NEW YORK — The tragic and unsettling death of Michelle Montgomery, a 39-year-old mother of four from New York City, has left her loved ones reeling. Her life partner, Anthony Echevarria, is speaking out in the wake of her gruesome passing.
Montgomery’s dismembered body was discovered on Sunday at the Boriqunen Public Houses in the Bushwick neighborhood of Brooklyn by workers from the New York City Housing Authority. Authorities are still working to determine the precise cause of her death, as the medical examiner continues their investigation.
“She left this house vibrant, happy, and alive,” Echevarria shared, painting a picture of the woman he loved who, just hours before her death, seemed full of life. On the night before the tragedy, Montgomery had shared a TikTok video shortly after midnight, showing no signs of the grim fate that awaited her.
By 9:30 a.m. the following morning, the vibrant mother of four had been found dead, her life cut tragically short. As friends and family grapple with her sudden and horrific loss, questions linger about the events leading up to her death.
Just after midnight on Sunday, Montgomery posted a TikTok video.
By 9:30 a.m., the mother of four was dead.
Her body was discovered in the basement of a Brooklyn apartment building, dismembered in a garbage bag.
“I wasn’t believing it at first. It was hard. I mean, I broke down because I couldn’t, I still can’t believe it, still,” Echevarria said.
Her gruesome murder has left her family in total and utter shock.
She and her life partner, Echevarria, have a 10-month-old son.
“It’s been hard because you’ve been looking for it has been, been one of the hardest things to really look at is watching him look for her and knowing that she’s not coming back,” he said.
Echevarria said Montgomery left home around 9:30 p.m. on Saturday night.
Family members say that at one point, she was hanging out at a local restaurant, where she posted a video of herself dancing and having a good time.
Family members also said she has no ties to the Boriqunen houses on Bushwick Avenue, where a memorial with her picture and candles has been placed in honor of where her remains were found.
“So extreme, like I don’t even know how she ended up over there in a building, nevertheless in a (expletive) garbage bag, mad extreme,” Echevarria said.
Montgomery was described as a fun, loving, go-getter who worked hard and would go all out to give her kids what she didn’t have growing up.
“Super mom, to make sure none of these kids wanted for nothing, that they always got what they needed. They always got what they wanted,” Echevarria said.
Montgomery was active on social media, posting just last week, “spend time with the people you love before it’s too late.”
Back in December, nearly two months to the day of her murder, she wrote, “If I die tomorrow, my Facebook wall would be filled with posts about broken friendships. Please don’t use my death for some sympathy. If you love me, love me now.”
“She was phenomenal. She was so phenomenal,” Echevarria said.
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