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Person of interest in lawyer's slaying is likely a woman, police say; widow asks public for help

Police have offered a new clue in the death of a DLA Piper associate found fatally stabbed in a Washington, D.C., hotel room last month.

A person of interest shown on a hotel video the night of the lawyer’s slaying at the Donovan boutique hotel is likely a female, Lt. Anthony Haythe of Washington, D.C.’s Metropolitan Police Department said at a press conference on Wednesday. The Blog of Legal Times and the Washington Post have stories.

The slain lawyer, 30-year-old David Messerschmitt, was an intellectual property associate at DLA Piper who joined the firm in 2014.

Haythe refused to comment on whether police had examined Messerschmitt’s cellphone records and whether there had been forced entry to the hotel room where the lawyer’s body was found, the Blog of Legal Times says. He did acknowledge that police were “looking into” whether Messerschmitt had used any apps to meet people at the hotel, adding, “I can’t go any further than that.”

Haythe spoke after Messerschmitt’s widow, Kim Vuong, asked the public to help identify the person of interest on the videotape.

“The world has lost a good person. David’s family, a son and brother, and I have lost everything: my husband and my best friend. In one day, I lost the most important person in my life and the man I loved so much. And I have no answers,” Vuong said. “Please help us heal. Give us all peace.”

Related articles:

ABAJournal.com: “Police found credit cards strewn throughout hotel room of slain DLA Piper associate, affidavit says”

ABAJournal.com: “Wife of slain DLA Piper lawyer told police ‘everything seemed fine’ when they last spoke”

ABAJournal.com: “DLA Piper associate is found fatally stabbed in DC hotel; police seek person of interest”