Family members of a 27-year-old woman who died in August while serving in the U.S. Army overseas are hosting a candlelight vigil today from 7 to 9 p.m. in downtown Elizabethtown.
They want everyone to remember her name: Denisha Montgomery-Smith.
Montgomery-Smith was found unresponsive in her barracks while on temporary duty in Wiesbaden, Germany. Her family was told the cause of death was suicide, but they don’t believe that’s the truth.
“I would never believe that because I know my daughter,” her father, Rodney Montgomery, said. “She was a really strong girl, and she had less than 30 days left before she came home.”
Just 21 days before her death, Montgomery-Smith made a frantic video call to her family. She told them she had been attacked by her peers in a vehicle after going to a water park. Her family said she told them she was beaten and her mouth was covered to the point she couldn’t breathe; she feared for her life. Montgomery-Smith showed her family bruises and injuries all over her body, and she said she had to get home.
Montgomery said he contacted the American Red Cross after that call and told them his daughter was in trouble and needed help. Three weeks later, he said the military knocked on his door to tell him his daughter was dead.
Montgomery-Smith’s family described her as a loving mother of three, a caretaker and a devoted wife who wanted to give back to her community.
“Denisha had a love for her town and her community, and that’s why she wanted to be a police officer for Elizabethtown Police Department eventually,” Montgomery-Smith’s mother, Heather Clark, said. “She wanted to make it a better place for everybody.”
She said Montgomery-Smith was packing her bags the night she died.
“She and her husband were dancing together on video chat,” Clark said. “She was smiling and blowing him kisses while she packed her stuff. She was in a good mood, and she was excited about coming home.”
Clark said Montgomery-Smith was always interested in forensics and joined the military to get some momentum so she could work for EPD when she returned home. She wanted to make a better life for her husband, Joshua Smith, and her three young children.
“She was always there for everybody,” Smith said. “She was just like a perfect person. That’s why I married her.”
When Montgomery-Smith called to tell family members about the attack, she was uncharacteristically scared, Smith said.
“The way she was acting in that video, we’ve never seen her scared like she was,” he said. “She’s not the type of person to be scared about anything, but when they attacked her and almost tried to kill her, that’s when she got scared because she had nobody there to protect her.”
The family members have come together to get a lawyer and an advocate to help get justice for Montgomery-Smith. They’re hopeful tonight’s vigil will give them an opportunity to spread her story and find the answers they’re seeking.
“I just want to raise awareness of her name and hopefully get a little bit closer to finding out the truth about what happened to my daughter,” Clark said.
Smith said he has a memorial area set up for his late wife in their home where he and their children sit and look at pictures of her.
“I just take it day by day,” he said. “I don’t even know how to do it. I really don’t.”
(0) comments
Welcome to the discussion.
Log In
Keep it Clean. Please avoid obscene, vulgar, lewd, racist or sexually-oriented language.
PLEASE TURN OFF YOUR CAPS LOCK.
Don't Threaten. Threats of harming another person will not be tolerated.
Be Truthful. Don't knowingly lie about anyone or anything.
Be Nice. No racism, sexism or any sort of -ism that is degrading to another person.
Be Proactive. Use the 'Report' link on each comment to let us know of abusive posts.
Share with Us. We'd love to hear eyewitness accounts, the history behind an article.
Terms of Use. The complete terms of use policy can be found at the bottom of this page.