Our story today begins in Punta Gorda, Florida. Beautiful, sunny, relaxing, Punta Gorda. Actually, many people know the name of this city well due to the fact that in 2004, it was a direct hit location of a huge storm by the name of hurricane Charlie. That was a whole other tragedy though. This one is unlike anything I’ve ever heard of happening in Southwest Florida.
If you don’t know us, we should probably mention that we’re actually from Southwest Florida. So this story, to us especially, is just insane.
A bit of a warning for this one: it’s quite the rollercoaster. We spent days researching this case, trying our best to put it in order. There is just so much information on it. We had about twelve pages of just notes alone outlining each part of it. So if we get anything wrong, feel free to let us know. We appreciate any new information that we might have missed, too.
Jerry Lombard
So on February 1st, 1994 in Punta Gorda, a discovery was made that would be the catalyst of a full investigation. Two hunters were walking through a wooded area off Wyandotte Avenue called the ‘hog trail’ due to frequent boar sightings. The two had spotted a flock of what looked like buzzards or vultures circling in the sky, and decided to make their way towards whatever the birds were after. Upon getting closer, they soon realized that a partially decomposed body of a man was lying there in the dirt - naked and seemingly mutilated. Police were alerted immediately, and upon further examination of the body, officials found that he had rope ligature marks on his wrists and neck, and his genitals had been removed.
The medical examiner did a full autopsy and found a stainless steel pin with a serial number in the victim’s ankle - likely from an attempt to heal a broken bone. Investigators ended up trying to trace the serial number from the pin to a hospital where an operation may have taken place, but unfortunately couldn’t link it to a hospital. That was their only lead to finding out who this person was. There was no other worthwhile case-breaking evidence found at the scene, nothing that would point them to any other clues and the case went cold.
Sarasota County John Doe
Jumping to two years later. On January 1, 1996 police got a phone call reporting that a human skull was found at a family residence in North Port. The family told police that the dog, Hollywood, had been bringing them bones from the surrounding woods every so often. This was going on for months before Hollywood finally brought the skull. A member of the family said once they realized what it was, they just about fell down the stairs trying to get the phone to call the police.
Authorities searched the area and found even more remains, including a hip and chest bone. The skeletal remains were so decomposed that skin only remained on the right hand and chest.
Upon further investigation, it was revealed that the victim was likely of muscular stature with a heavy skull and poor dental health. The heavy skull indicated he must have been from Scandinavian or Northern US descent. There is also speculation that the victim may have had a drug and/or alcohol problem, and that he had been mutilated, especially around the genital area. Sadly, this victim to this day has not been identified.
William John “Bill” Melaragno
Bill Melaragno was born in Lakewood, Ohio on September 22, 1960. His parents were Victor and Eleanor Melaragno.
In November of 1995, at the age of 35 he moved to North Port with two women. These women were believed to be sex workers, although the record is unclear. There isn’t much else to be found about Bill in any sources.
On March 7, 1996 a man traveling down route 75 pulled over to relieve himself in the bushes. After walking into the wooded area, he saw a corpse in a bit of a clearing with limbs spread out in the shape of a cross. The man contacted the North Port police department, who came out to the area to investigate. The medical examiner stated that the person had been deceased for about 10 days. He had four stab wounds and his genitals had been mutilated. Cuts and scrapes were also found on the bottoms of the victims feet. There were also marks on his torso, which indicated that he had tried to escape the killer before death. The victim wasn’t identified until June 30th, 1999 as William John Melaragno.
Only one month later, another shocking discovery was made that led officials to launch a multi-county investigation. It became clear to the public that someone out there was taking advantage of these victims, and they needed to be stopped.
Richard Montgomery
Richard Montgomery lived with his mother in Palms and Pines mobile home park, just east of Punta Gorda.
On his criminal record he had charges for assault with a deadly weapon, auto theft, burglary, disorderly intoxication, and violation of probation.
On April 16, 1996, a couple of road workers were at work on Highway 41. In the middle of the day, the two decided to take a break and go for a walk down a hog trail.
While on their walk, they discovered what appeared to be a human skull. The two were horrified. They hurried back to their vehicle and drove to a gas station nearby. It was here that they met two officers who were on their lunch break, and told them about what they had seen. The officers agreed to go back with them to investigate the scene. Upon arriving at the spot where the skull was, they confirmed it to be human and immediately alerted the station.
It was then that the area was swarmed by homicide investigators from five different agencies. Investigators from the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, the State Attorney's Office, the Charlotte County Sheriff's Office, the Fort Myers Police Department and the North Port Police Department - all there to see this crime scene.
As they searched the area for the rest of the remains, officers came across what appeared to be a carpet roll. Sticking out from the side of the carpet roll looked to be a human hand. They pulled the carpet roll back and saw that it was NOT the rest of the remains of the skull that they had found, but ANOTHER body, maybe two days old at most.
The victim had rope burns around his neck and his genitals had been removed. There were also footprints that seemed to be pretty fresh all around the body. In addition to these findings, near Montgomery’s hip, detectives found a blue paint chip.
Using dental records and fingerprints, investigators were able to identify that the second body found was 21-year-old Richard Allen Montgomery.
The victim's mother didn’t have a lot of information for police, but she did say that her son had mentioned a few weeks prior to his death that he had met a new friend named Dan Conahan. Neighbors described Montgomery as being a ‘problem child’ growing up, and there were also reports of him being abusive towards his mother as he got older.
His sister stated that the night before he went missing, Richard said that he would be going out to make a couple hundred bucks, and when she asked if what he was doing was legal, he just smiled and left. Little did she know, that would be the last time she would see him alive.
Kenneth Smith
Since Montgomery’s body was relatively fresh, the medical examiner was able to use his fingerprints to then identify him.
In comparison, the skull and torso found near Montgomery were almost completely decomposed. The only flesh that was left of the victim was on his back. This piece of flesh was preserved due to the torso being placed “facing up”. When coroners began to move the torso for further examination, they noticed there was a tattoo on the victim’s shoulder.
In order to help identify the remains, law enforcement immediately teamed up with the media to release photos of this tattoo. They didn’t have to wait long before they got a call from Naples resident, Theresa Smith.
She told investigators that her brother had a similar looking tattoo and she hadn’t seen him for some time. After her tip, medical examiners were able to acquire her brother's dental records and made the discovery that the victim was indeed Theresa's brother, Kenneth Lee Smith.
Not much is known about Kenneth Smith, except that he was a previous resident of Naples, FL but at some point moved to Charlotte County.
Like many of the other victims, Kenneth was not a savory character. He had been previously arrested in 1991 on charges of driving with a suspended license, grand and petty theft, eluding officers, resisting arrest and reckless driving. Smith was also arrested in 1992 for a violation of his probation.
Task Force
After the discovery of the two victims by road workers in 1996, five different agencies in south west Florida came together to form a task force to solve the mystery behind who committed the murders.
The lead investigator, Detective Rickey Hobbs of the Charlotte County Sheriff’s Office, stated that the investigation team expected there to be a single person behind the murders. At this point in their investigation, they didn’t quite have a suspect until an unlikely source popped up who had information on a possible suspect.
A Break in the Case - David Payton
In May of 1996, an inmate from Moore Haven Correctional Facility in Florida, requested to speak to police about an incident he had experienced a year prior.
The inmate, David Payton recounted his experience. He stated that in March of 1995, he was in Fort Myers and a man pulled up in a blue Mercury Capri and offered him some beer. Payton then proceeded to enter the vehicle. They drove away and the man offered him Valium, more beer and marijuana.
At one point along the ride, the man asked Payton for a sip of his beer, which Payton agreed to but thought was weird since they had a whole pack with them.
He later stated he thought the man may have put more pills in the can. Payton also alleged that during their ride, the man commented that he would pay to take photos of him naked and bound to a tree.
They continued to drive until the car got stuck in some mud. Payton offered to help push the car while the man steered, but he told him to stay in the car. At that moment, another motorist pulled up to help them get the car unstuck. Payton noticed that the man’s demeanor changed as the stranger was helping. This made him even more nervous about the situation.
Payton states that he turned around to look in the back of the car and saw that there was a tarp, some rope and a knife on the floor. Payton could tell something was seriously off, so he floored the vehicle and drove away. It wasn’t long before he got pulled over by authorities.
Although the car was registered to a Daniel Conahan Sr., it had been reported stolen by Daniel Conahan Jr.
Upon questioning Payton, the officers could tell that he was under the influence of some sort of substance. This led to Payton’s arrest and after telling his story to an unbelieving Fort Myers police department, he took a polygraph test and passed.
Unfortunately, this did not exonerate him from the auto theft charge or DUI, and he ended up being sent to prison anyway.
Even though the police didn’t quite believe Payton’s story, at least they had a possible suspect.
The Suspect, Daniel Conahan - Childhood
Daniel Conahan Jr. was Born in Charlotte, NC in May of 1954. Shortly after his birth, his family decided to move to Punta Gorda, FL. Conahan grew up in a middle class family.
It is said that he had a bit of a troubled childhood. Friends would go on to describe him as a loner who kind of kept to himself. Some sources state that he may have either been involved with or affected by drugs and/or alcohol.
The majority of his issues growing up, however, seemed to stem from his parents not being very accepting when Conahan told them when he was a teenager that he was gay.
There’s no information online about his parent’s background and it is unclear why or what their reasoning for their disapproval was.
Despite telling his parents that his sexuality was not a disease that could be “cured”, his parents continued to treat it as such. At one point in an interview Conahan states, “it wasn't the kind of thing you were open about in the 1970s. But I found a gay bar, and if I got there early, they wouldn't card me. Being gay is part of God's plan, too.”
Conahan graduated from Miami's Norland High School in 1973. Some of his high school classmates have described him as being quiet and again, a loner. They say he would kind of just do the bare minimum in any school activity.
There isn’t much known about what Conahan did after graduation. His next big life event wouldn’t be until ‘77.
The Suspect, Daniel Conahan - Adulthood
Conahan joined the US Navy in 1977 and was stationed at Naval Station Great Lakes Illinois. But, this didn’t last very long for Conahan… he was dishonorably discharged in 1978 for sexual solicitation and physical assault.
He was accused of solicitation after attempting to lure fellow soldiers to a motel off base. Conahan was then threatened with a court martial, but the case was dropped after no one was willing to testify against him.
A few months later, he made a sexual advance on another soldier. This led to a physical altercation between the two. After this incident, the Navy decided to dishonorably discharge Daniel Conahan.
After he was discharged, he would actually stay in Chicago for about 13 years.
It’s said he tried to work several different jobs, but couldn’t seem to keep them. He kept just kind of bouncing around to different places. Even though he didn’t really have a source of steady income for himself, he still managed to keep up a busy social life and found himself frequenting gay bars around the city.
After being in Chicago for a while and seemingly not really finding a good place to work, he decided to move back in with his parents in Punta Gorda, Florida.
While living there, he started taking nursing classes at Charlotte Vocational-Technical Center in Port Charlotte. He graduated at the top of his class in 1995 and officially became a licensed practical nurse.
All seemed to be going just great for him, especially after having such a hard time in Chicago.
Under the surface, there was something much more sinister going on in Conahan’s life.
The Case Continues - Stanley Burden
After hearing about the two bodies recently found in Charlotte County, the Fort Myers police department got in contact with the Charlotte County police department and told them about a similar case that happened there, except their victim actually made it out alive. This victim was Stanley Burden.
Burden had previously said that Conahan had one night offered him $100 to $150 in exchange for nude bondage photographs. Burden agreed, and Conahan proceeded to drive him out to a densely wooded location all the way on the easternmost end of Edison Avenue. After taking several photos of Burden, he used a rope to tie him to a tree. Conahan then performed oral sex on Burden and attempted to have anal sex with him, but Burden positioned his backside against the tree so that Conahan could not manage. This frustrated Conahan, who then wrapped the rope around Burden’s neck and put his foot against the opposite side of the tree to Burden. He pulled hard, attempting to strangle Burden, who struggled for his life. After 30 minutes of trying to strangle Burden, Conahan gave up after saying the words, “Why won't you die you son-of-a-bitch?” He grabbed his things and left Burden, who freed himself immediately and reported it to the police.
Some sources say that Burden pretended to pass out from being strangled, and that’s actually why Conahan left him there. Maybe this was one of his first attempts? It is unclear which story is accurate, however.
He even later picked out Conahan’s face from a lineup. Officers went to the scene two years later after Burden brought up his story again. In the exact location Burden claimed Conahan attempted to rape and murder him, they found a tree with damage and markings that corroborated with Burden’s claims and scars from his injuries. This account is what led police to begin their full 24/7 investigation of Conahan.
It became clear to police that the quickest way to arrest Conahan would be to catch him in the act. So they decided to set up a sting operation.
So on May 24th of ‘96 a deputy went to Kiwanis park to try to bait Conahan. NOT surprisingly enough, Conahan DID come around to the undercover deputy and offered to pay him $150 in exchange for nude photographs. The deputy went along with it at first, but then stated he didn’t have time to take any more photos, as he had somewhere to be. The deputy stated that Conahan became a little bit cautious of him at this point, finally stopped pursuing him and left.
The Arrest and Interrogation
After the police sting and surveillance, investigators had enough evidence and probable cause to arrest Conahan. In fact, they realized he had a pattern of targeting transients, day laborers, and anyone who might be looking to make a quick buck. However, they wanted to first see if they could get him to confess to the murders. They set up a traffic stop and managed to get Conahan to agree to an interview in a non-formal setting. Officers set up a motel room with video and audio recording devices and questioned Conahan about the murders. He maintained his innocence and also denied ever partaking in any bondage acts.
During the interview, Conahan actually stated, "I learned there are a lot of hitchhikers on U.S. 41 from North Port to Fort Myers, and some of them were looking to perform sex acts for money," he told investigators. "Yes, I did (proposition people). And I took some pictures of people. I didn't have a place to take someone to or time to sit in the parks and run into the bushes like some of them do, and I wasn't into (doing it in) bars."
While the two detectives interviewed Conahan, investigators got a warrant to search the suspects home and his vehicle and found a number of damming pieces of evidence including paint samples from the vehicle.
Remember that paint chip that investigators found on Richard Montgomery’s body? Well police compared the two paint chips - and they were an exact match.
This gave the police enough evidence to charge Daniel Conahan with the kidnapping and murder of Richard Montgomery.
Billy Patten
Meanwhile in ‘97, in Port Charlotte, a county construction worker was said to have been clearing up a bit of debris off a dirt path when he came across what looked to be human remains under a pepper tree near Quesada Avenue. Because there was an excavation project by country workers in the area, any possible evidence that could have been left behind from the crime scene was accidentally destroyed.
The coroner later determined that the victim had been dead for several years. Through DNA comparison between the victim and his parents, it was confirmed on March 16, 1998 that this victim had been a young man named William, or Billy, Patten.
Billy Patten was a local landscaper. The last time his parent’s saw him was in 1993. He was carrying a cooler of beer toward the Barron Collier Bridge. He wasn’t reported missing until three weeks later.
While Conahan was awaiting trial, police found another body. Same MO, same profile, same circumstances.
Trial and Conviction
From the information that we found on the case, the trial was fairly uneventful.
Conahan pleaded innocent, but was found guilty of 1st degree murder for the killing of Richard Montgomery. On November 3, 1999, after deliberating for ONLY 22 MINUTES, the jury suggested to the judge that Conahan be executed. Judge Blackwell decided that Daniel Conahan Jr. would be sentenced to death. In his final sentencing statement, Judge Blackwell said “It is obvious that during this ordeal, Montgomery was confined or imprisoned against his will, such confinement against his will was for the obvious purpose of inflicting bodily harm upon the victim or terrorizing him. The crime was especially heinous, atrocious and cruel. Two medical examiners testified that many of Montgomery's wounds were inflicted before he died. May God have mercy on his soul."
While Conahan was only convicted with the murder of Montgomery, he is suspected of killing 14 other men. The kidnapping and attempted murder charges of Stanley Burden were dropped in the process of the indictment of Conahan.
This is the crazy part. The case against Conahan didn’t end there. For literal years after he was imprisoned, even more bodies were found across all of Southwest Florida.
These discoveries started with the remains of “Charlotte County John Doe” in 2002, who was found in a landfill in Punta Gorda. Not much has been published about this victim, but because of the location of the body and the circumstances of the timing, detectives presumed that it was another one of Conahan’s victims.
More discoveries were made five years later when a surveyor discovered skeletal remains in an area full of melaleuca trees. Investigators would later find a total of eight sets of skeletal remains, which they labeled as ‘Fort Myers John Doe A through H.’
As of today, only four of the eight sets of remains have been identified. John Belvins and Erik Kohler in 2007, Jonathan Tihay in 2008, and Robert Ronald Soden just recently in September of 2022. Fort Myers John Doe A, B, F, and G are still yet to be identified.
Many speculate that Daniel Conahan was also responsible for the murder of these victims. Unfortunately, authorities have never been able to tie Conahan to these murders. The remains to this day are still referred to as “the Fort Myers eight.’
Conclusion
Overall, it is safe to say that Daniel Conahan is a seriously sick individual. The fact that he did what he did to these poor men without any remorse or even admitting to the crime is just absolutely chilling.
Source Material
Collection of ‘chapters’ about Conahan’s life, killing spree, trial, and conviction. Gives a small glimpse into his early life: https://web.archive.org/web/20080113031341/http://www.crimelibrary.com/serial_killers/predators/conahan/murder_1.html
Contains link to confirmed photos and records of Conahan and his case, as well as a link to the supreme court opinion. Also has detailed info about each confirmed or unconfirmed victim: https://murderpedia.org/male.C/c/conahan-daniel.htm
Photos: https://murderpedia.org/male.C/c/conahan-daniel-photos.htm
Supreme court opinion https://murderpedia.org/male.C/images/conahan_daniel_o/op-sc00-170-revised.pdf
Military wiki containing more info about Conahan’s early life: https://military-history.fandom.com/wiki/Daniel_Conahan#cite_note-CrimeLib10-1
Full detailed story of his life, murders and trial/conviction: https://peoplepill.com/people/daniel-conahan
Confirmed and presumed victims of Conahan: https://unidentified-awareness.fandom.com/wiki/Daniel_Conahan_victims
Blonde Moments Podcast - Episode “True Crime Ep: 17){Daniel Conahan & Anna Repkina}: https://www.stitcher.com/show/blonde-moments/episode/giving-weird-al-a-hj-true-crime-ep-17-daniel-conahan-anna-repkina-79425026
News report on Burden’s case being dropped and Montgomery conviction: https://www.dailycrime.com/richard-allen-montgomery-murdered-by-daniel-conahan-id-spotlights/
Buried in the Backyard Season 1 Episode 10: The Hog Trail Murders: https://www.peacocktv.com/watch/playback/vod/GMO_00000000170882_01/ff38cf71-8f5a-33f6-8b2a-da5f07e6e4f7
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