Robert Matthew Montgomery, 53, was fatally shot outside a home in the 4000 block of East Private Road 450S in Jennings County on February 9, 2025. Officers from the Jennings County Sheriff’s Office, North Vernon Police Department and Indiana State Police responded to reports of gunfire shortly after 10 p.m. and found Montgomery deceased from a gunshot wound.

Investigators say the incident began as a heated altercation inside the residence involving Montgomery’s 30-year-old son, Conner M. Montgomery, an adult woman and two children. Conner allegedly fired a shot inside the house, then shot at the woman’s vehicle as she tried to flee with the children, disabling it.

Conner Montgomery was taken into custody at the scene and is charged with murder, criminal confinement with a deadly weapon, criminal recklessness with a deadly weapon, domestic battery in the presence of minors, neglect of a dependent and pointing a firearm. He is being held in the Jennings County Jail awaiting initial court appearance. Detectives from the Jennings County Sheriff’s Office and the Indiana State Police are leading the investigation.

Did anyone in the area witness the disturbance or the moments before officers arrived?