That man found dead and dismembered outside his Brooklyn apartment building He was remembered Saturday as a loving, non-violent man who looked forward to his upcoming birthday, the Daily News has learned.
Darrell Montgomery, slender and just 5ft 4ins tall, was a gentle soul who would have turned 34 next month, his heartbroken mother told The News Saturday as she wept openly outside her son's apartment building in Flatbush, just steps from the blue trash can where his hacked body was found.
“I was on my way to the train and they called me and told me (what happened),” said the mother, who wished to remain anonymous. “I passed out on the train.”
Montgomery's family lives out of state. As soon as they learned of what had happened, they showed up at the victim's home on E 21st Street, near Ditmas Avenue, but the police guarding his sixth-floor apartment were unable to share anything with them.
“My son was a loving son,” his mother said. “He stays on his own and doesn’t bother anyone.”
Montgomery's head and the torso was found in a black plastic garbage bag in a blue trash can just after 9 a.m. Friday.
“I think it's a dream,” said Montgomery's younger sister, Shakima, who did her best to comfort her mother at the scene. “I just read this article (about this murder) yesterday and I didn’t know it was my brother.”
Construction workers discovered the dismembered remains near the building after they smelled a foul odor, police sources said.
Police immediately cordoned off Montgomery's apartment to look for additional evidence, but it was not immediately clear if any other body parts were found inside.
Police on Saturday could not immediately confirm the identity of the victim. The remains were brought to the city Forensic expertwho will conduct an autopsy and formally identify the victim.
Neighbors told police that before the victim's body was discovered, Montgomery was living with a much taller man, possibly his boyfriend.
At about 6 feet 3 inches tall, the roommate towered over Montgomery, neighbors said. The victim's family said they had never met the roommate.
Neighbors said the couple lived in the house for several years and moved shortly after the COVID-19 pandemic ended.
The two were always together, the 54-year-old local said, noting: “Where you've seen a high one, you've seen a low one.”
One 75-year-old neighbor recalled seeing Montgomery's roommate outside the building on Thursday, the day before Montgomery's body was found.
The police wanted to question the roommate. No arrests were made.
“He was just a gentle person,” Shakima said of her brother, “family-oriented.”
She admitted that she had not spoken to him for over a month.
“I remember my brother picking me up from school,” Shakima recalled fondly. “He wasn't violent at all – so this guy had to intimidate my brother.”
“I truly want justice,” she said. “My brother was not cruel.”
Originally published:
