Family of Brooklyn mom who fell to grisly death in NYCHA trash compactor question NYPD account

The family of a Brooklyn mother of four whose chopped-up remains were found stuffed in a garbage bag inside a NYCHA building compactor room said they’ve been left with more questions than answers after cops declared her death an accident.

The remains of Michelle “Teresa” Montgomery were found by NYCHA workers cleaning out the trash compactor room at Borinquen Plaza on Bushwick Ave. near Seigel St. in East Williamsburg at about 9:30 a.m. on Feb. 1, NYPD Chief of Detectives Joseph Kenny previously said during a briefing at police headquarters.

While the 39-year-old mom’s death was first investigated as a homicide, detectives later theorized that she fell into the compactor in an attempt to retrieve her purse. They believe she was then crushed to death by the compactor, Kenny said.

“This story is leaving this family confused,” said the victim’s older cousin, who wished to remain anonymous. “I’m truly confused, because those compactors are small…She’s a big girl. She wasn’t small, for her to climb in there. Somebody had to stuff her in there.”

“How did her body get in the bag? Even if [the chute] has a bag at the end, was it closed?” she continued.

The cousin added that Montgomery had lived in different NYCHA complexes most of her life, and was familiar with the garbage chutes and their dangers.

“Why would you go in there and try to go get [the purse]? When you could go run downstairs into the basement and get it? Everybody knows it goes to the basement,” she said. “It’s not making sense, because I know my cousin, in her right frame of mind, or even if she is drunk, she’s not gonna think stupid.

“This is something that she’s not crazy enough to do herself…to take herself away from her kids?”

Montgomery leaves behind two sons ages 19 and 10-months and two daughters ages 11 and 12.

“She was a mother of four trying to make it in the world, the cousin said. “She was just loving and outgoing… a dedicated, hardworking mother.”

Anthony Echevarria, who identified himself as the victim’s husband, previously said her day began ordinarily on Saturday Jan. 31, relaxing at home with her family, before going out to meet up with friends and a cousin 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 previously told the Daily News. “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, 37, 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 11:00 p.m. inside of Mama Taco, located on Flushing Ave., about a 10-minute walk from where her remains were found.

The Mexican restaurant was a regular hangout spot for her and her friends, Montgomery’s cousin said.

It was still not clear why the victim, who lived in another NYCHA complex in Gowanus, roughly six miles away, ended up at Borinquen Plaza. Montgomery had no ties to the building, according to police.

“She leaves [the bar] with her cousin at about 1:20 a.m. and they get separated. We see her walking alone into [the NYCHA building] at 1:39 a.m.,” Kenny said. “We have numerous witnesses stating that they hear screaming coming from the second floor chute.”

Neighbors told police they heard Montgomery’s screams that night, but a 911 call wasn’t made until 9:30 the next morning when NYCHA workers discovered her remains.

“If these people heard her crying or screaming, why didn’t y’all call the cops? Why didn’t y’all call 911, and have someone come over and get her out of there,” the victim’s cousin said. “It could have saved her life. They could have got her to the hospital and taken care of the wounds.”

Her body was found with multiple puncture wounds and deep slashes to the right side of her torso, right side of her head, upper thigh and pelvis area, along with multiple broken bones including broken ribs— but no defensive wounds, according to Kenny.

“The wounds are consistent with being crushed by the compactor,” the chief said. “Being that the body went through the compactor, it was unable to determine whether these wounds were received post mortem. We’re still working through that.”

The city’s medical examiner will make the final determination of Montgomery’s cause of death.

“[There’s a lot of questions] unanswered and they’re probably gonna be unanswered for the rest of our lives,” the victim’s cousin said.