Employees of the Smith, Merrifield and Richards law firm in Dallas arrived for work as usual on the morning of February 9, 1995. The first few to enter the building opted to walk the stairs to their third floor offices. The building’s elevator was infamously slow, but it was about to become notorious in another manner, as a crime scene.

Office workers Juanita Lackey and Roxanne Ledermann were the first to use the elevator, at 7:30 a.m. The women made small talk as they waited for their lift. When the conveyor finally descended to the ground floor and the door opened, the women jumped back in horror as they found a man lying face down on the bloodied elevator floor.

The women’s shock worsened when the dead man was discovered to be forty-two-year-old David Merrifield, a partner at the law firm. He had been shot once in the head, execution style.

No one could think of anyone who want to harm the respected lawyer. Only one plausible lead surfaced in the murder, but it never led to an arrest.

David Merrifield

In 1982, after two years of working as an equal opportunity specialist with the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development’s Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity Division in Little Rock, Arkansas, David Merrifield accepted a position with the Dallas law firm. He specialized in Real Estate, Business, and Corporate Law; his responsibilities essentially entailed translating legal jargon into language the average citizen could understand. During his thirteen years with the law firm, he built a profitable but prosaic practice.

David had two small children form his first marriage and re-married in November 1994. He and his new bride, Ellen, looked forward to years of wedded bliss. Instead, only four months after marrying, David Merrifield’s life was taken.

A Profitable But Prosaic Practice

Police initially believed robbery was the motive for David’s murder. His wallet was not on him when his body was discovered, nor was it in his car or home.

The theory, however, was discarded after the wallet was found several hours later a few miles from the law office. All of David’s credit cards and pertinent identity cards were still inside as was a small amount of money.

Robbery Ruled Out

No one knew of anyone who had a grudge against David. The only possible lead surfaced when his secretary, Jennifer Wanamaker, told police of a man who seemed insistent on speaking with him the day before his murder.

A man identifying himself as Sam Jones had phoned the law firm four times throughout the day of February 8. Each time, he asked to speak to David. On the first three occasions, David was busy and unable to take the call. Jennifer asked the caller if there was anything she could help him with, but he insisted on speaking to David. She suspected the caller was a solicitor.

When the caller phoned the fourth time, David was available and, with reluctance, took the call.  Jennifer says David spoke to the man for approximately ten minutes. When he hung up, she says he seemed annoyed but not worried.

Jennifer jokingly asked David what the caller was selling. David sort of smiled and said he was not trying to sell him anything yet, emphasizing “yet.” David added that the man calling himself Sam Jones wished to do something for him, but he did not further elaborate.

Jennifer Wanamaker

David’s Secretary

None of David’s friends or family knew anyone by the name of Sam Jones. The Smith, Merrifield and Richards law firm had never done business with anyone by that name and David had never mentioned a Sam Jones to his coworkers, but a calendar notepad in his office showed he had made an appointment with the man for 6:30 a.m. on February 9, an hour before his body was found in the elevator.

David had plenty of daily meetings, but they were rarely that early in the morning. He often worked long hours, but they were always into the evening. All who knew him said David was not a morning person and rarely arrived at the office before 9:00 a.m.

Investigators believe the man calling himself Sam Jones could have been the killer of David Merrifield. He never phoned the law office again following the murder.

Authorities theorize that on the pretense of having a legal matter to discuss with David, the man calling himself Sam Jones suggested the early morning meeting when few people were at the law office. Once they were inside the elevator, he shot David to death. The doors to the building were electronically locked until 7:00 a.m.; assuming David was on time for the 6:30 meeting, it is not known where he and the killer were before being able to get into the building.

A few early risers observed a 1985-87 half-ton Ford pickup parked outside the law office building. No one recognized the vehicle or the heavyset white man inside who seemed to be waiting for someone. He appeared to be in his early-to-mid fifties.

A Meeting With “Sam Jones”

I was unable to find any information regarding whether the phone calls made by Sam Jones to the law firm were traced. I could also not find any information about David’s first wife.

Police ruled out robbery as a motive for the murder after David’s wallet was found with all his credit cards intact. Because only a small amount of money was found inside, however, it seems plausible that his killer could have taken the larger bills after killing him, leaving the credit cards knowing they could be traced if used. It is unknown how much money David was carrying when he met Sam Jones, and I could not find anything speculating as to how much money he typically had on him.

Lingering Questions

Reports conflict on whether the investigation into the murder of David Merrifield is closed. Some sources, including a woman purporting to be David’s niece on the Unsolved Mysteries website, say the prime suspect committed suicide in 2007 after being diagnosed with a terminal illness. This man has never been publicly identified, but the niece says Dallas Police believe he was the killer and have closed the case. The motive for David’s murder apparently remains unknown.

The official Unsolved Mysteries website, however, contends the Dallas Police Department still considers the case open and is still welcoming tips.

If you believe you have any information of the murder of David Merrifield, please contact the Dallas Police Department’s Homicide Division at (214) 671-3584 or email [email protected] 

 

Conflicting Accounts

https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/157516043/david-allen-merrifield#

SOURCES

• Dallas Morning News
• Fort Worth-Star Telegram
• Odessa American
• Tyler Courier-Times
• Unsolved Mysteries