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[Music] our episodes deal with serious and often distressing incidents if you feel at any
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time you need support please contact your local crisis center for suggested phone numbers for confidential support
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and for a more detailed list of content warnings please the show notes for this episode on your app or on our
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website pogo.com is an online gaming site that provides a platform for strangers and friends to gather together
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to play a variety of card and board games users enter particular rooms to play the game of their choice and as
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they play they can also chat by typing messages to other users in April 2005 a user with the name
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marine sniper was playing blackjack in one of pogo's rooms when he received a message from another player going by the
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name tall hot blonde big 50 tall hot blonde introduced herself as 18-year-old Jesse she then informed
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marine sniper that he was in the wrong place the room they were in was for teenagers and marine sniper profile
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clearly stated that he was 46 6 years old marine sniper reassured Jesse that he wasn't in the wrong room he was
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actually 18 like her but he was using his father's account to play That's why his profile had him as
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46 with that issue addressed and out of the way tall hot blonde and marine sniper were free to keep messaging one
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another [Music] it didn't take long for marine sniper to start sharing more information about
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himself with the Jesse his real name was Tommy and he lived in Upstate New York near the City
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of Buffalo Tommy had Big Dreams he was set to join the Marines like his father and
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wanted to become the best and toughest version of himself he could be Tommy hadn't always felt this way he
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told Jesse that when he was 12 his mother died of cancer and after this he never felt love from another person
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again after being betrayed by a couple of different people Tommy gradually began to switch off his feelings and
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became a loner he sometimes thought about taking his own life but directed his pain and
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self-hatred outwards instead when he was 17 he raped a cheerleader from his high
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school Tommy explained that he'd reached rock bottom and experienced a sense of total
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hopelessness he'd found Purpose By enlisting in the Marines and was getting ready to attend boot camp in two months
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time Tommy would head to Paris Island in South Carolina to undertake his training Jesse wasn't totally horrified
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by Tommy's admission that he was a rapist instead she felt compassion for what he'd been through and told him she
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was proud that he'd worked to better himself she knew what it was like to feel a lack of
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Direction Jesse lived in the state of West Virginia in a small town called Oak Hill
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her life was fairly typical she lived with her parents and younger brother but often fought with her
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mom Jesse loved Sports and played softball and basketball for extra money she worked part-time as a
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lifeguard Jesse was in her final year of high school and getting ready to graduate she was set to go to college
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but didn't really know what she wanted to do with her life in Tommy Jesse saw the chance for
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exciting future during their very first conversation Jesse sent Tommy some bikini clad photos of
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herself just as her Pogo username implied she was tall and athletic with tanned skin and a long blonde
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hair more pictures soon followed there were glamour shots that had been taken by professional
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photographers as well as more relaxed candid photos of Jesse playing sports Jesse began making photo
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slideshows for Tommy set to backgrounds of romantic power ballads such as Aeros Smiths I Don't Want to Miss a
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Thing Jesse was curious to know what Tommy looked like he described himself as 6 tall and muscular with big
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shoulders Jesse was pleased by this she liked big shoulders eventually Tommy sent Jesse a
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photo of himself wearing his Cadet uniform and a Stern expression Jesse thought he looked
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handsome as the days went by Jesse and Tommy chatted more and more they communicated by instant message on Pogo
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as well as via email and Yahoo eventually the two exchanged phone numbers and began talking over the phone
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as well when Tommy headed to South Carolina for boot camp his time time became somewhat limited but he always made time
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to talk with the Jesse it wasn't long before the two teenagers declared their love for each
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other their conversations became raer and they engaged in cyber sex Tommy told Jesse that he'd gotten a
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tattooo on his arm in honor of their relationship it featured the words always and forever alongside a heart
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with the Jesse's name inside always and forever was both a nod to the Marines motto simpa Fidelis and a
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special saying that Tommy and Jesse used to refer to their love after Tommy's boot camp training
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was complete he received a word that he was being deployed to fight in the Iraq War which the United States had
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initiated more than 2 years earlier he told Jesse that his internet access would be restricted during this
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time if she need needed to reach him urgently while he was out on a Dangerous Mission or wanted to send him a care
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package she could do so via his father Tom Senor Tom senior's Marine contacts meant
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he could get packages delivered to Iraq faster than the US Postal Service Jesse sent Tom Senor letters and
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photographs which he forwarded to his son but being far away from Jesse and unable to see her in person ignited
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Tommy's jealous streak he accused her of flirting with other men from their Gaming Community and
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sending them pictures this led to the young couple's first argument eager for them to make up Jesse
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sent Tommy a special parcel that included a necklace with a pendant in the shape of half a heart she kept the
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other half for herself Jesse also included a pair of her underwear Tommy got over there brief
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argument but his father didn't Tom senior didn't agree with Tommy and Jesse's relationship he discouraged Jesse from
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pursuing his son any further telling her he would no longer relay any messages between the
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couple he thought the relationship should end and told Jesse quote you will hurt him and he's an
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idiot and will believe your lying ass Jesse wasn't dissuaded she continued contacting Tommy telling him she was
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worried about his safety while he was fighting in Iraq in one message she wrote I know you're being careful honey
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and you have the best with you but I also know anything can happen Tommy kept replying to Jesse
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reassuring her and saying she was the best thing that ever happened to him he also told her about the battles he was
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fighting in the Iraqi city of fuah as December rolled around the couple had been in contact for roughly 8
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months at Christmas Tommy surprised Jesse by proposing to her she accepted to mark their engagement Tommy
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sent Jesse some red Point sanas flowers that are popular at Christmas time Jesse mailed Tommy another care
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package with more of her underwear as well as dog tags engraved with the words Tom and Jesse always and
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forever the couple agreed to marry when Tommy returned home from Iraq Jesse wrote excitedly about how she
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would take Tommy's last name which was Montgomery she also imagined what their wedding night would be
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like in their Communications to each other they talked about how their future together would be incredibly
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bright 2 months later in February 2006 Jesse received an envelope in the mail inside was what appeared to be a
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family photograph taken in a professional studio a middle-aged woman with shoulder
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length of dark blonde hair stood in the center sitting behind her was a middle-aged boarding man wearing
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glasses on either side of the couple stood two girls who looked to be in their early to mid
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[Music] teens along with the photo was a handwritten letter it opened with the words Jesse in closed you will find a
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picture of my family let me introduce you to these people the man in the center is Tom my
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husband the writer explained that her name was Cindy Montgomery and she was the woman in the
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picture the two girls were their daughters who were aged 12 and 14 Cindy explained that she and Tom
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didn't have any sons Tommy the young Cadet Jesse had been having a relationship with for almost a year
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didn't exist Jesse had been speaking to 46-year-old Tom the entire time Cindy had uncovered the ruse when
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she stumbled across some of Jesse's letters to Tommy which Tom had stashed away Cindy was concerned for the young
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woman and decided to let her know what had been going on she closed her letter with the
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following message from what I am pulling from your letters you are much closer to my
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daughter's age than mine let alone Tom's are you over the age of 18 in this alone he can be prosecuted as
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a child predator he is taking advantage of you you need to be much more cautious
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with your safety you will only be hurt by a man who has mastered the art of manipulation and lies do not trust words
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on a [Music] computer as a young man in the 1970s Tom Montgomery had enlisted in the Marines
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but he never saw active combat by the time he was discharged he developed a drinking
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problem when he married Cindy and had his first daughter Montgomery found the motivation he needed to address his
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addiction a few years later he and Cindy welcomed their second child Tom Montgomery became a dedicated
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father who volunteered with his daughter's swimming club and taught Sunday school at the family's
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church he provided for his family by working as a machinist at Diner a power tool company with headquarters in the
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New York town of Clarence the job didn't engage him in the same way that the military did but
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he made a go of it and became friends with some of his co-workers over the years Montgomery
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began to struggle again he had difficulties with erectile dysfunction and his marriage suffered both
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physically and emotionally communication between him and Cindy dropped to an alltime low and
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Montgomery sought refuge on the internet he spent countless hours in online gaming rooms playing games and chatting
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with strangers as it was easier confiding in people he didn't know via words on a
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screen Montgomery was careful not to share any information about his wife and daughters but he opened up about some of
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his problems with the other Gamers he met the first time Jesse reached out to him in pogo's blackjack room Montgomery
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was enticed by the thought thought of an attractive young woman but when Jesse asked why he was in
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a room for kids when his profile listed him as 46 Montgomery panicked he'd heard about sting
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operations where undercover agents infiltrated online spaces looking for sexual predators acting on impulse Montgomery
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lied to Jesse telling her he was 18 and using his dad's account when Jesse sent him photos of
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herself wearing swimsuits he was entranced he began concocting the character of Tommy so he could keep
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talking with her Montgomery made up stories about Tommy's past and gave his altero a troubled background to help win
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Jesse's sympathy the photo he'd sent her was actually a 30-year-old photo of Montgomery in his own Marine's
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uniform as time passed Montgomery battled with whether or not he should put a stop to these Antics he created
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the personality of Tommy's father to maintain contact with the Jesse even when Tommy was supposedly on dangerous
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missions with the Marines but he also used this Persona to try to break things off between the
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teenages ultimately it didn't work his obsession with his Fantasy Life was too strong Cindy Montgomery noticed her
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husband's fixation with the internet he would kick their daughters off the computer so he could use it himself and
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then stay up typing well into the night the truth was exposed in February 2006 when Cindy stumbled across a parcel
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Jesse had sent her husband inside was a letter and some red underwear that clearly belonged to a
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teenage girl Cindy was disgusted and horrified to learn what Montgomery had done Not
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only was he lying to her and their children he was also manipulating an 18-year-old Cindy confronted her husband
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and the couple agreed to divorce in the meantime Montgomery would move into the basement Cindy was disturbed by the
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thought that Jesse was blissfully unaware that her young fiance was actually a middle-aged
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man as a mother to young girls herself she felt she had to do something Cindy wrote a letter to Jesse and posted it to
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the return address listed on the parcel exposing all of Tom Montgomery's lies after Jesse read the letter she
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immediately sent Montgomery an angry text message telling him he should be in jail the pair then met in a private chat
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room Jesse was Furious and hurt she asked Montgomery why he'd done what he did Montgomery couldn't provide a
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satisfactory answer he said he wished he could explain it but he didn't have any
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answers he'd planned to kill Tommy off by saying he'd had died during combat in Iraq but Cindy had discovered his secret
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before he had the chance Jesse didn't know what to think she decided to reach out to a third
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party who might be able to shed some light on the situation recalled that Montgomery had
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mentioned a friend of his named Brian who was also active on Pogo she even remembered Brian's
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username Beefcake 1572 22-year-old Brian Barrett was a college student who worked part-time
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with Tom Montgomery at Diner braid to pay for his tuition he still lived at home with his
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parents and 15-year-old brother every weekday Brian got up at at 6:30 a.m. spent the day at college and
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then headed straight to diner braid for an evening shift that finished at 10:00 p.m. Jesse sent Brian a message telling
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him what Montgomery had done Brian was shocked by his co-workers actions and provided Jesse with a
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sympathetic ear the two began messaging each other often growing closer and closer Jesse was just Brian's type Not
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only was he attracted to blondes he'd played football and baseball in school and he found Jesse's athleticism very
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appealing just as she'd done with Tommy Jesse sent Brian photos of herself and handwritten cards telling him how much
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he meant to her it wasn't long before the two declared their love for one another the pair also bounded over their
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disgust at Tom Montgomery they went to into the online chat rooms he frequented and told others
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what he'd done calling him a loser and a predator as a result Montgomery was temporarily suspended from playing on
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Pogo Jesse also shared her login details with Brian so that he could use her account to pose as her and send
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Montgomery mocking messages Jesse and Brian decided that Montgomery's colleagues needed to know
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about this inidan as well they debated how Brian should tell them with Brian asking
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Jesse what should I say up to you baby she replied I have to [ __ ] with him Brian typed to back you are so bad Jesse
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answered Brian told people at Diner braid what Montgomery had been up to and left printouts of Montgomery into
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Jesse's conversations lying around the factory Montgomery's colleagues were were aware he'd been flirting with a
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much younger woman as he'd been bragging about his relationship with the Jesse for months but they didn't know that
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he'd been lying and posing as a teenager The Fallout was Swift a furious Montgomery sent Jesse a
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private message letting her know that because of her and Brian's actions many of his co-workers thought he was a
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sexual predator people no longer trusted him to be around their kids as far as Tom Montgomery was
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concerned his life had been [Music] destroyed Montgomery told both Brian and Jesse to leave him alone he would no
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longer talk to Brian online or when they crossed paths at work when Brian told other colleagues
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that he hoped to drive down to West Virginia to meet up with the Jesse the news made its way back to
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Montgomery this upset him even more he knew that Jesse was a virgin and he was fixated with the idea of being
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her first now it sounded like she was planning to have sex with Brian but Jesse wasn't done with Tom
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Montgomery after two weeks of Silence she began messaging him again saying that she missed the Tommy Alter
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Ego Jesse explained that she had truly fallen in love with the 18-year-old marine sniper she'd believed was
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real she'd never felt the same way about Brian and had only really flirted with him to get revenge against
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Montgomery the Revelation that Tommy never existed had left her in Despair and unable to believe in true love she
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believed quote if he existed I would still be holding him every night and sharing dreams with him every
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night Tom Montgomery found himself drawn back in he alternated between making hostile
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digs about Jesse's relationship with Brian and apologizing for having lied to her Jesse asked if they could be
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friends Montgomery was her only connection to Tommy whom she still loved Montgomery admitted he missed
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Tommy too typing I still feel Tommy in my heart he added that he had never stopped
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caring for Jesse the two agreed to start over as friends the new friendship was fragile
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and fraught with issues from the GetGo for starters it was clear that Montgomery still wanted a romantic
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relationship with the Jesse during their long late night chat sessions he sent her self-pitying
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messages about how he wanted more than she could give whenever he caught wind of Jesse's
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online friendships with other men Montgomery's sweet tone switched in an instant he'd send Jesse a barrage of
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angry messages calling her a [ __ ] and using racial slurs as he described how he hoped she would be raped by black
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men Montgomery stalked Jesse's account on the social media networking site Myspace and grilled her about who she'd
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been talking to he reserved a l portion of his rage for his colleague Brian Barrett Montgomery told
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Jesse I hate him with a passion and for 10 cents I would eliminate him Jesse replied that's a little drastic isn't
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it Montgomery responded payback is a [ __ ] Jesse I am the Ultimate Weapon I am a
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marine Brian will pay him blood Montgomery also had a confession for Jesse after Brian outed his catfishing
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of Jesse to their colleagues Montgomery had seriously considered shooting him despite these threats and admissions
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Jesse said nothing to Brian or the police instead she merely promised Montgomery that she wouldn't talk to
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Brian again over the following few months Jesse and Montgomery's relationship fell
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into a toxic pattern sometimes they'd get along and even engage in roleplay where Montgomery
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pretended to be Tommy again during which they'd engage in cyber sex at the same time Jesse continued to
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message other men Montgomery found out about this through their online community and was
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riddled with a jealousy he sent Jesse abusive messages threatening to publish her address online
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eventually Montgomery told Jesse that if she didn't leave him alone he traveled to West Virginia and physically heard
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her he also made a Veiled Threat against Jesse's mother Jesse backed off but only for a
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while she soon reached out again explaining to Montgomery that her mother Mary wanted to speak to him Mary then
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contacted Montgomery and demanded he stay away from her daughter Montgomery agreed but told Mary
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he also wanted Jesse to stay away from him a couple of weeks went by before Jesse sent Montgomery another
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message he pointed out that her mother had forbidden her from speaking to him but Jesse Shrugged it off writing well
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she'll never know Jesse had promised mon Montgomery she was no longer speaking to Brian
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Barrett but in September 2006 Montgomery was looking at Jesse's Myspace page when
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he noticed something enraging Brian Barrett was listed as one of her friends and the two had been
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messaging each other there Montgomery confronted Jesse asking if she and Brian were back
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together I can handle you with anyone but him he messaged Jess he insisted that the two
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weren't together but had just talked but there was someone else Jesse had met a new guy who went by
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the nickname shake and she thought the two of them had something special Montgomery didn't believe her he
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was convinced that shake was actually Brian and that the two were in a romantic relationship Montgomery also believed
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that Brian had plans to drive down to West Virginia in 2 months time to spend Thanksgiving with the
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Jesse you better be very afraid now he warned I told you what would happen if you and Brian got
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together at around midnight on Wednesday September 133 2006 Jesse and Montgomery
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began chatting online Jesse repeatedly insisted that shake and Brian were not the same person
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and asked Montgomery to leave her alone she told him I'm asking you to love me enough to let me
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go Jesse announced that she was going to delete her accounts on Pogo and Yahoo before signing off with one final
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message I love you and will miss you Tom goodbye baby I'm leaving now at 1:36 a.m. Montgomery replied
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quote run to Brian you coor he is waiting for you 4 hours later Montgomery checked
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back online to see if Jesse had indeed deleted her profiles she hadn't he sent her several
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abusive messages calling her a liar then he messaged Brian stating your girlfriend is just like you
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nothing but lies keep her the [ __ ] away from me you wanted her you got her [Music]
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on the morning of Sunday September 17 2006 Brian Barrett's parents and younger brother walked through the door of their
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home in Lockport New York and immediately knew something was wrong the trio had spent the weekend
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camping with some family friends while 22-year-old Brian stayed at home but there was no no sign of Brian
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anywhere and it was clear that the family's cats hadn't been fed in a couple of days this was completely unlike Brian
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who was typically reliable and responsible even if he'd planned to go out he would have made sure to feed the
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pets roughly an hour later there was a knock at the front door when Brian's father Daniel Barrett went to answer it
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he saw officers from the local police department standing there realizing something must have happened
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to his son Daniel immediately began to scream about 36 hours earlier at 10:16 p.m. on Friday September 15 Brian
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Barrett finished his shift at Diner braak he punched out and headed towards his white Ford Ranger truck which was
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parked near the back of the employee parking lot he climbed behind the wheel and Was
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preparing to leave when the sharp sound of gunshots pierced the night air the driver's side window was shot at
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three times shattering the glass one of the bullets landed in Brian's upper left arm while the other
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two went into his neck he slumped over towards the passenger seat dead because Brian's family was away and
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no one was at the diner bra Factory over the weekend it took 2 days before he body was
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discovered detectives found Witnesses who'd heard the gunshots and seen an individual dressed in camouflage and a
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ski mask lurking in the area this along with Brian's time card helped to narrow down the time of the
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murder the killer had used a 30 caliber carbine rifle but there was no sign of the spent shell casings the only Clues
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recovered were a gun clip with what appeared to be dog hairs on it and a Peach Pit which was found lying
00:31:00
nearby to police the crime looked like a sniper style shooting Brian's family members couldn't
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imagine who would want to harm the 22-year-old Brian was a happy go-lucky well-liked young man with no known
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enemies but his co-workers told police about the bizarre online love triangle involving Brian Tom Montgomery and an
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18-year-old girl they said that not only had Montgomery been badmouthing Brian for
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months he'd recently made some disturbing comments according to one colleague Montgomery said that if he ever killed
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someone he'd use an M1 A1 military rifle and wouldn't be stupid enough to leave any showc casings lying
00:31:49
around this was significant given that the bullets found in Brian's Body matched this type of
00:31:56
rifle a according to the colleague Montgomery had also made inquiries about what time Brian's shifts
00:32:04
ended investigators were eager to speak to Tom Montgomery for themselves but they couldn't track him
00:32:11
down they began to worry that perhaps Montgomery had left the state to take revenge against Jesse as
00:32:22
well using a number saved in Brian's cell phone officers were able to reach Jesse she was safe and
00:32:30
well Jesse confirmed that she'd been involved with both Brian Barrett and Tom Montgomery and that she'd been
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increasingly concerned about Montgomery's erratic Behavior according to Jesse Brian told
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her that Montgomery had tried to hit him with his car in their work parking lot on several
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occasions he never spoke or made eye contact just sat behind the wheel with a Stony expression on his
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face when Jesse warned Brian that Montgomery was making violent threats against him Brian asked if he should
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report this to his boss or another coworker Jesse didn't directly reply instead saying she was very scared of
00:33:15
Montgomery Brian replied yeah me too he's crazy the last that Jesse had heard from
00:33:25
Tom Montgomery was on Friday's September 15 having finally cut ties with him 2 days prior Montgomery had continued to
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message her saying things like hey [ __ ] you suck your boyfriend Brian's [ __ ]
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today Jesse never replied early on Friday morning she awoke to the sound of her cell phone
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ringing Tom Montgomery was on the other line screaming obscenities in a wild rage Jesse hung up on him but he'd
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reached out again later that night about an hour and a half after Brian Barrett was
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killed Jesse received an online message from Montgomery asking you waiting for your
00:34:10
boyfriend just over 2 hours later he tried again typing come on Brian won't mind you
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talking to me or are you talking to your boyfriend here officers in New York were worried
00:34:27
that Jesse might be in danger they contacted the police in West Virginia and asked them to visit Jesse at
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home at around 6:00 a.m. officer Lee Kirk and his partner arrived at the address Jesse
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provided it was a white house with peeling paint in the small town of Oak Hill a short middle-aged woman with a
00:34:52
bobbed haircut answered the door she identified herself as is 45-year-old Mary Sheila the officers asked if anyone
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named to Jesse lived at the home Mary replied that her daughter Jesse no longer resided there as she was away at
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College officer Kirk reported this back to the police in New York who told him they'd spoken with the Jesse just hours
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earlier and she'd told them she wasn't home officer Kirk returned to the house and asked Mary if Jesse had had been
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home recently Mary said no she didn't have a phone number for Jesse either officer Kirk found this hard to
00:35:38
believe he told Mary they were concerned that her daughter could be in danger and
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they needed to talk to her right away Mary looked nervous officer Kirk could tell
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something was bothering her as he continued to press her for information Mary began to
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cry I'm Jesse she said I've been using my daughter's name on the internet as Mary Sheila would later
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explain in an interview with Wired Magazine she claimed to have signed up for an account on Pogo to play games as
00:36:18
a way of relaxing it was only after paying a fee for a premium service that she realized
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she'd inadvertently used the Gest name and details and was therefore directed to the sight's room for
00:36:32
teenagers Mary said she was happily married to her husband and had no romantic feelings for anyone
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else she'd only started talking to Tom Montgomery's Alter Ego of Tommy because Tommy seemed troubled and in need of
00:36:46
care Mary offered no explanation for why she'd sent him photos of her daughter wearing a bikini engaged in cyber sex
00:36:54
with him or agreed to marry him after learning from Cindy Montgomery that Tommy wasn't real Mary said she
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became concerned that Montgomery might be talking to other young women online she therefore decided to keep
00:37:10
communicating with him as a way to distract him from other girls as his temper flared and he became
00:37:18
increasingly jealous Mary continued speaking to him out of fear he might harm himself or others if she
00:37:25
didn't Mary said she'd never had feelings for Brian Barrett either he was simply a sweet kid who started flirting
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with her and she hadn't known what to do without exposing her true identity the investigators in New York
00:37:44
who had been communicating with the Jesse were stunned to learn about this Revelation Mary shiler had sounded just
00:37:52
like a teenage girl during their phone conversations one day detective was so disbelieving that he drove down to West
00:37:59
Virginia to meet Mary for himself there Mary Sheila's computer was confiscated by this point she had been
00:38:09
communicating with Tom Montgomery for roughly a year and a half on the computer investigators found
00:38:16
hundreds of images of Mary's daughter Jesse many which were clearly taken without Jesse's
00:38:23
knowledge some photos focused on particular body parts and were taken from behind in a video that Mary had clearly
00:38:31
filmed without her daughter's knowledge or consent she aimed the camera up at Jesse's
00:38:37
skirt she then sent the footage to several individuals asking do you like it it turned out that Mary had been
00:38:47
talking to more men than just Tom Montgomery and Brian Barrett she had sent photos of her
00:38:53
daughter and pairs of Jesse's underwear to multip M online admirers Jesse's Myspace page had
00:39:01
actually been a fake maintained by Mary investigators also gained access to the chat logs between her Tom Montgomery
00:39:10
and Brian Barrett hundreds and hundreds of pages documented the countless hours Mary had
00:39:17
spent talking with the two men Montgomery's messages made it clear how much he'd hated Brian Barrett for
00:39:24
becoming involved with the Jesse he'd made repeated threats against both Brian and Jesse's lives and it was clear
00:39:32
he fantasized about committing violent ax he talked about how he was a former Marine and knew how to assassinate
00:39:45
people investigators finally managed to track Tom Montgomery down he hadn't gone down to seek revenge
00:39:53
against Jesse after all but was still in the Buffalo area and showed up for a shift at Diner as
00:40:00
normal detectives visited him at work and asked if he could accompany them for questioning Montgomery agreed but asked
00:40:08
if he could go to his car to retrieve his lunch first he explained that he'd brought
00:40:14
peaches and didn't want them to spoil while left in the car detectives took note of this fully
00:40:21
aware that a peach pit had been found at the scene of Brian Barrett's murder [Music]
00:40:28
Tom Montgomery denied any involvement in the crime he said that on the night in question he'd gone out to eat at a local
00:40:36
restaurant he'd arrived home sometime between 10: p.m. and 10 at least 6 minutes before Brian was
00:40:44
killed Montgomery's wife refuted this saying he'd arrived home at least half an hour later than he
00:40:52
claimed cell phone records also confirmed that Montgomery was in the vicinity of Diner braid at this
00:41:00
time testing of the Peach Pit left next to Brian's truck was tested for DNA it came back a positive match for
00:41:09
Tom Montgomery a search warrant was obtained for the Montgomery family home on the
00:41:17
computer investigators recovered hundreds of pages of conversations between Jesse and Montgomery as well as
00:41:24
photos of Jesse lingerie that Mary Sheila had sent him while pretending to be Jesse was found stashed amongst
00:41:31
Montgomery's belongings investigators also noted that the Montgomery family had a pet dog with
00:41:39
fur that looked to match the dog hairs found on the gun clip recovered at the crime
00:41:45
scene Montgomery owned several Firearms but there was no M1 A1 rifle in his gun cabinet however investigators did find
00:41:55
an interesting picture in one of the family albums in one old photo of Cindy Montgomery the gun cabinet was visible
00:42:03
in the background and there it was in the photograph an M1 A1 rifle Montgomery's work items were also
00:42:15
seized tucked away in a toolbox investigators found a note that he'd scribbled on Diner braid
00:42:21
stationary it read on January 2 2006 Tom Montgomery 46 years old ceases to exist and is replaced by an
00:42:33
18-year-old battle scarred Marine he is moving to West Virginia to be with the love of his
00:42:42
life the note described how 18-year-old Tommy had a black belt in karate $2.5 million in the bank and looked like a
00:42:51
red-headed Harrison Ford it appeared to be some kind of attempt by Montgomery to manifest
00:42:58
himself into an entirely different [Music] person as detectives sat Tom Montgomery
00:43:09
down for an interview they revealed that the woman he' killed Brian Barett over wasn't who Montgomery thought she
00:43:16
was she was a woman around his age who had been posing as her 18-year-old daughter the blood drained from
00:43:25
Montgomery face it was obvious that he was completely shocked on November 27 2006 Tom
00:43:36
Montgomery was charged with the murder of Brian Barrett and held in remand in a recorded phone conversation
00:43:44
to his wife Cindy from jail Montgomery seemingly admitted that the gun clip found near Brian's truck was
00:43:52
his he explained that the case had been covered in their dogs fur because his car was
00:43:58
filthy yet he also maintained that he hadn't killed Brian according to Montgomery Brian had
00:44:06
been receiving phone calls at work from people who disliked him and he believed one of these individuals must be
00:44:14
responsible Montgomery claimed he didn't mind when Jesse became involved with Brian he was just happy that she'd found
00:44:21
someone closer to her own age as Montgomery's trial date loomed both Cindy and the couple's daughters cut all
00:44:32
ties with him Montgomery attempted to take his own life as a result and his weight
00:44:39
plummeted eventually he agreed to plead guilty to first-degree manslaughter wanting to spare his daughters from the
00:44:45
ordeal of a criminal trial during sentencing the judge described the crime as quote a totally sens killing the result
00:44:57
of a non-existent relationship a love triangle between three people who did not even know each
00:45:05
other Tom Montgomery was sentenced to 20 years in prison making him eligible for
00:45:11
parole in 2024 at the age of 65 in 2009 director Barbara Schroeder made a documentary about Brian Barrett's
00:45:23
Murder She called the film tall hot blonde after Mary Sheila's online username during an interview for the
00:45:32
documentary Tom Montgomery didn't Express remorse for Brian's murder or even discussed the crime
00:45:38
directly instead he focused on his State of Mind at the time and his relationship
00:45:44
with Jesse Montgomery said he never doubted that Jesse was anyone other than who she
00:45:51
said she was this was partly because of the enormous number of photographs Mary Sheila had sent of her
00:45:59
daughter Montgomery believes his problem stemmed from seeking Solus online instead of talking to his family about
00:46:07
his issues Rex Bieber a clinical psychologist who appears in the documentary has speculated that a part
00:46:15
of Tom Montgomery truly believed in his Fantasy Life as Tommy this was evidenced by the note he
00:46:22
wrote to himself about his imagined transformation into the 18-year-old Marine when that fantasy was shattered
00:46:30
Montgomery saw himself as victimized in an interview with The Daily Beast Rex bber
00:46:38
stated by breaking the fantasy and his ability to live in it Mary was killing any hope he had to save himself from a
00:46:47
psychological perspective she engaged in cyber homicide Mary shiler also spoke to Barbara
00:47:00
Schroeder but refused to be filmed or recorded she told Barbara that all she ever wanted was to be a good
00:47:07
mother after her children grew up she became bored and lonely leading her to seek Company
00:47:14
online she maintained that she'd only spoken to Tom Montgomery to prevent him from talking to real
00:47:21
teenagers Mary intended to write a book about the dangers of the internet Mary never apologized to her
00:47:30
daughter Jesse or acknowledged that she'd done anything wrong she never told her family about
00:47:36
what she'd been doing not even after police came to speak with her about Brian Barrett's
00:47:42
murder when she had to fly to New York to testify in front of Tom Montgomery's grand jury she finally told her husband
00:47:50
that she'd done something bad she said she'd been chatting online to two different men who worked together
00:47:57
and one had become jealous and killed the other Mary insisted there was nothing sexual or romantic to these
00:48:06
conversations it had just been chitchat about online games and the weather the truth came out when some of
00:48:15
Jesse's friends heard about the case and Jesse decided to Google her mother's name the search returned news stories
00:48:22
about Brian Barrett's murder roughly 400 mil miles away in Upstate New York Jesse was horrified to discover
00:48:31
exactly what had happened and how her mother had used her identity not only had Jesse's photos
00:48:38
been shared with numerous men they were also splashed all over the internet in coverage of the
00:48:44
case Jesse told her father who was equally distraught he divorced Mary and Jesse
00:48:52
cut off all communication with her mother despite Mary Sheila's actions she didn't
00:48:59
technically commit any crimes and therefore cannot be charged in relation to Brian's
00:49:05
murder Tom Montgomery feels that Mary should be incarcerated for the role she played as du Brian Barrett's
00:49:13
parents the barretts have also advocated for laws requiring greater accountability
00:49:19
online they remember their son as being shy and quiet despite his tall stature athletic
00:49:27
build at the time of his death Brian was gaining confidence and discovering who he wanted to
00:49:33
be on weekends he spent his time volunteering as a coach for a little league baseball
00:49:40
team Brian loved working with kids so much that he decided to become an industrial arts teacher teaching
00:49:47
students to work with the wood and medal Brian's father Daniel has occasionally blamed himself for his
00:49:56
son's death it was Daniel who had found the advertisement for the job at Diner and encouraged his son to
00:50:04
apply Daniel also worked in it and was the reason the family had a computer and the internet at
00:50:12
home but ultimately the barretts know that those responsible for Brian's murder are the two middle-aged
00:50:19
individuals who took their fantasies too far they believe that what might have saved their son was
00:50:28
communication if Mary Sheila or their son's co-workers had reported Tom Montgomery's death threats then Brian
00:50:36
might still be alive [Music] [Music] today