A North Carolina man will spend the rest of his life in prison for strangling his former girlfriend using charging cables in Virginia.
In April, Trenton Frye, 31, was convicted of murder in the first degree by a jury in Bedford County for the death of Katlyn Lyon Montgomery, 28, who was found strangled at her own home in October 2022. On Tuesday, 24th Judicial Circuit Judge James Updike Jr. sentenced Frye to life in prison.
Frye Told Cops He Was Not in Virginia at the Time of Montgomery's Death
On Oct. 7, 2022, Montgomery was found unconscious in her residence at the Jefferson Forest Manor Apartments in Forest. First responders rushed the victim to a hospital in nearby Lynchburg, but she succumbed to her injuries the next day.
In Montgomery's apartment, investigators found evidence in the form of phone-charging cords wrapped together in a blanket on her bed. The linear markings on the victim's neck and throat were consistent with the cords, according to the medical examiners.
Frye was quickly "identified as a recent ex-boyfriend" by the Bedford County Sheriff's Office. When interviewed, he said he was not in Virginia at the time of Montgomery's death but was at work in North Carolina. However, investigators determined that was a lie.
"A search warrant of his phone tower history revealed that he was in Bedford County the night of the incident," the search warrant read. "The tower his phone communicated with is within 1 mile of the victim's address. The victim's phone also has a record of an argument via text between Trenton Frye and herself over their recent break-up on the night leading up to this incident."
Frye's Text Messages to Montgomery in the Days Leading Up to the Murder
Deputies learned Frye spent "several days" in the Lynchburg and Bedford County areas during the time period since the break-up and prior to the murder. The defendant was arrested roughly two weeks later in North Carolina and extradited back to Virginia.
During the trial, prosecutors presented text messages sent by Frye to Montgomery after she refused to take him back. "Lowlife, piece of s–," Frye texted Montgomery after she denied his advances, prosecutors showed jurors. Another text reads: "karma is a b–" as Frye accuses Montgomery of "shady s—" and "toxic bs."
Some of the texts were also pleas for sympathy. "My mental issues are getting out of control," he told his victim in another message, jurors learned. "Hurting like I never have before."
Frye Stalked Montgomery, Obsessed over Her
There was also evidence of Frye's stalking and obsessive behavior. Investigators recovered from Frye's For Explorer several receipts, a purple hairbrush, black glasses, a car charger with two cords, three pairs of black pants, and two black shirts. According to Montgomery's obituary, purple was her "favorite color." Loved ones were also asked to attend her funeral "wearing purple" to commemorate her.
Frye also searched for floor plans of the unit where Montgomery lived with her daughter and a roommate, prosecutors told the jury.
During the sentencing hearing, Updike explained how a person in Frye's position would typically be sentenced to 22-38 years in prison. The judge, however, punished the killer far in excess of the sentencing guidelines – saying the woman's murder was as "cold-blooded and calculated" as anything he had ever seen.
