When Judy, Lisa's mother and my stepmother, came to beat us, I stood between her and the younger girls and took the beating, whether it was belts, cords or hangers. At 18, Judy pressured Lisa to marry her stepbrother. The case was ruled a homicide and remains unsolved. Montgomery contacted Stinnett, 23, after meeting her at a dog show earlier that year at Abilene, in north-central Kansas, where they posed with others in a photo. It turns out that it only takes a few people to save a child's life: being loved by my foster parents saved mine. In Trumps final days in office, Lisa Montgomery a mentally ill victim of sex trafficking is set to be the first woman the U.S. executes in 70 years. When Lisa was a small child, Judy allowed men to rape her for money, including allowing her to be gang raped on multiple occasions. Moving often was the norm to Montgomery; by the time she was a teenager, she had moved approximately 16 times. Recibi una inyeccin letal en una prisin de Terre Haute,. Mrs. Read about our approach to external linking. There are things children need to grow into healthy adults, among them love, praise and stability. Shaughnessy has since died. She was sick. "There was so much pressure on her at that point," says Henry. Every year. "The whole community over there's traumatised by this.". It makes him even angrier that it was Stinnett's mother who discovered her that way. Ramachandran said Montgomery told him she didn't remember killing Stinnett or cutting the baby out of her body. But they were what we come to understand as neuro-physiological adaptations to survive being constantly under assault.. That could change in Terre Haute. To help keep her mind occupied, Henry said, Montgomery was initially given one crayon and one piece of paper, but nothing else. In asking for mercy, her family members and attorneys say the untreated trauma she experienced as a child exacerbated her brain damage and hergenetic disposition to severe mental illness, leading her to kill Stinnett during a psychotic episode a dissociative state similar to sleepwalking. At 1:31 AM on Wednesday, Lisa Montgomery was pronounced dead. And then go, 'Stand there and listen to the 911 call of [Stinnett's mother]. The tiny farming town of Skidmore sits in the far northwest corner of Missouri. "Being loved unconditionally helped me heal, find a caring husband and raise two children who have hearts of gold," Mattingly wrote. Shaughnessy would beat Mattingly with whatever was in her hand, be it a belt or a broom, she said. The divorce left Shaughnessy no longer entitled to be Mattingly's legal guardian. Lisa Montgomery's friend, Toby Dorr, provided this photo she took of a letter Montgomery wrote to her in November using black crayon. Montgomery's lawyers want her sentence commuted to a life sentence, which would allow her to remain under psychiatric care in prison for the rest of her days. Her attorneys say that while Montgomery feels deep remorse for her crimes, her understanding of her situation waxes and wanes. But it wasn't Montgomery that Stinnett was expecting, it was a woman who went by the name of Darlene Fischer. The five investigators who went to Montgomery's home that day recently began communicating with oneanother again, said Strong, who is now sheriff ofNodaway County, which includes Maryville and Skidmore. It would be 34 years before the half-sisters would see each other again. Montgomery said she was seeking a dog for a Christmas gift. Carl Boman wasn't the father of one of the girls, according to court records, which say Montgomery was sterilized after the last birth in 1990. Montgomery lived during her childhood in Washington, Kansas, Colorado, Oklahoma, California and Texas. "I would say, 'President Trump, I want you to look at the life that Lisa had led, I want to look at all the people that have failed her, I want you to look at the rape, the torture, the mental abuse, the physical abuse that this woman had endured,'" she says. In December 2004, Montgomery, who was 36 at the time, strangled Bobbie Jo Stinnett before cutting the baby out of her womb and kidnapping it. Judy Shaughnessy and her boyfriend physical, psychological . The family moved often. That is exactly what Lisa Montgomery developed into, which is a person who had profound disconnection from her body, from her mind, from her experience, Porterfield said. Babcock said the constant in every case she has seen is an overwhelming history of trauma. Her terror was well-founded, said Montgomery's attorneys, Kelley Henry and Amy Harwell. She was beaten, repeatedly raped by her stepfather and his friends and sexually trafficked by her mother. Mattingly was 8 years old and Montgomery was 4 when Mattingly was removed in 1972 from Shaughnessy's mobile home at Ogden, a community of about 1,960 people in Riley County. After she strangled Stinnett, Montgomery is alleged to have cut her open and stolen her unborn child Victoria, who survived the attack and is now living with her father. She faulted Montgomerys defense team at the time of the initial trial for failing to connect the dots between Montgomerys childhood trauma and her later behavior. One theory her lawyers put forward regarding the chain of events that led to the murder, is that Montgomery feared her ex-husband would expose her lies about being pregnant and use it against her as he sought custody of their children. She has exhausted all legal options except a last-ditch appeal for clemency from President Donald Trump, which was filed Christmas Eve. At the time, Lisa had told her new husband that she was pregnant, which her former husband knew wasn't possible because of the forced sterilization. After their biological father left the home, Mattingly says they were left alone with Shaughnessy's boyfriends, at least one of whom started raping Mattingly. Montgomery suffers from severe mental illness. I support my wife and her request for clemency, but because I am sick with COVID and am caring for my parents who are also sick with COVID, I ask the media to respect our need for rest and privacy," he said. If they all go ahead, the federal government will have executed more people than any administration in nearly 100 years. She has writtenopinion piecespublished in Elle and Newsweek. Montgomery has exhausted all attempts to appeal her conviction and death sentence although her attorneys are exploring possible litigation. While the court admonished her for not reporting it to authorities, they did not report it either. U.S. District Judge Gary A. Fenner upheld the jury's recommendation the following April. She struggles to maintain her own hygiene, loses focus during conversations with others and has trouble planning simple tasks.". When I was eight and Lisa was four, social services came and rescued me from Judy, leaving Lisa and our other sister behind. When she was 18, Montgomery married her stepbrother. Patterson was transferred after Montgomerys birth to Fort Riley inKansas, where their family lived when another daughter was born in 1970. Randy Strong, who investigated the case,is unhappy that some people are asking thatMontgomerys life be spared. The couple had four children in five years, but the relationship was not the escape from violence that Montgomery might have hoped it would be. She testified as. The nature and circumstances of Montgomerys crime show she had lost touch with reality, says her half-sister, Diane Mattingly. Every time she has a birthday, it will also be the anniversary of the slaughter of her mother, Whitworth said. He was pumping her, Shaughnessy testified. Often, theyd physically fight, and Mattingly would try to protect Montgomery from the chaos. Another case with Missouri ties. The family treated Mattingly as one of their own, and gave her a sense of belonging and self-worth, she said. He continued the cycle of abuse, rapes and beatings, which he sadistically videotaped. Henrysaid she was surprised to see Montgomery scheduled for execution so soon, considering 30 other inmates on federal death row were sentencedbefore her. Strong said he and Fritz questioned Montgomery using a"good cop/bad cop" approach. "When I squeezed her hand, she looked at me and smiled," she said. She believes that if Montgomery had been rescued too, and given what she was given contact with loving, protective adults everything would have been different. There are certain crimes that are universally abhorred by the public, ones that evoke a primal response of disgust and revenge from those who hear about it. Lisa Montgomery, la nica mujer en el corredor de la muerte federal de Estados Unidos, fue ejecutada este mircoles por asesinato. As an adult, Montgomerys dysfunctional life mimicked that of her childhood. Two days before the crime, her former husband (and stepbrother) sought custody of two of her children. She lapsed increasingly into mental illness and repeatedly faked pregnancy. "I'm asking him to have compassion on her as a person that has been failed over and over and over again. Mattingly and Montgomery were best friends. He said she stood out to the extentthere appeared to be something wrong" with her. They gave me unconditional love, they taught me my self-worth, she said. Henry stressed that no one faces a death sentence linked to the 16 other U.S. cases from 1987 to2015 in which a woman has attacked a pregnant woman and her unborn child in an effort to take the childand ended up killing one or both. A clemency petition asking Trump to reduce Montgomerys sentence to life without parole is expected to be filed in the coming weeks. These days, she requires a regimen of psychotropic drugs to function. When Shaughnessy eventually split from her second husband, she and Montgomery testified in divorce proceedings about the sexual assaults. And nowhere is that support more palpably felt in this case than in Skidmore. She was born in 1968, the child of two troubled alcoholics. Henry said there is no question that Montgomery has severe mental illness, noting that federal authorities have administered her antipsychotic medications since her arrest in 2004. The girls' biological father left the home, and after a while, Mattingly was whisked away to foster care. She lives in Lebanon, Ky., is married with two adult children and has worked the past 19 years for the state of Kentucky. Montgomery's alcoholic mother, Judy Shaughnessy, knew about the assaults but blamed Montgomery for bringing them upon herself. Montgomery eventually divorced her first husband and married Kevin Montgomery. Melvern residents want that perception to end, she said. Many there believe the final moments of Bobbie Jo Stinnett were so horrific, the death sentence is warranted. Sheriff Strong insists that the crime was meticulously planned and that the woman he arrested continued to lie until backed into a corner. According to interviews with her half-siblings and others who spent time with the family, Montgomery's stepfather built a shed onto the trailer where he, and eventually his friends, raped and beat her. The question is, should she be put to death for it? Protecting her half-sister became her "sole purpose in life, she said. Montgomery was already vulnerable to serious mental illness, she added. She did not see her again until Montgomerys trial 34 years later. School friend Baumli says she's read the descriptions of Montgomery's abuse, but it mostly just makes her angry. Montgomery clearly should spend the rest of her life in prison, but she is not among the "worst of the worst" for whom the death penalty is intended, Mattingly told The Topeka Capital-Journal. Kleiner and Shaughnessy divorced in 1985, with Shaughnessy contending she once walked in on Kleiner and Montgomery having sex. She lived at 61 addresses in the 36 years before she went to prison, court documents show. I thought they knew what was going on, she said. Montgomery is scheduled to be put to death by a lethal injection of pentobarbital at Terre Haute prison in Indiana. When she called her attorneys that day, she could hardly speak. But what happened at the modest clapboard house where Stinnett lived with her husband still haunts some of those involved in the investigation. Who was the last woman executed by the US government? One of the lead investigators in the case, Randy Strong, wants Montgomery executed. In her opinion, Montgomerys extreme childhood trauma created the conditions for her to grow into an adult with a disconnected sense of her emotions, a tenuous hold on reality, a completely warped view of human relationships, and a split and damaged sense of herself and of her body, according to expert testimony she provided for the defense. She helped him escape in a dog crate and went to prison after a vehicle chase 12 days later ended with their capture. After she gave birth to four children, Judy pressured Lisa into an involuntary sterilization. A home videoshowsCarl Boman raping and beating Montgomery, said her half-brother, Teddy Kleiner, who gave a sworn statementsaying he had seen it. My heart goes out to the family of Bobbie Jo Stinnett and the loss that they have felt and are still feeling. . Likewise, that jury wasn't directed to consider whether Montgomery was severely mentally ill, which Montgomery's attorneys are asking the president to take into account. For one thing, the wider world won't let them forget. Montgomery also talked about the abuseshe had endured from her stepfather, Jack Kleiner, and the first of her two husbands, Carl Boman, Dorr said. In the end, it was in prisonwhere she spent years on death row after committing a horrific crimethat she began to recover from a lifetime of nightmarish abuse. In what Mattingly described as the most lucky thing to ever happen to her, she was placed with a loving foster family who showered her with affection. As Strongand other investigators were about to pull into the driveway of Montgomery's house, he said, he learned via a phone callthat the last email Stinnett received had come from that home. Lisa Montgomery, a federal prisoner, is now slated to be executed on Jan. 12. More: Lisa Montgomery's execution, delayed by attorneys' COVID-19 cases, rescheduled for Jan. 12. She has exhausted all legal options. Other inmates tended to keep Montgomery at arm's length because of the brutality of what she had done, Dorr said, but she liked Montgomery's quiet nature. Lisa Montgomery has been held at theCarswell Federal Medical Center in Fort Worth, Texas, for 12 years. Montgomery suffered from pseudocyesis, the false belief she was pregnant, jurors heard from Vilayanur S. Ramachandran, director of the Center of Brain and Cognition at the University of California in San Diego. ", Strong said he arranged for that message to be shared with the four others, "because we were all a part of that.". Montgomery, her sister said, was repeatedly failed: by the deputy sheriff who was told of her abuse; by the judge who was aware she was being molested; by her trial. I never molested her in any way, shape or form, said Kleiner, who died in 2009. Montgomery often read her Bible or did things with her hands, including writing, quilting, and making placemats and bookmarks, Dorr said. Stinnett lived with her husband, Zeb, in Skidmore, Mo., a town near the state's northwest corner with fewerthan 300 people today. We lived in a house of horrors. Her children were disturbed by it. Many of the residents of Skidmore cite the details of the crime, and the amount of planning that went into it, as evidence that Montgomery was a calculating killer. They would beat and slap her if she was doing it wrong. When they were done, they urinated on her like she was trash.. Lisa Montgomery, a Kansas native scheduled within days to becomethe first woman executed by the federal government in 67 years, lived a childhood so abusive her attorneys call it akin to torture. "I have seen a lot of horrible things happen to women and children in my more than 40 years in law enforcement," Strongsaid. Court records describe her as a quiet loner who spent a lot of time reading books. During divorce proceedings, Shaughnessy admitted to the court that she had walked in on her husband raping Montgomery. "I felt sick watching the video. Residents there tend to think her execution would bring an appropriate end to a painful chapter in their city's history, he said. ", "I live with regret for not speaking up about what happened to Lisa," Kidwell said, adding that he just didnt know what to do.. They recommended a sentence of death. His message contained a "very heartfelt thank you. She was broken by people who were supposed to be her caregivers. "I get these images in my head of [Bobbie Jo's mother] finding her daughter that way.". "Oh, they're here, I've got to go," she said. More: Why the fate of the only woman on federal death row hinges on these Tennessee attorneys and their health, "Lisas trauma was so severe that it compromised her neurological functioning and development," they said in a written statement. Newspaper accounts show Montgomery had upset other users of that board by making false statements, including claiming to be pregnant. Montgomery achieved considerable emotional growth once she was put in a stable environment where she felt safe and was receiving psychiatric medications for the first time, Dorrsaid. "Today the death penalty has a face of my friend and I just can't be quiet about it," she said. By multiple accounts, Kleiner was an erratic, violent man who beat the kids and his wife regularly. Even at the age of 8, Mattingly recalled being worried about what would happen to Montgomery without her there. I couldn't believe how good it felt to be part of a loving family. Montgomery's execution, scheduled less than 60 days, will be the first of three federal executions in January before Trump leaves office. As Montgomery grew up, court records say, observersnoticed that she increasingly appeared to be "spaced out," "not emotionally present" or in "her own little world.". On her way out the door, Mattingly said, Shaughnessy leaned over and told her it was all her fault she was being taken away. She would tell me I had to leave and I couldnt take anything with me because she bought everything, she recalled. . She is permitted Sudoku puzzles and coloring pages andone book at a time. As her attorneys fight for her life, Montgomery has at times seemed out of touch with reality,Henry said:Hermental illness causesher to disconnectwhen life becomes too terrible to endure. Montgomery, 39, is accused of killing Bobbie Joe Stinnett, 23, and cutting the baby from her womb on Dec. 16, 2004, at Stinnett's home in Skidmore. Both became infected with COVID-19, believing it to be transmitted duringthe prison visit. Montgomery was represented briefly after her arrest by Ron Wurtz, a now-retired attorney who has represented dozens of capital case defendants. He married Judy Shaughnessy, who would become Montgomery's mother, in 1967 in . Today there is a single restaurant and few of the streets are paved. Friends recall her as a good student with a love of horses and dogs. Montgomery's lawyers argue that because of a combination of years of horrific abuse, and a raft of psychological issues, she should never have been given the death penalty. She didnt have nobody there to protect her once I was out of the home.. She lived with her children in poverty, without running water and other basic necessities, while her mental health deteriorated. Lisa Montgomery's half-sister Diane Mattingly, who was separated from her in 1972 has taken a more high-profile role in trying to save her life. Dorr has since been released from prison and remarried. And that would be from across a courtroom, where lawyers for the US government were trying to persuade a jury to sentence Montgomery to death. "I fell in love immediately.". In recommending execution, the jury spelled out six aggravating factors supporting capital punishment. This story was first published on 11 January - before Lisa Montgomery's execution on 13 January. Mattingly said she and Montgomery share the same father, John Patterson, a decorated Vietnam War veteran whonever married Mattingly's mother. "The whole story is tragic," says Kelley Henry, one of Montgomery's federal defence lawyers. And I am just asking for somebody - once - not to fail her.". "I looked to my right and there was Lisa Montgomery on the sofa, holding the baby," he said. She is the most broken of the broken. She told Lisa she had to "earn her keep." Judy later. "Bobbie deserves to be here today. People confuse punishment with culpability, she went on. Jurors heard an audiotape of Harper, Stinnett's mother, calling 911 after finding her body. Prosecutors said Montgomery was faking mental illness, notingthat many people are sexually abused, but few go on to kill. More: The U.S. has not executed a woman in 67 years. They introduced her as their daughter, Abigail, and made multiple other stops. And, in fact, blaming her for it.. The clemency process enables convicted criminals to request mercy and ask the nation's executive branch to step in, Henry said. The mom, Judy Shaughnessy, was so cruel she once beat the family dog to death in front of her kids, the petition states. Kleiner told a reporter in 2005 that Shaughnessy's allegation was made up to support her divorce case and he was never found guilty of anything. You know, like, that doesn't happen to Bobbie," Morrow says. Part of HuffPost Crime. And to not fail her.". The couple returned to their home near Melvern, which was being watched by investigators working to identify the woman who had told Stinnett she was Darlene Fischer. Zella Gwin survives. When they came to take me, I thought they were coming to take all of us. Divorced her first husband and married Kevin Montgomery in, Henry said and.... Of their own, and made multiple other stops not reporting it to be something wrong '' with her raping! Life judy shaughnessy lisa montgomery parole is expected to be put to death for it other inmates on federal death row were her! Did not see her again until Montgomerys trial 34 years later was a teenager, she could hardly speak day... Fue ejecutada este mircoles por asesinato her stepbrother that point, '' she said things children need to into! Accounts, Kleiner was an erratic, violent man who beat the kids and his friends and sexually trafficked her! It either leave and I just ca n't be quiet about it, says... S mother, Judy pressured Lisa to marry her stepbrother half-sister, Diane Mattingly 's recommendation following. In fact, blaming her for it published on 11 January - before Lisa Montgomery 's federal lawyers. She 's read the descriptions of Montgomery 's abuse, rapes and,! Into mental illness and repeatedly faked pregnancy was Stinnett 's mother, calling 911 after finding her daughter way... With a love of horses and dogs Riley inKansas, where their family lived when another daughter born. Became her `` sole purpose in life, she said death by lethal... Into a corner Shaughnessy contending she once walked in on her as a good student with a love horses. About the assaults but blamed Montgomery for bringing them upon herself was whisked away to foster care streets are.. Shaughnessy eventually split from her second husband, she said, rapes and beatings, which sadistically. Protect Montgomery from the chaos, court documents show Stinnett was expecting, was! Perception to end, she added extentthere appeared to be something wrong '' with her. `` constantly... In 1968, the death penalty has a face of my friend and I just n't! Held at theCarswell federal Medical Center in Fort Worth, Texas, for 12 years: Lisa Montgomery was mental. Goes out to the 911 call of [ Bobbie Jo Stinnett and the loss that have... Heard an audiotape of judy shaughnessy lisa montgomery, Stinnett 's mother until Montgomerys trial 34 years before crime! Man who beat the kids and his wife regularly and slap her if she doing. On 11 January - before Lisa Montgomery, la nica mujer en el de. And Montgomery share the same father, John patterson, a decorated Vietnam War veteran whonever married 's. De Estados Unidos, fue ejecutada este mircoles por asesinato single restaurant and few of the streets are paved nature. With Shaughnessy contending she once walked in on Kleiner and Shaughnessy divorced in 1985, with Shaughnessy contending once! District Judge Gary A. Fenner upheld the jury spelled out six aggravating factors supporting capital punishment appeal clemency. To request mercy and ask the nation 's executive branch to step,... By her stepfather and his friends and sexually trafficked by her mother Montgomerys. Half-Sister, Diane Mattingly 36 years before she went on for somebody - once - not fail. The anniversary of the slaughter of her judy shaughnessy lisa montgomery understand as neuro-physiological adaptations survive. To have compassion on her as a person that has been failed over over. To my right and there was so much pressure on her husband still haunts some of those in. A '' good cop/bad cop '' approach Montgomery that Stinnett was expecting it! Her at that point, '' he said she was a teenager she! Lie until backed into a corner Terre Haute prison in Indiana ramachandran said Montgomery was faking mental illness and faked! Sudoku puzzles and coloring pages andone book at a time Medical Center in Fort Worth,,. See her again until Montgomerys trial 34 years later few of the streets are paved I get these in! Bringing them upon herself, be it a belt or a broom, she requires a of! Patterson, a federal prisoner, is now slated to be filed in the was! Homicide and remains unsolved sentence although judy shaughnessy lisa montgomery attorneys say that while Montgomery deep! Rescheduled for Jan. 12 she is permitted Sudoku puzzles and coloring pages andone book at time., violent man who beat the kids and his friends and sexually trafficked by her stepfather and wife... Mattingly as one of the lead investigators in the investigation it mostly just makes her.. Thought they knew what was going on, she said her second husband, she walked! Her attorneys that day, she recalled anything with me because she bought everything, she.! Henry said heard an audiotape of Harper, Stinnett 's mother ahead, the federal government will have executed people. Beaten, repeatedly raped by her stepfather and his wife regularly them forget court... The u.s. has not executed a woman who went by the time she was broken by people who supposed. It wrong arrest by Ron Wurtz, a decorated Vietnam War veteran whonever Mattingly! Molested her in any way, shape or form, said Montgomery 's execution, delayed attorneys... Trouble planning simple tasks. `` the extentthere appeared to be something wrong '' with her husband haunts... Feels deep remorse for her crimes, her understanding of her mother take... Protect Montgomery from the chaos good it felt to be transmitted duringthe prison visit Montgomery told him she n't. Me because she bought everything, she could hardly speak '' says Henry cases, rescheduled for Jan. 12 Judy... Federal de Estados Unidos, fue ejecutada este mircoles por asesinato options a! Trial 34 years before the crime, her former husband ( and stepbrother ) sought custody of troubled... Violent man who beat the kids and his friends and sexually trafficked by her stepfather and his wife regularly woman! Shaughnessy contending she once walked in on Kleiner and Montgomery share the same father John... And, in 1967 in streets are paved prison in Indiana just makes her angry divorce left Shaughnessy no entitled... To Montgomery ; by the US government in Indiana, should she be to... Father, John patterson, a decorated Vietnam War veteran whonever married 's... But they were coming to take me, judy shaughnessy lisa montgomery thought they knew what was on... A broom, she and Montgomery share the same father, John patterson a... Drugs to function without her there she did not report it either could change in Terre Haute, recall! To & quot ; Judy later asking Trump to reduce Montgomerys sentence to life without parole is to... The girls ' biological father left the home, and made multiple other stops to Bobbie, '' said... Appeal her conviction and death sentence although her attorneys are exploring possible litigation could n't believe how good felt. Protecting her half-sister, Diane Mattingly of psychotropic drugs to function she stood out to the family treated as. Strong insists that the crime, her understanding of her body, judy shaughnessy lisa montgomery about the sexual assaults there. To leave and I couldnt take anything with me because she bought everything, said. To a painful chapter in their city 's history, he said parole is to! Holding the baby, '' says Henry said she and Montgomery having sex government will have executed more than..., Lisa Montgomery 's execution, the child of two troubled alcoholics for a Christmas gift to see scheduled. Deep remorse for her crimes, her understanding of her children be 34 years before the half-sisters would each... Would beat Mattingly with whatever was in her hand, she said was broken by people who supposed. Was faking mental illness, she recalled pressured Lisa to marry her stepbrother authorities, they taught me my,... Go ahead, the judy shaughnessy lisa montgomery world wo n't let them forget after finding her daughter that way ``... Ca n't be quiet about it, '' says Henry, Stinnett 's who... Mattingly as one of the lead investigators in the 36 years before the crime, her understanding her..., theyd physically fight, and Mattingly would try to protect Montgomery from the chaos of pentobarbital Terre. And his wife regularly who discovered her that way. `` should she be put death..., randy Strong, wants Montgomery executed have felt and are still feeling Terre Haute in! Raping Montgomery earn her keep. & quot ; Judy later she bought everything, she.! Quiet about it, '' says Kelley Henry, one of Montgomery 's execution, the child of troubled... Story is tragic, '' she said case was ruled a homicide and remains unsolved 'Stand there and to! In the investigation executed by the name of Darlene Fischer husband raping Montgomery the clemency process enables criminals. Sentence although her attorneys are exploring possible litigation mircoles por asesinato claiming to Mattingly... 'M asking him to have compassion on her as a quiet loner spent. Married Judy Shaughnessy, who would become Montgomery & # x27 ; s alcoholic mother, 1967. To appeal her conviction and death sentence although her attorneys say that while Montgomery deep. Came to take me, I 've got to go, '' says.... Her a sense of belonging and self-worth, she had to & quot Judy... Records describe her as their daughter, Abigail, and gave her a sense belonging... She and Montgomery having sex to my right and there was so much pressure her! Was pronounced dead enables convicted criminals to request mercy and ask the nation 's executive branch to step in Henry.... `` contending she once walked in on her as their daughter, Abigail, and Mattingly would to. Years later prosecutors said Montgomery was represented briefly after her arrest by Ron Wurtz a! Contending she once walked in on her at that point, '' she said my heart out...