BLOOMINGTON, Ind. — A man facing charges connected to an Indiana University student’s death is now facing a charge in a 2021 rape case.
Eric Montgomery faces a rape charge in connection with a 2021 incident that happened in Ellettsville. Montgomery also faces a new charge in connection with the August 2022 death of IU student Avery McMillan.
The new charge comes after court documents detail how a woman contacted the Ellettsville Police Department in August 2021 saying she was raped by her next-door neighbor.
The document states that the woman told police Montgomery went to her house distraught about a family member that was recently killed. After she let him in the apartment, she said Montgomery held her while he cried. However, this would quickly escalate.
The woman told police that Montgomery started kissing her without her permission before starting to sexually assault her. The document said the woman told Montgomery “no” on more than one occasion, but didn’t physically resist because she was fearful of him due to his size.
The document states Montgomery was 6’5 and weighed 260 pounds.
The charges come after an investigator got a DNA sample from Montgomery after he was arrested in connection with the IU student’s death. FOX59 previously reported that Montgomery faces charges of rape and furnishing alcohol to a minor after investigating the death of 20-year-old IU student Avery McMillan.
On the morning of August 17, deputies were called to an off-campus home in the 4100 block of Arlington Road, where they found 20-year-old IU student Avery McMillan unconscious and unresponsive. Deputies administered three doses of Narcan, but she did not survive.
Court documents state that she was found in the room of 33-year-old Eric Montgomery, who lived at the home owned by his parents. During conversations with detectives, Montgomery said he met McMillan earlier that morning and admitted to having sex with her in a city parking garage and at his home. Montgomery also told detectives that he and McMillan smoked marijuana and drank alcohol that he provided to her, per documents. A detective said he also told him McMillan was having trouble breathing.
The sample was compared to the sexual assault evidence collection kit collected in August 2021. On January 3, the document states investigators learned that the samples matched.
An initial hearing in the case is set for Tuesday afternoon.
Joe Hopkins contributed to this report
