Investigation into death of IU student leads to charges against Bloomington man
UPDATE: On Oct. 14, the Monroe County Coroner’s Office ruled that McMillan’s death was accidental and was caused by fluorofentanyl and fentanyl toxicity.
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. (WISH) — A man was charged Tuesday in connection with the death of an Indiana University student found dead earlier this month.
Eric Montgomery is charged with rape when victim is mentally disabled or deficient and furnishing alcohol to a minor according to the Monroe County Sheriff’s Office.
On the morning of Aug. 17, deputies found 20-year-old Avery McMillan unconscious and unresponsive in Montgomery’s room at a home owned by his parents in the 4100 block of Arlington Road. That’s near State Road 46 and North Maple Grove Road, about six miles west of I-69.
Deputies administered three doses of Narcan, but she remained unresponsive and did not survive.
Police say she was a member of a sorority and lived off-campus in an apartment.
The 911 call came from Montgomery, who claimed he met McMillan earlier that morning. The two went to his Arlington Road home and later on, he found her unconscious, prompting him to call.
While on the scene, deputies spoke to Montgomery to learn more about what happened. During these conversations, Montgomery said he had sex in a parking garage with McMillan that morning, smoked marijuana together and drank alcohol, which he provided to her.
Montgomery then agreed to have his car searched. Deputies found two, approximately half empty, bottles of hard alcohol in the vehicle.
Detectives applied for an arrest warrant for Montgomery, according to the Monroe County Sheriff’s Office. The warrant was issued Tuesday and his arrest was announced Wednesday.
Police arrested him at a traffic stop without incident.
Video surveillance footage recovered from 2 a.m. and 4 a.m. from several businesses in downtown Bloomington and McMillan’s apartment parking garage show McMillan kicking and punching the doorway of her apartment building, slapping the elevator buttons, and losing her balance, according to court documents.
Around 5 a.m., Montgomery’s car is seen entering the apartment parking garage before going off camera. After nine minutes, the car is seen exiting the garage, and McMillan is no longer walking around the garage.
After the incident, deputies spoke to McMillan’s roomate. She told deputies she and McMillan attended a house party the night before where McMillan consumed more alcohol than she intended to.
The two left the party and McMillan grew frazzled and aggressive, according to the roommate.
The roommate tried to get McMillan to stay in her car but she refused, but she left without her phone, identification, or keys, according to court documents.
Online court records show that Montgomery was scheduled for an initial appearance Wednesday afternoon.
News 8 has reached out to the Monroe County Coroner’s Office to learn the official cause of McMillan’s death.