Background: News footage of the scene in Brooklyn, N.Y., where Michelle Montgomery”s body was found on Feb. 1 (News 12 Brooklyn). Inset: Michelle Montgomery (Facebook).
A New York woman who was last seen during a night out has been tragically found dead the following morning, leaving her community in shock and seeking answers.
Michelle Montgomery, a 39-year-old mother of four, was discovered dismembered and placed in garbage bags within the trash compactor room of a Brooklyn public housing building. The New York City Housing Authority (NYCHA) employee who made the discovery identified the remains on Sunday morning. The New York Police Department has confirmed Montgomery’s identity and continues to investigate the circumstances surrounding her death.
Local news outlet WPIX interviewed Montgomery’s friends, who revealed that they did not recognize individuals appearing in her last Facebook video. This unsettling detail adds to the growing mystery surrounding her final hours.
Montgomery, residing with her husband and children in Brooklyn’s Gowanus neighborhood, had shared a video of herself enjoying a night out at Mama Taco restaurant in Williamsburg on Saturday at 11:19 p.m. Barely 12 hours later, a NYCHA employee at the Borinquen Houses in Williamsburg stumbled upon a suspiciously heavy bag while disposing of trash. Upon inspection, the bag contained Montgomery’s dismembered remains.
The NYPD responded to the scene shortly after 9:30 a.m. In a statement shared with Law&Crime, the department confirmed that no arrests have been made, with investigations still ongoing.
In conversations with WPIX, a close friend of Montgomery expressed confusion over the individuals in her final video, stating, “We have no idea who that is,” and noting that, “Usually when she goes out, she tags who she’s with.” This has only deepened the mystery as her loved ones and authorities work to uncover what happened on that fateful night.
Montgomery’s husband, Anthony Echevarria, spoke to local news outlets in a desperate attempt to get more information and to get someone to come forward. He told News 12 Brooklyn that while he did not know exactly who Montgomery had gone out with on Saturday, he “trust[ed] her judgment. I trust how she moves.” But as far as how she came to be found in another neighborhood, he said, “I can’t understand why she was there.”
Echevarria told WPIX, “Find out what really happened. That could be the biggest help to bring the dude that chopped up my wife to justice.”
News 12 Brooklyn said the medical examiner performed an exam on Monday but did not release an official cause of death for Montgomery.
