WASHINGTON — The woman charged with stabbing and killing a D.C. lawyer in a Thomas Circle hotel pleaded guilty to a reduced charge of second-degree murder Thursday as part of a plea deal that also capped her prison sentence.
Jamyra Gallmon, 21, of Southeast D.C., was originally charged with the first-degree murder of 30-year-old David Messerschmitt. She was accused of stabbing him in the back, torso and groin inside a room at the Donovan Hotel on Feb. 9.
Under the terms of the deal, Gallmon faces 18 to 25 years in prison instead of 40 years.
Her girlfriend and accused accomplice Dominique Johnson, 19, of Southeast D.C., also entered a guilty plea to a charge of conspiracy to commit robbery. She faces up to five years in prison and was released following Thursday’s hearing in D.C. Superior Court.
The women will be sentenced Aug. 14.
Dressed in black, Messerschmitt’s widow Kim Vuong wiped tears from her eyes and was seen shaking and clutching a worry stone as prosecutors detailed the evidence against Gallmon and Johnson.
Prosecutors say Gallmon and Johnson planned to rob Messerschmitt, with whom Gallmon had connected through a Craigslist post. The two exchanged emails, including one of a man’s torso that Gallmon sent, and planned to meet at the hotel.
Gallmon admitting to stabbing Messerschmitt three time and said initially that she stabbed him in self-defense. But during Thursday’s court appearance, when asked by the judge, she affirmed that her actions went beyond the force necessary to defend herself.
Investigators say Gallmon stabbed Messerschmitt seven times, including through the heart and liver. One of the stab wounds was 5 inches deep, breaking a bone in the spinal column and piercing a lung. His hands were bound together with zip ties and there was blood on the walls and floor in the hotel room where the two met.
Gallmon took $40 in cash and Messerschmitt’s SmarTrip card, which Johnson used to travel to and from work. Johnson used the card almost daily for six weeks after the stabbing, investigators say.
Vuong reported her husband missing when he didn’t return home the night of Feb. 9. Hotel staff found his body the next day.
Messerschmitts widow crying in ct as prosecution outlines evidence, injuries to her husband’s body. Vuong wearing black & amp; her wedding ring — Megan Cloherty (@ClohertyWTOP) May 28, 2015
