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TW SEXUAL CONTENT, CATFISHING, GORE & MURDUR
Thomas Montgomery, born June 3, 1959, was a nobody who thought he deserved to A Nobody Who Became a Nightmare
Thomas Montgomery, born June 3, 1959, was a forgettable man who desperately wanted to matter. He grew up in Clarence, a quiet Buffalo suburb, fading into the background of middle-class life. There’s little to say about his early years—probably because there was little worth remembering. In the late 1970s, he joined the Marines, chasing purpose. He never saw combat. He never became the sniper he claimed to be. In the end, he left the service as a generic grunt and clung to that faded military fantasy for the rest of his life.
By 1989, around age 30, Montgomery married Cindy. They built a routine suburban life with two daughters. He worked as a machinist at Dynabrade Corporation, grinding metal by day and playing the roles of Sunday school teacher and swim club president by night. On paper, he was just another upstanding dad. In reality, he was a self-loathing coward who whined about his marriage, resented his job, and stewed in quiet desperation.
By 2005, at age 46, Montgomery was unraveling. Desperate for attention, he turned to Pogo.com, an online gaming site with chat rooms. There, he invented a persona: “MarineSniper,” a ripped 18-year-old soldier named Tommy who was preparing to deploy to Iraq. This wasn’t just escapism—it was delusion, dressed in dog tags.
Brian Barrett, just 22, was everything Montgomery wasn’t. Bright, athletic, kind, and full of promise, Brian was a local coach and student with a future. But on September 15, 2006, Thomas Montgomery stole that future in a Dynabrade parking lot.
Their twisted connection began in spring 2005. As “MarineSniper,” Montgomery met “Talhotblond” on Pogo. Unbeknownst to him, “Talhotblond” wasn’t a teenager—it was Mary Shieler, a middle-aged woman catfishing as her daughter Jessi. Montgomery sent her fake photos, fabricated war stories, and wrote obsessive love letters. Their chats quickly escalated into virtual sex and fantasies. At one point, she even mailed him her underwear.
When Cindy discovered the affair in early 2006, she blew it wide open. She sent “Talhotblond” a letter and photos revealing her husband’s real age and identity. But instead of backing off, Montgomery begged “Jessi” to stay. Mary, still posing as Jessi, kept the emotional manipulation going—and then began flirting with Brian, Montgomery’s coworker and fellow Pogo user “Beefcake.”
Brian, unlike Montgomery, told the truth about who he was. He even mentioned traveling to meet Jessi in West Virginia. Montgomery seethed with jealousy, fueled further by Mary’s public insults in the chat rooms. His messages grew darker: “Brian will pay in blood.”
On September 15, he followed through. Wearing camouflage and wielding a .30-caliber rifle—likely an M1 Garand—he waited for Brian outside Dynabrade. Then he ambushed him, firing three shots into Brian’s neck and arm. For two days, Brian’s body sat in his truck before anyone found him.
Montgomery left a trail of evidence a mile wide. Investigators recovered his DNA from a peach pit. They found a family photo showing the murder weapon. Chat logs laid out his motive in black and white. He was arrested on November 27, 2006.
Despite the mountain of evidence, he took a plea deal in August 2007. He admitted to first-degree manslaughter, avoiding a murder trial and receiving a 20-year sentence. It wasn’t justice—it was a shortcut. The DA’s office, led by Frank J. Clark, justified the deal by pointing to Montgomery’s “internet obsession” defense and mental health claims. Assistant DA Frank Sedita called Montgomery “almost predatory.” Almost?
Meanwhile, Brian’s family—his parents Dan and Diane—were left shattered. Brian had dreamed of becoming a teacher. Instead, they had to bury their son and listen to the man who killed him spin excuses.
Although investigators tried to charge Mary Shieler for her role in the manipulation, no laws in 2006 applied. Her cruel behavior, from catfishing to taunting Montgomery in public chats, escaped legal consequence. That legal gap mirrors the digital chaos still happening today—where people weaponize fake identities without fear
As of May 2025, Thomas Montgomery is a free man. After serving 17 years, he was released on January 11, 2024, from Wyoming Correctional Facility in Attica, New York. The prison, although not maximum security, holds about 150 inmates and focuses on reentry through job programs and counseling.
Montgomery, now about 66, likely spent his last years in a dorm-style cell, playing the “model inmate” card to earn parole. His post-release supervision lasts until 2029. Conditions include curfews, no internet, no contact with victims, and strict monitoring. His current location remains unknown—possibly back in Clarence—but he’s out there, another predator released under a broken system.
A 2024 report in the Buffalo News confirmed his release. As this case teaches us, stay safe online!
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