BUCYRUS–Murder defendant Jackie Montgomery took the stand in her defense on Friday. Montgomery faces 20 years in prison if convicted of the murder of Mikey Benedict.

Defense attorney James Mayer took Jackie through the events that led up to the October 2021 beating death of Michael “Mikey” Benedict.

According to Montgomery, lots of pushing is happening at the Just Jokin’ bar in Crestline on a mild fall evening. Montgomery admitted to drinking an 18-pack of Bud Light before heading to the Just Jokin’ bar.

Defense attorney James Mayer walked Montgomery through the bar’s surveillance video. She testified that Benedict pushed her, and she pushed him back. After the second push, Montgomery was knocked to the floor, hurting her wrist.

Later in the video, Cameron Davis is standing behind Benedict. She told the jury her pants were wet, she was worried about her wrist, and she just wanted to go home.

Her husband, Tim, wanted to take the situation outside.

In the following video, Mayer had his client explain what was seen on the body cam of Detective Kitzmiller.

Montgomery explained she was still trying to go home. She is saying, ” Let’s go Tim.”

“A lot has been said in this trial about you riling up your husband.

Are you riling up your husband? Mayer asked.

Montgomery said she was not.

Montgomery said she was worried that Detective Kitzmiller would arrest her husband. After Detective Kitzmiller gave them one last chance to leave, Montgomery said she was talking about her husband when she said, “He doesn’t care, let’s go.”

When asked why she thanked Kitzmiller, Montgomery said he told them he would take care of the issue with Benedict.

The trio eventually left the bar. Montgomery testified that Cameron Davis was ahead of her and her husband. She and her husband walked without talking.

They were about four houses from the bar when she heard Davis say, “There’s that mother fu$&@# that hit you.”

Montgomery said she saw nothing immediately after Cameron took off for Benedict. He ran diagonally through a yard to catch up with him.

The next time she saw Davis, Benedict was on the ground. He attempted to get up but fell back. She said Cameron punched him five or six times.

Montgomery wasn’t sure what her husband would do when he rushed past her, but when she saw him, he was sitting on Benedict’s chest, and Davis was kicking Benedict in the legs.

She told the jury she pulled on her husband’s shirt, and he didn’t respond. So, she kicked him upward in the face.

She told the jury she never touched Benedict and that the eyewitness saw her kicking her husband to get him off Benedict, not Benedict himself.

Montgomery told the court that Cameron Davis lied about his being sucker punched, smoking a weed pen with Benedict, and other testimony. She told the court her husband had lied as well.

Montgomery contended the police did not check her clothes for blood or test the pants or shoes she was wearing at the bar. She asked them repeatedly to get her clothing from her house. An error in the police report prevented the collection of the right clothes. Instead, they took the pants and shoes she had changed into before her arrest.

Montgomery did cooperate with DNA testing.

In his last question to Montgomery, Mayer asked her: “Did you kick Mikey Benedict in the head and call him a mother f$#&@*?” She replied: “I did not.”

Assistant Prosecutor Dan Stanley set out to establish that she was the one who was lying.

Stanley had Montgomery repeat the positions of Montgomery and Davis as they beat Benedict:

“Tim is sitting on Mikey Benedict’s chest up towards his shoulders. Cameron was on the right side of Tim as he was stomping Benedict’s legs.” Montgomery said.

“It’s real important that you’re the one that caused Tim’s injury isn’t it?” Stanley asked.

Stanley told the jury that if Cameron and Tim were where Jackie testified they were, there was no way she caused the injury to her husband’s face.

“You never told the police at all that you kicked Tim off Mikey Benedict did you?” Stanley asked.

Montgomery answered: “No, I did not.”

“The first time you audibly say you kicked Tim Montgomery in the face to get him off Michael Benedict is today,” Stanley said.
Stanley accused Montgomery of sitting in the courtroom listening to the eyewitness testimony of Chris Kegley and then making up this lie.

Crawford County Now will provide continuing courtroom coverage.