New suspect in double murder case
Josh Barta
jbarta@uwyo.edu
Casper police suspect a Casper man suspected of making counterfeit money in his home may also be responsible for two murders which took place in Gillette last October.
The man, who’s name is yet to be released, is allegedly involved with the killings of 33-year-old Phillip Brewer and 38-year-old Jody Fortuna, according to a source in the affidavit. Police discovered numerous documents belonging to Brewer in the suspects house on North Lincoln in Casper.
According the the affidavit, the suspect and another man, who were in possession of Brewer’s BMW, had a conversation with the source after the bodies were found.
“You want me to get caught? We need to get the BMW off the street,” the suspect said to the source according to the affidavit.
Investigators with the Casper Police Department on Nov. 30 applied for a warrant to search a house in the 900 block of North Lincoln Street in an effort to recover any evidence that may be connected to the murders or the manufacture of counterfeit money.
According to court documents, the Casper man, may have been the one who killed Brewer and Fortuna, and not Gillette resident Michael Montano who was previously convicted.
According the the affidavit, the suspect allegedly suggested to Casper police on more than one occasion that the Casper man was the one responsible for the homicide.
Gillette police placed Montano in custody in October after he admitted to cutting up the bodies in his bathtub using a saw and hiding the remains with the help of his girlfriend, Kylee Collins, 22. The dismembered bodies were found stored in plastic bags in a truck belonging to Montano.
Montano was charged with two counts of second-degree murder and two counts of mutilation of dead bodies. Each count carries a sentence with no less than 20 years in prison.
Police also charged Collins with accessory after the fact and two counts of conspiracy to mutilate a dead human body.
According to the affidavit, Montano had only admitted to mutilating the bodies and not the actual murders.
Court documents say this man is still a suspect in the counterfeiting investigation which was intitiated by Casper police but then taken over by the Secret Service.
The suspect is currently wanted for failing to comply with the terms of his supervised probation stemming from that case.
Casper Police say the investigation into the counterfeit money and Gillette murders continue.
