A Brooklyn family is grappling with heartbreak and confusion after the tragic discovery of a mother’s body, found dismembered and placed in a black plastic bag within a trash compactor room at a NYCHA complex. They are seeking answers about how a seemingly enjoyable evening out with friends ended in such a horrific outcome.
The remains of Michelle “Teresa” Montgomery were uncovered by NYCHA workers at a Borinquen Plaza building located on Bushwick Ave. near Seigel St. in East Williamsburg around 9:35 a.m. on Sunday.
“It’s unbelievably cruel,” expressed Montgomery’s cousin, who wished to remain anonymous, on Tuesday. “I just want to understand why. What could have driven someone to dismember her, place her in a garbage bag, and prevent her from returning to her four children?”
Montgomery, 39, was remembered by her cousin as a devoted and hardworking mother. She was raising two sons, ages 19 and 10 months, and two daughters, aged 12 and 11, in the Gowanus Houses, located nearly four miles from where her body was found.
“The youngest son will never get to know his mother,” the cousin lamented about the infant. “It’s just unbelievable.”
Authorities are treating Montgomery’s demise as a homicide, although the exact cause of her death remains under investigation.
The evening before her body was discovered, she was having a fun night out at Mama Taco, just four blocks away from the Borinquen Plaza complex.
The trash compactor room at the NYCHA development is normally kept locked and is off limits to residents, a building worker said.
“The workers, once they found it. They were screaming,” a neighbor told PIX11 News. “They realized the bag was too heavy, so they opened it up, and the first thing they see is the head staring at them.”
Anthony Echevarria, who identified himself as the victim’s husband, said her Saturday began ordinarily, relaxing at home with her family, before going out to meet up with friends that night.
“We were chilling. That whole day we were doing TikTok challenges, looking after the kids. It was a regular Saturday for us,” Echevarria said Tuesday. “We were just inside because of the cold. We would do candy reviews on TikTok. She was into that.”
“She let me know she was going out,” Echevarria added. “She left here around 9:30 at night. She left happy, vibrant, full of life.”
Montgomery’s sister, Serenity Montgomery, told the New York Times, she got a FaceTime call from her sister about 10 p.m. Saturday. She said she heard music in the background before the call cut off after about a second and was unsure whether Montgomery had meant to call.
Montgomery posted a video of herself twerking shortly after 11 p.m. inside of Mama Taco. The Mexican restaurant was a regular hang out spot for her and her friends, according to Montgomery’s cousin.
Montgomery had no ties to the building where her remains were later found, as far as the family knows.
“I’m trying to get clarity on it, but that’s the million dollar question,” her husband said. “How did she end up in that building?”
Police said Montgomery had no criminal history and her cousin said the victim had no enemies.
“She just goes to work, goes home to her kids and that was it,” she said. “I just don’t understand. I don’t!”
Montgomery had worked for Amazon for several years but was recently on leave after hurting her shoulder on the job, Echevarria said.
In the summers, Montgomery worked as a concessions cashier at the U.S. Open. She also turned her hobby of making gift baskets into a side hustle which she coined “KSA Creations”, her husband said.
“She worked hard. She was a loving, caring mother,” Echevarria said. “A go-getter, fighter, hard worker. She was a beautiful soul.”
In a post to Facebook on Dec. 3, Montgomery wrote: “If I died tomorrow my Facebook wall would be filled with posts about broken friendships. My family would cry about the things they shoulda made right and the relationships they shoulda fixed. There would be a lot of ‘I wishes’ and ‘I’m sorry’s’. The day I die My social media will be taken over by posts from people who hadn’t talked to me in years. Please don’t use my death For Some sympathy. If you love me, love me now !!”
Five days before a building worker discovered her dismembered body, Montgomery wrote “Time don’t wait for no one, so spend time with the people that you love before it’s too late,” in another post to Facebook.
