Facebook Megan Montgomery
Megan Montgomery accomplished a lot in her 31 years. She earned a master’s degree in Communications Management, volunteered “tirelessly” at the Birmingham Humane Society, protested elephant abuse at a circus, appeared on an episode of House Hunters, created a fashion blog, and married a Hoover, Alabama police officer.
However, the marriage quickly became tormented. The same month that Megan married Jason McIntosh, police were called to their home after Montgomery was shot in the arm. Prosecutors later said there was a struggle for the gun, and no charges resulted. A short time later, McIntosh was accused in another domestic incident against Montgomery and resigned from the police force. Dual restraining orders resulted, a divorce action was filed, and Megan took to social media to share now chilling text message exchanges and to offer warnings to others about the signs of domestic abuse.
She also filled her Facebook page with happy pictures on beaches and out with friends as she tried to rebuild her life.
However, it all came to a horrific end when police found Montgomery face down in an athletic complex parking lot in December 2019. She had been shot multiple times, and it’s Jason Bragg McIntosh, her estranged husband, who is under arrest for capital murder in her death. Mountain Brook police also wrote: “The Jefferson County Coroner’s Office has confirmed the identity of our homicide victim of Dec. 1, 2019. The victim is Megan Louise Montgomery, 31 yoa, from Hoover, AL. Our thoughts and prayers go out to Megan’s family during this time of such tragic loss.”
Here’s what you need to know:
1. A Man Described on Facebook How He Allegedly Saw McIntosh Enter an Oyster Bar & Tell Montgomery to ‘Walk Outside’; She was Dead Not Long Afterwards
InstagramMegan Montgomery and Jason McIntosh
Montgomery was last seen leaving an Oyster Bar and Grill with McIntosh, authorities said. A man named Brad Norred wrote a heartwrenching Facebook post about what happened that night.
“To Megan Montgomery, from Mountain Brook, I’m sorry,” his Facebook post said. “I, along with several other friends were with her that night. After an Iron Bowl party, we went to a local hangout where we always have fun and there’s never any harm. None of us knew her well, or well enough to know her back story and that is the only thing that is making it possible to cope with the story that I’m about to tell.”
According to Norred, “6 of us, including her were at a table when the man walked up. He placed a hand on the back of her neck and one on her shoulder, and told her to walk outside. We all looked at him, asked who he was and he said ‘that’s my wife she’s going with me.’ Megan said yes and agreed, but the look in her eyes is one I will never forget. She was terrified, but my assumption was she has just been caught doing something behind her husbands back, not that she was scared for her life. Honestly who is gonna question a man saying it’s his wife, once she agreed?”
What Norred didn’t know was that a court had granted dual restraining orders against both Montgomery and McIntosh in the past. He also didn’t know that she had previously been shot.
InstagramJason McIntosh and Megan Montgomery
“I didn’t know she had a restraining order, or was going through a divorce, none of it,” wrote Norred. “I watched her walk away, terrified, and knew nothing. None of us did, but we were the last group of people to see her alive. I don’t blame myself, but I am sitting here wondering what I could have done different, if anything? Or why didn’t she tell us, or stand up to him knowing there was so many of us to take care of her? Was she protecting us knowing he had made threats of mass violence before? He had the gun on him, maybe she saved our lives had we tried to stop him from taking her away from our friend group. I’ll never know, nobody will, but that question will never go away. I knew her for not even 12 hours but every article I’ve read about how nice, selfless, and genuine she is is accurate.”
He concluded, “That night is the biggest eye opening experience I have experience to date. You TRULY have no idea what someone is going through and dealing with. She carried it so well, and hid it to the people who didn’t know her. I didn’t know her but for that short time, but in that time she taught me the biggest lesson of my life. Pay attention, it took less than 1 minute for a man nobody knew but her to convince her to walk away and never be seen again. My heart hurts, for everyone involved. Pay attention everyone, please. I now know I will.”
A man named Adam Dickert responded on the comment thread: “Reading your story gives me chills, Brad. I hung out with her once around two months ago at Innisfree and he did the same thing by forcefully escorting her out of the bar. He somehow got my number and sent me a bizarre, somewhat threatening text message, that I still have on my phone. This whole situation is shocking to me but I remember having a horrible feeling about her situation.”
A friend wrote, “As someone who has known Megan for 17 years— Brad, I beg you, if you haven’t already done so, to tell the police everything you remember from that night. Make a report right now while it’s fresh on your mind. There are things going on that I cannot speak to yet, but your personal recollections of that night are critical to her getting justice.”
2. Megan, Who Was Described as Carrying a Light, Volunteered at a Local Humane Society, Which Remembered Her Tireless Devotion to Animals
FacebookMegan Montgomery
Social media flooded with tributes for Megan Montgomery. “She carried a light I don’t think I’ve ever seen in another human being,” John-Michael Criswell said to WTVM13, of Megan.
Montgomery had recently adopted a rescue cat, writing on Facebook, “Cried the whole way home with my new baby. ? Introducing Maya Montgomery. She’s an 8 month old grey tabby and my new best friend. She was shaking at the Humane Society and her personality so far has been very shy and timid, but I have a feeling she’ll open up really quickly due to her young age, and start to feel the love that surrounds her in her new home with her new mommy. ‘Just the two of us.’”
“We are deeply saddened and shaken by the loss of one of our own, Megan Montgomery,” the Greater Birmingham Humane Society wrote on its Facebook page.
“Megan was a founding member of the GBHS Young Professionals Board and embodied the GBHS mission daily. She was a tireless volunteer, never missing the chance to attend adoption events, raise funds for GBHS, or drive rescue transports. Her bright spirit, compassionate heart, and steadfast love for animals will be profoundly missed. She never met a stranger and was a true friend to everyone. The GBHS staff would like to extend our most heartfelt condolences to Megan’s family and friends. Her impact on us and the lives of thousands of animals will never be forgotten.”
“There are no words. Such a beautiful, selfless spirit. Thoughts and prayers for family and friends,” wrote the Greater Birmingham Human Society Auxiliary.
3. Montgomery, Who Once Appeared on House Hunters, Is the Daughter of an Ironman Athlete
FacebookMegan Montgomery
According to AL.com, Montgomery’s father is Johnny “Ironman” Montgomery, an “eight-time finisher of the World Championship IRONMAN triathlon in Kona Hawaii and a Homewood real estate agent.” The newspaper says that her mother Susann Montgomery Clarke is a well-known community fundraiser.
On his Facebook page, Johnny Montgomery states that he is a “Sale’s Associate at ERA King Birmingham” who lives in Homewood, Alabama. Megan Louise Montgomery, of Hoover, was the “beloved daughter of Susann Montgomery-Clark & Rod Clark of Hoover and Johnny & Liz Montgomery of Homewood, beloved baby sister of Meredith Montgomery Price (Jason Price) of Homewood, and stepsister of Raymond Woods,” according to her obituary.
Megan with her dad.
Montgomery was in a 2016 episode of House Hunters on HGTV with her former husband, the newspaper reports. Her most recent visible Facebook post came on November 28 when she wrote, “Happy Thanksgiving from my family to yours!” On Instagram, she showcased a fun-loving life of beaches and friends.
At the time of the House Hunters show, AL.com reported that “Megan and Chris Sykes are the latest folks from Alabama to be featured on HGTV’s House Hunters.” At the time, the newspaper reported, “Megan Sykes works in development at UAB and Chris Sykes is a project manager at Erwin & Associates.”
The marriage to McIntosh was very short-lived. She posted a wedding album on Facebook that indicated the couple married in February 2019. A series of photos showed Megan and Jason walking through Times Square in wedding attire. She also had a fashion blog. She wrote with a 2018 picture on Instagram: “Pretty glad we both swiped right #datenight.”
4. Megan’s Obit Says She Was a Former Cheerleader With a Master’s Degree
FacebookMegan Montgomery
Megan’s obituary says that Megan “was a graduate of John Carroll Catholic High School where she was a cheerleader. She also graduated from UAB earning her Master’s degree in Communications Management in 2013. She was a prolific and talented writer for UAB School of Nursing. She won the English department writing award about cruelty to elephants in captivity. She was passionate about saving animals and at the young age of 16 organized her friends in protesting the circus in Birmingham due to its history of cruelty to elephants.”
The obit continues: “When the circus closed years later, Megan was proud that she contributed to that in a small way. Megan served joyfully on the Greater Birmingham Humane Society’s Jr. Professional Board raising funds to help more animals get adopted. She had 2 rescue cats, Graylee and Maya, whom she loved as her own babies.”
The family “asks that you send a charitable gift in Megan’s memory to One Place Metro Alabama Family Justice Center, 1135-14th Avenue South, Birmingham, Al. 35205. Their mission is to provide services to victims & survivors of domestic violence and to remove the many barriers to reporting such violence,” the obit says.
5. Authorities Found Montgomery, Who Had Accused McIntosh of Stalking Her in Text Messages, Possibly Shot Twice in the Head
Instagram/policeJason Bragg McIntosh and McIntosh with Megan Montgomery.
Authorities announced that they had issued a warrant for capital murder against McIntosh. He later turned himself in.
“Investigators with the Mountain Brook Police Department presented our investigation material regarding the homicide of Megan Louise Montgomery to the Birmingham Division of the Jefferson County District Attorney’s Office this morning,” the Mountain Brook Police Department in Alabama wrote on December 4, 2019.
“The District Attorney’s Office has issued a warrant for Capital Murder for Jason Bragg McIntosh, age 45. McIntosh will be transferred to the Jefferson County Jail and will be held on No Bond once our booking procedure is completed. This investigation remains active and ongoing.”
A press release from Mountain Brook police says that, in the early morning hours of December 1, 2019, the body of a “young white female was discovered in the parking lot of the Mountain Brook Athletic Complex in the 3600 block of Bethune Dr. Her death is being investigated as a homicide.” Authorities believe she was shot in the parking lot. According to AL.com, Montgomery “was face down on the pavement and had been shot multiple times, including once in the back and possibly twice in the head.”
FacebookMegan Montgomery
Megan posted on Facebook in October, “?Because I’m still here when I shouldn’t be….” She had posted screenshots of text messages in which she called McIntosh her “own personal stalker hell” in her Instagram story.
One text said, “I will never let you go. And guys will finally figure out that it’s just not worth it.” She responded in part, “You have ruined my life. In every way possible.”
McIntosh, 45, is a former Hoover, Alabama police officer. He also worked for the Birmingham Police Department and the Mountain Brook Police Department.
According to the Hoover Sun, McIntosh resigned in March 2019 after “his wife was shot in the arm in February in a domestic disturbance,” and was then charged with domestic violence in a later incident.
In the later incident, Jason Bragg McIntosh was accused of being involved in an argument with his wife that “escalated into a physical confrontation,” the newspaper reported, adding that, according to police, McIntosh’s wife “had scrapes and red marks on her body but refused medical attention.” He was accused of misdemeanor domestic violence.
FacebookMegan Montgomery
In the earlier shooting, in February, Hoover police had indicated that “a Hoover police officer was the suspect in a domestic violence investigation in which a woman was shot in the arm.” McIntosh was detained but the Bessemer Division of the Jefferson County District Attorney’s Office did not pursue charges in that shooting, Hoover Sun reported.
Heavy has reached out to the DA’s office and the Hoover police. Lynneice Washington, District Attorney-Bessemer, told WVTM13, “ALEA conducted the investigation and presented their findings to my office. The physical evidence did not reflect Mr. McIntosh as the aggressor, and they both stated that there was a struggle over the gun. However, the evidence was not clear enough to determined what happened during the struggle and Ms. Montgomery was not very helpful in the development of said case. Although there was not enough information to proceed on a felony warrant, misdemeanor DV charges were recommended to be pursued with the City of Hoover Municipal Court. My office took no further action at that time.”
AL.com reported that authorities determined that Montgomery was “the aggressor” in the gun incident and that it discharged after a struggle for the weapon. She didn’t want charges pressed and “had control over the gun,” prosecutors told the Alabama newspaper.
CBS42 reports that Megan filed for divorce from McIntosh in May 2019. However, AL.com reported that, in March, a court official issued a “dual” restraining order against both parties, stopping them from “harassing, annoying, assaulting, striking, hitting, intimidating, threatening, interfering with or telephoning, or in any fashion harming or contacting” each other.
“It is just a complete failure of a system that is meant to protect those who are abused and those who are in situations that are very sad and very unfortunate and have failed her and I think there is definitely an extra level when you are married to a person who is meant to protect as a police officer,” Criswell, her friend, told CBS 42.
Megan Montgomery
According to People Magazine, she also shared her story before she died indicating that “she wanted to share the warning signs she chose to ignore, including allegedly being strangled before her marriage.” News Channel 9 reports that Megan once shared a video on Facebook (now deleted) that showed McIntosh “making threats with a gun.” She indicated she wanted to show other people the warning signs of domestic abuse.
McIntosh’s attorney Anthony Spina told People Magazine in a statement: “To me, this case stands for the proposition that domestic violence is a real societal problem that is gender neutral and needs to be addressed in any relationship at the first sign of aggression by either party. Death should not be the result of a relationship gone bad. This is all very sad but also very real.”