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Police Records Show DLA Piper Lawyer Stabbed in Back

Summary: David Messerschmitt, a lawyer for DLA Piper, was found dead last week in a hotel room. Police said he was stabbed in his back.

According to police documents, David Messerschmitt was stabbed in the back.

A report from The National Law Journal revealed the police findings. Messerschmitt is a DLA Piper associate who was found dead in a Washington hotel room last week.

Messerschmitt, 30, was discovered face down in Room 400 at The Donovan Hotel on February 10.

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Police reported taking the following from the room in documents filed with the D.C. Superior Court on Wednesday:

“Bed sheet, wallet with cards, pillow, HP computer, computer bag, lubricant and condom, bed sheet, clothing, credit card, cell phone, [illegible], swabs, finger prints, enema, [illegible], watch, towel, curtain, keys.”

Messerschmitt’s wife claims she last saw her husband on February 8 at their home.

A video of a ‘person of interest’ was released by police last week that shows the POI at the hotel prior to the discovery of Messerschmitt’s body.

Investigators have yet to release a motive in the case or other information.

Officers from the Missing Person’s Unit called the hotel on February 10 to ask if Messerschmitt was a guest there. The hotel confirmed and went to check his room. Police would not specify how the Missing Person’s Unit came to focus on the hotel.

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In the affidavit, police wrote that the hotel staff used a master key to enter the room and found the victim “lying face down on the floor, not displaying any signs consistent with life.”

“Apparent blood was observed on the floor throughout the hotel room, the walls of the hotel room, the door of the hotel room, and on the body of the decedent. A wallet was observed lying next to the decedent’s head, with various credit cards strewn about. Additional credit cards and identifying documents were observed throughout the room,” according to the affidavit.

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Image credit: DLA Piper

Source: National Law Journal

Jim Vassallo: Jim is a freelance writer based out of the suburbs of Philadelphia in New Jersey. Jim earned his Bachelor of Arts degree in Communications and minor in Journalism from Rowan University in 2008. While in school he was the Assistant Sports Director at WGLS for two years and the Sports Director for one year. He also covered the football, baseball, softball and both basketball teams for the school newspaper 'The Whit.' Jim lives in New Jersey with his wife Nicole, son Tony and dog Phoebe.

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