1202721571654/Widow-of-Slain-DC-Lawyer-Please-Help-Us-Heal#ixzz3Vi3zRPo5

 

See also related iNews Cayman stories:

Published March 11 2015 “Killing of DLA Lawyer David Messerschmitt remains unsolved” at: http://www.ieyenews.com/wordpress/killing-of-dla-lawyer-david-messerschmitt-remains-unsolved/

Published February 19 2015 with additional link “Slain DLA Piper lawyer stabbed in back, police records show” at: http://www.ieyenews.com/wordpress/slain-dla-piper-lawyer-stabbed-in-back-police-records-show/