LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- More than two months after a military police officer died while stationed in Germany, her family is pushing for answers about why she never made it back home to Kentucky.
Denisha Montgomery, a 27-year-old mother of three from Hodgenville, Kentucky, was found dead Aug. 9 in her Army barracks in Germany. Her family doubts the initial explanation — that Montgomery suffocated herself, dying by suicide.
"We was like, 'Nah, that doesn't make any sense at all," said Tomeka Light, Montgomery's aunt. "If you knew Denisha, there would be no question in your mind how strong of an individual she was. Mentally, physically, we knew that she was happy."
An Army investigation and autopsy remain pending, and no official cause of death has been determined. An Army spokesman told WDRB News there were "no indications of foul play or criminal activity" in Montgomery's death.
Yet, three weeks before Montgomery died, she told her family in a distraught video call that she had been assaulted by other military police officers in her unit.
Montgomery's family has hired a private attorney and is calling for an independent investigator — such as the FBI — to get involved in the case.
"I am angry," Light said. "Denisha meant everything to us, this whole entire family. And I want to make sure that my niece's death is not in vain. ... No matter how ugly the truth may be, we want the truth."
A mother's path to the military
Denisha Montgomery enlisted in the U.S. Army in May 2021 (family photo).
Originally from Elizabethtown, Montgomery was raising her three young sons in Hodgenville when she decided to enlist in the Army in January 2021. A year later, she deployed to Germany with the 139th Military Police Company for a nine-month rotation.
"She was perfect," said Joshua Smith, Montgomery's widower. "Always a leader, always there for everybody ... She just wanted us to be proud of her. And we were absolutely proud of her, everything she did."
In May, Montgomery arrived in Wiesbaden, Germany, with her unit. She was scheduled to return to the United States at the end of the September.
"I was like, 'I can't breathe'"
But on July 19, Montgomery made a disturbing video call to her family. With marks and bruises visible on her body, she asked her family to record the call.
"She was just frantic — scared — and she didn't know what to do," Smith said.
Denisha Montgomery injury photographs
Screenshots from July 19th, 2022 recorded call between Montgomery and family
In the video, Montgomery told her family she went to a waterpark. She said she'd been been drinking and was assaulted by four other military police officers during the car ride home.
"They choked me out," Montgomery can be heard telling her family in the recorded video call. "I kept telling them, 'I can't breathe.' I was like, 'I can't breathe!' I was gasping for air. I ain't never been so scared in my life. I legit thought I was going to die in the car."
Montgomery went on to tell her family she no longer trusted her leadership in Germany.
"I'm telling them that I don't want to be here no more," she said on the video call. "I'll do whatever I have to do, mom. I'm coming home. I can't be here no more. I don't trust them. I don't trust my leadership. I don't want to be here with none of them no more."
Her family immediately feared for her safety.
"... My whole heart told me that her life was in danger," Light said.
Montgomery found dead
Three weeks later, Montgomery was found dead in her barracks.
The Army's Office of Public Affairs told WDRB News the Criminal Investigation Division (CID) is still investigating Montgomery's death. An autopsy report is being completed by the Armed Forces Medical Examiner.
In an emailed statement, Army Spokesperson Lt. Col. Terence M. Kelley said:
The email went on to say "while there were no indications of foul play or criminal activity in the death of Spc. Montgomery, the matter is under investigation."
Asked about the video call, the Army confirmed the recording is among the evidence under investigation.
Montgomery's family is doing its own investigation. They have hired attorney Lindsey Knapp to piece together the final few weeks and months of Montgomery's life.
"The military's statements to the family are not adding up," Knapp said. "The first piece is they tell the family it was a suicide. Now, they're maybe trying to walk that back and say that they're investigating but then in the same breath putting out press releases where they're stating that there was no foul play. So none of that makes any sense to anyone."
The military also granted a no contact order, barring the people in the car with Montgomery on the night she was hurt from having any communication with her family.
Knapp said the orders included information that could put the family in danger and is calling for an independent investigation into Montgomery's death.
"They released the personal data of the people we are trying to protect," Knapp said. "To the people that we believe had a role in her death. This is outrageous. If this doesn't convince the FBI to take over this case immediately, I don't know what will."
For Light, the push for transparency is personal. She said she served 13 years in the Army and was awarded a purple heart for her time deployed in Afghanistan.
"I take this seriously because I sacrificed my life and I actually went to war and fought and got injured in combat," she said. "For my niece to be in a peace-time situation, no conflict at all and to lose her life ... yeah, you failed my niece, is what I feel. You failed her."
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