Man Charged With Rape in ‘Free Spirit’ Sorority Girl’s Mysterious Death
Two weeks after 20-year-old Indiana University student Avery McMillan was found unresponsive inside a Bloomington house, cops on Wednesday arrested the homeowner in connection to her death.
Eric Montgomery, 33, now faces a charge of rape when the victim is mentally disabled or deficient, as well as a charge of giving alcohol to someone underage, arrest records say. It is the only arrest to stem from McMillan’s mysterious death on Aug. 17.
Additional details about what happened between McMillan and Montgomery were not released Wednesday. Cops said earlier this month that Montgomery called 911 and said McMillan was unresponsive at his home. First responders arrived and issued McMillan three doses of Narcan—an opioid overdose treatment—to no avail. She was pronounced dead at the scene.
Cops said Montgomery cooperated with police at the time, telling detectives he met McMillan the night before, picking her up near campus and bringing her to his house nearby. Authorities did not say what else occurred in the time between McMillan being picked up and her death the following morning.
While the use of Narcan suggests McMillan’s death may have been overdose related, cops are still awaiting test results from a medical examiner that will definitively identify her cause of death. Authorities said the results could take up to a month to arrive.
Montgomery, who authorities said has a “violent and extensive criminal history,” was arrested without incident in a traffic stop on Wednesday. A special division, named the Critical Incident Response Team, assisted in the arrest because of his criminal history, the Monroe County Sheriff’s Office said.
Court records show that a judge approved a warrant for Montgomery’s arrest on Tuesday and set his bail at $100,000.
Eric Montgomery, 33, was arrested Wednesday.
Montgomery has a slew of arrests in Indiana, most recently for marijuana possession on Aug. 4.
Among the felony arrests on Montgomery’s record is a charge of endangering a person while driving intoxicated in 2019, domestic battery in 2018, burglary and credit card fraud in 2012, and dealing a counterfeit substance in 2011, records show.
Friends and family have since taken to social media to remember McMillan, saying she was “so giving” and “always there to help everyone,” according to a GoFundMe set up by her friend, Gabrielle Parsons.
The 20-year-old was a senior at Indiana University and was a part of the Zeta Tau Alpha sorority, the chapter wrote in a Facebook post, praising her ability to build relationships.
“Avery, you were a beautiful free spirit who brightened our lives,” wrote Madi Gen on an online memorial page. “You were so generous with your love and you gave joy and comfort to many people. You were so full of life and you still had so much to offer the world.”
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