Jason Bragg McIntosh former Alabama cop charged with murder of estranged wife, Megan Montgomery. History of escalating domestic violence.
A former Alabama cop has been charged with the murder of his estranged wife after having previously been arrested and let go – for shooting her in the arm. The woman’s death follows the victim having obtained a restraining order against her husband months earlier.
Jason Bragg McIntosh, 45, was on Wednesday charged with Megan Montgomery’s murder after she was found dead last Sunday at a parking lot with fatal gunshot wounds.
The 31 year old’s murder follows Montgomery earlier that day bonding with friends at an oyster bar when her ex walked up behind her, placed a hand on the back of her neck and announced, ‘That’s my wife, she’s going with me.’
Without making a scene, witnesses said Montgomery ‘calmly’ got up and left with McIntosh, despite the restraining order she had filed against him.
Security footage from the bar showed the pair walking out from the bar, with McIntosh firmly gripping Montgomery’s shoulders.
It was then that police say McIntosh drove her to a parking lot of a high school in Mountain Brook, and shot her several times, fatally striking her in the back and head.
Upon surrendered to police on Wednesday afternoon, McIntosh was formally charged with capital murder AL reports.
Trying to leave abusive relationship:
The slaying brought a tragic end to an abusive relationship Montgomery had tried for months to desperately escape.
The pair were married on February 2, 2018, and separated a year later on February 23. It was on that day that police were called to the couple’s home in the 2300 block of Village Center Street to reports that McIntosh – then an officer – had shot Montgomery in the arm the Washington Post reported.
Police reports show McIntosh told officers he and Montgomery were involved in a domestic incident and were wrestling over a handgun when it fired. He was placed on leave pending the outcome of that investigation but resigned two days later.
Investigators said they later determined Montgomery had been the ‘aggressor’ in the dispute, and she declined to press charges against McIntosh.
The following month Montgomery obtained a restraining order against McIntosh, seeking protection from him ‘harassing, annoying, assaulting, striking, hitting, intimidating, threatening, interfering with, telephoning or in any fashion harming or contacting’ her.
‘I will never let you go,’
Montgomery officially began the process of filing for a divorce in May, but court records observed by AL.com show the case was still active at the time of her death.
Two days after the filing, McIntosh was once again taken into custody on a domestic violence charge. Police say interviews with the pair determined that a verbal argument escalated into a physical confrontation in the early hours of the morning.
Montgomery suffered scrapes and red marks all over her body but was said to have refused medical attention. McIntosh, meanwhile, was taken into custody and charged with third-degree domestic violence.
In addition to posting about her passions of fitness and volunteering, Montgomery dedicated a number of Instagram posts and stories to raise awareness about the warnings signs of violent relationships and how difficult it can be to escape them.
She shared a number of disturbing texts, allegedly sent by McIntosh, in which the now-murder suspect sent her just eight weeks before her death reports the dailymail.
In what appears to be an exchange about turning up unannounced and interrupting Montgomery’s evening out, McIntosh writes: ‘I figure you would have thought last night was really hot. Such a dominant/alpha move to drive down there and snatch you up and bring you home.’
When Montgomery replied calling him her ‘own personal stalker’, McIntosh responded, ‘I really am.’
‘I will never let you go,’ he continued. ‘And guys will finally figure out that it’s just not worth it.
‘I’m sorry BB […] just gonna have to keep you for now. I’m hoping forever but I can guarantee you for now.’
The targeted woman also shared since-deleted video in which McIntosh pointed a gun at her during a video call and made a series of threats against her life.
‘It’s one more click and I’m dead,’ she wrote in block letters over the footage.
Hopes for the future dashed:
In the weeks before her death, the 31-year-old expressed an excitement for her new single life on Instagram, offering followers a virtual tour of her ‘bachelorette pad’.
She also shared stages from her recovery from the gunshot wound to her arm and updates about her rescue kitten, Maya, who was born on the same day she’d been shot.
‘I think there’s a reason I was pulled to her today,’ she wrote on Facebook in October. ‘Maybe it’s God’s way of showing me that the worst day of my life had a silver lining, because Maya was brought into this world that day for me.’
But it was not to be as the woman continued to be harangued, up to and leading to her murder over the weekend.
Tributes to domestic violence victim:
Tributes to the slain woman have been shared in abundance since her death was announced over the weekend.
Her best-friend John-Michael Criswell told WSFA: ‘She carried a light I don’t think I’ve ever seen in another human being.’
Montgomery was a founding member of the GBHS Young Professionals Board and a beloved volunteer at the Greater Birmingham Humane Society.
‘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 humane society said in a statement.
Formal warrants against McIntosh have not yet been announced. In a post uploaded by Hoover Police Department on Sunday, he was described as ‘former law enforcement officer’ who ‘has made threats of violence and mass shooting in the past.’
After McIntosh was charged Wednesday, his attorney, Tommy Spina, suggested that his client was physically abused by both of his parents as a child.
‘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,’’ Spina said. ‘This is all very sad, but also very real.’
In a statement, Mountain Brook Police Chief Ted Cook said an investigation in the killing is ‘very much active and ongoing’.
‘Our thoughts and prayers go out to Megan’s family during this time of such tragic loss,’ Cook added.
