"He Likes To Buy Me Things"

"DEWEY BEACH, DE — Hours before she turned up dead in a Dewey Beach motel room, Danielle Mehlman was at a nightspot in town with Pawan Kumar—the man authorities believe later killed her—doing gummi bear shots with a Wilmington couple and showing off jewelry given to her by Kumar.

"Dan Caputo and his fiancée, Cheri Duvall, said they did not sense any issue or tension between Mehlman and Kumar, although they were a bit puzzled at the exact nature of the couple's relationship.

"Caputo said at one point, they referred to Kumar as Mehlman's `boyfriend` and she quickly corrected them to indicate he was not.

"`She didn't consider the relationship dating,` Caputo said. `She said, 'he likes to buy me things,' and showed us this jewelry, a gold necklace and two bracelets. She said right in front of him, 'I'm not having sex with him, I've got a boyfriend.'` Caputo said that it didn't seem as if Mehlman was being mean, that she was matter-of-fact about it.

"Hours after having drinks with Caputo and Duvall at Jimmy's Grill, Mehlman's body was discovered in a room at the Atlantic Oceanside Motel, the first homicide victim in Dewey since the resort incorporated 31 years ago.

"Kumar's body was discovered about 24 hours later at a motel in New Jersey, an apparent suicide."

From delmarvanow.com...