Original subtitles

TALHOTBLOND - AN INTERNET TRAGEDY Translation & adaptation: Margot

You can say whatever you want on the internet.

That's why I'm dead.

Executed.

At the age of 22.

The news said I was seduced virtually... deadly...

By a girl who called herself Highsexed.

And it really was...

High.

Sexy.

Blonde.

And deadly to boot.

The true story that I have to tell you begins with a lie,

said by one of my colleagues work colleagues,

Thomas Montgomery.

I met Montgomery when I started working at the DynaBrade factory.

It's near Buffalo.

He showed me how things work,

even invited me to meet his family.

This is me. Brian Barrett.

I was working and going to classes part-time to become a teacher.

This is my first truck, hand second-hand, but I paid cash for it.

Work at DynaBrade was boring.

We all had our dreams.

We produce instruments.

We take hand-held power tools bumpers, car stuff.

I wanted to change my career,

but with two little girls, it was... for me, a new beginning...

It would have cut a lot of my salary,

so I stayed there.

Keep an eye out for snipers!

I always wanted to be a sniper.

When I was a kid, I used to watch John Wayne movies.

Montgomery liked to remember of his sniper days.

I was using an M14, M16 caliber rifle 15 mm. A sniper rifle.

He's never seen a live fight.

He didn't get any medals from the army, but an addiction to alcohol.

But soon after that, it became a responsible family man,

with a house in upstate New York,

a wife and two beautiful daughters.

Montgomery was a model citizen.

He used to speak at Sunday school, there's no traffic ticket on his name.

I considered him one of the kindest neighbors we had.

We were quite shocked when we found out what had happened.

He was not disliked by his co-workers,

people just thought he was a bit strange.

But other than that, he was a good father,

was vice president of the swim club where her daughter swam

and was always by the side of his children,

seemed like a decent husband.

Until it all came out.

But what I didn't know about Montgomery

is that his 17-year marriage was experiencing difficulties

and that he had become impotent.

There is desire,

but sometimes I couldn't do anything,

there was too much pressure on me...

... like, if I did that

we could still be together, but...

sex is just one part of a relationship,

communication is the other side.

I talked to some priests at the church that I attended,

told me I should communicate with her, and this and that,

there were times when I was trying, but...

...there's never her version, only mine.

I wasn't disappointed in her,

I was more disappointed with my life,

we had some wonderful kids, I had a wonderful wife,

but I felt guilty because I wasn't satisfied,

I wanted something else.

And that something else consisted in the beginning an internet game, then a girl.

A teenage girl.

Most of the time we play Texas Hold'em and Poker

and a few gym games,

and... relaxing.

I could talk to people that

I knew I wouldn't know them or ever see them,

I could tell them things, and vice versa,

if I was in trouble, for one thing...

not giving them personal information about the kids or Cindy, but...

you know, I'd talk to anybody.

I was playing blackjack in a card room, I remember he called himself Talhotblond.

He said "hello", I said and we started talking,

and said, "you're in the wrong place."

I asked her "what are you talking about?", and she said, "it's a children's room."

and I panicked,

because I had heard all that stuff about the internet,

I didn't want to get involved in that,

So I told him I was 18.

The first time we spoke he sent me some pictures of her in her bathing suit

the very first day he sent them to me,

and how can I put this...

they were... they weren't pornographic,

but they were defiant,

and told me to tell him what I looked like,

I told him I was 6'2"...

I told him I was muscular, he asked me if I was windy,

I answered in the affirmative, and he replied, "I like a man who's got a lot of wind."

Montgomery was trapped in the nets,

knew that Jessi, that was her real name. of Talhotblond,

wouldn't be texting him if he was found out he was a middle-aged parent.

So on the Internet Montgomery claimed that he was a brave young sniper

at a training camp.

He found a new name, "Tommy".

I knew I'd never meet her this girl,

and I could... you can say whatever you want on the Internet.

Montgomery told Jessi sad stories,

only lies.

For example, that he had never loved since his mother died

when he was young and he thought often thought about suicide.

I was telling him that Tommy doesn't have feelings

because he was suffering, and he was a loner and had suffered for love several times.

So he started talking, he opened his soul.

We talked about it, about sports, she was on the softball team.

Then he asked me, "Why do you want to be a sniper?"

So I said, "I want to try to be the best...

I want to do the hardest things".

Montgomery was a liar liar.

When Jessi wanted to see how Tommy looked like

sent her his picture from when he was 30 years old.

She wanted to talk to him on the phone,

called her a couple of times

late at night when Tommy was, hypothetically, off the clock.

Jessi actually thought she was 18.

Montgomery couldn't believe how lucky he was.

She's... a depressive,

a dynamic, hungry person,

in a dead-end marriage and life.

That would be enough for many people,

but not for him,

and definitely not for MarineSniper,

who had the opportunity to do a little more...

something better, and at least something different.

He knew they would never meet,

that they will never be seen in reality,

how could that be satisfactory?

Well...

... which is satisfying in any relationship... is not reality,

but the fantasy of what is possible.

Jessi's fantasies

were typical of a dreamy teenager.

He lived in a small town, in the hills of West Virginia.

This is the house where he lives with a traditional family,

a hard-working father,

a stay-at-home mother and a brother.

Jessi was about to graduate,

to go to the prom,

was undecided about her future.

Tommy could have been her ticket out out of town.

He was telling her "Her sweet, sexy sniper."

He was sending her videotapes,

in which he confessed to her his most secret secrets of hers.

Jessi had lost her virtual virginity

with the boy she thought was Tommy.

He sent her other articles,

like...

a necklace with his and her name on it,

that said "Jessi and Tom forever"

with a heart broken in half.

He sent her some panties

and while he was talking to her, she was describing what she was doing with her panties,

and that sort of thing.

Talhotblond: the first time we meet

talhotblond: I run and I put my feet around you

marinesniper: wearing red underwear silk

talhotblond: I'm going to lift my skirt, I don't care who sees

Since Tommy couldn't meet her Jessi in person,

Montgomery fabricated elaborate stories.

Tommy's done training,

then he was sent to Iraq.

It was now in enemy territory,

protecting Jessi and America.

I've always wanted to be combat sniper,

to participate in the war,

maybe I'm crazy, or an idiot, or something, but...

I've always wanted to test my my skills with someone else,

and... doing this with Jessi

I allowed myself to live the life that I knew I would never have.

He imagined he was someone else entirely,

and suddenly, there was a sniper 18 years old

with all kinds of empathy issues,

he could do whatever he wanted to do,

to be whoever he wanted to be,

was his own father,

at some point when he was on battlefield.

Right.

Montgomery added another lie to the existing ones,

claiming to be Tommy's father.

There were two reasons for this story:

a way to talk to Jessi,

while Tommy was, hypothetically, on dangerous reconnaissance missions,

and to try to end the relationship,

knowing it couldn't last.

Like I said, he was talking mostly

with this so-called Father

most of the time, because Tommy was on the battlefield.

And he said, "I like your son very much."

one-high.

Then I realised there would be problems.

So I tried to put an end to it

saying "I don't want you to talk to him anymore,

I won't let him text you again."

and I thought it would end,

but it didn't, one lie led to another,

and like I said, it was like an addiction.

I saw how blinded by love he was Thomas Montgomery.

It's the kind of thing you see more in teenagers,

who fall head over heels in love,

only he was 47 years old,

so we can't talk about mad passion,

he was obsessed, he was consumed

of this... fantasy.

It was like a drug as it was whiskey was to me,

something I should have,

Once I had it, I couldn't let it go. out of my hand,

I wasn't even trying.

It was... I was getting irritated,

I used to snap at Cindy for everything,

that kind of thing,

and... I was still working with my girls,

but as soon as I got back home

I was opening the computer again.

Sometimes he'd stay on the Internet until 5 or 6 in the morning,

and was supposed to be at work at 7 or 7.30.

I don't think it would be fair

let's say this man was addicted to the Internet,

I think he was addicted to emotion and complexity.

The Internet was special to him,

because it offered him something, like nothing else could.

His card games were not enough,

his life was not enough.

His addiction had as its objects

excitement, intrigue and complexity,

he would look for them wherever he could find them.

The relationship had been going on for more than 6 months.

Here is one of the diary entries Jessi's diary,

taken from police records.

Tommy had asked her to marry him

on his return from Iraq.

You can't help but wonder,

how could Montgomery do something like this

of such a gullible face.

She even thought she had a fiancé.

At first I thought about it,

but then I thought to myself,

you know, he's not gonna get hurt,

she's a young girl, she'll find someone else.

I felt like a kid again.

Like when...

I thought I was happier.

Love,

even pathological love,

is incredibly powerful.

We're talking about addicts alcohol addicts,

sex addicts,

people dependent on the internet.

But the biggest addiction of people

is love.

We are hopelessly and utterly addicted to love,

is the biggest addiction of all,

that nothing else can replace,

and she fed his addiction,

being the only one that feeds them this addiction.

As the relationship continued,

Montgomery seemed to cross the border

between fantasy and reality.

Then he wrote himself this bizarre note.

He was hiding it at work.

Write: On January 2, 2006,

46-year-old Tom Montgomery,

ceased to exist and was replaced

by an 18-year-old sniper.

Has money in the bank, $2.5 million,

he's handsome as a redheaded Harrison Ford."

He was talking about what size they would be his private parts

and how he will no longer be impotent.

Then Montgomery wondered,

when will the transformation take place?

To prepare.

The most extraordinary singular fact in this case

is the note in his locker.

Communicating with oneself

reflect his conviction

into something we all know is not possible

for a 45-46 year old former alcoholic,

that ended his life as a man,

will be young again and start his life over

in another country with another person,

which he thought meant

that he took that last step

from some random fantasy on the internet

went through a mirror

and entered the world of the unreal.

And he took it seriously.

I think Thomas Montgomery was so obsessed and consumed,

that meant everything to him,

has become...

the internet has become his world.

But that world was about to to fall apart.

Montgomery's wife, Cindy

I've suspected something for a while.

My wife was watching TV,

talking to each other

and he'd come to see what game we were playing.

I could always just push a button

to erase everything Jessi wrote to me.

He asked me, "Who are you talking to?"

I would reply, "I'm talking to some friends."

Towards the end I was thinking how to end it,

because the feeling of guilt consumes me...

that summer we had...

I thought it was a heart attack,

was an anxiety attack, with all that guilt.

The doctor told me I had to get out of stress,

so I thought, "I'll take it easy on the computer."

But no,

was even worse,

because I couldn't talk to her anymore.

Eventually, fate intervened,

exposing Montgomery's hoax.

His wife, Cindy, found a package

that Jessi had sent Tommy.

The red panties he found inside explained everything.

Game over.

When he found the package, he went to it

and said, "Now I have confirmation that I was looking for,

what you're doing, you don't realize, this girl is 18 years old,

you have a family, a wife, two kids, a dog,

and, you know...

what about... what about this?

She was furious, told me I was cheating on an 18-year-old girl,

that I shouldn't be doing this,

that she and I should work it out our problems,

not talk to someone else.

He got angry, he told me, "I'm right here."

and I said, "Cindy, it's easy for me to talk

with someone who's not there,

can't see emotions...

Look how angry you are right now."

And I can't blame her because she was angry.

Cindy Montgomery... was devastated.

She wanted a divorce,

but first he wrote this letter:

"Jessi, inside you'll find a picture of my family,

let me introduce you to these people,

the man in the middle is Tom

my husband... there is no Tommy.

Take advantage of yourself,

you have to be more careful about your safety.

You're gonna get hurt by the man

who has mastered the art of manipulation and lies.

Don't trust the written word on a computer."

How Jessi reacted when she received this letter?

Complete shock.

I remember her telling me how disgusted she was she was

by sending him messages of a sexual nature

a 47-year-old father.

She was angry and hurt.

We chatted on a private chat

and asked me why I did it,

why I made her suffer,

I said, "I wish I could explain to you

but I don't know".

I told him I had no intention of doing it,

but...

it was... it was too late for that.

In a way, I was glad it happened

because it's taken an enormous burden off my shoulders.

When he says he felt relieved,

what would be more convenient for him to say?

What he should say about himself...

is that...

Thomas Montgomery felt relieved.

Identity

"marinesniper" was not relieved

While he's glad he got caught,

"marinesniper" wants to come back to life.

"Marinesniper" and...

someone inside Montgomery

that never surfaced,

but he's desperate to do it.

This is the part where Jessi and I are bonding.

Here's how it happened.

We play internet games with Jessi and Montgomery.

He remembered my name from the screen.

"beefcake",

and contacted me to find out more about Montgomery.

He knew we were working together.

I couldn't believe all the lies he told her,

I felt so sorry for her.

I consoled her,

we formed an internet friendship.

He started sending me pictures that he'd sent to Montgomery and...

...well...

I think you can figure out where this is heading.

Beefcake: I'm looking at your pictures

talhotblond: what were you thinking

beefcake: how I wish to hold you in my arms

beefcake: and kiss you

talhotblond: I love you Brian

beefcake: I love you Jessi

Jessi was exactly my type.

We approached quickly.

I could understand why they would invent Montgomery

anything to talk to such a girl.

She knew how to flirt like no other.

Talhotblond: I take off my underwear

talhotblond: I'm laying on my back in the lap of my lover

talhotblond: I'm coming up with something long and hard

beefcake: you're getting close, baby

talhotblond: yes, you

What I didn't know was that Jessi was still angry

Montgomery for lying to her

and that he was using our relationship to get back at him.

I had no idea they were still talking.

He came into the chat and said, "I like Brian because

he doesn't lie to me, he's close to my age",

and said, "I really love him." and this and that.

He told me they both have cameras,

and that they send pictures,

that they undress for each other,

and he also told me that he does this to get back at me,

to make me angry.

I told him that for the first two weeks

that we didn't talk, I thought I was over it,

but when he came back and we started talking again,

I got back those feelings and it felt good.

Marinesniper: I'm sorry for all the suffering caused by my lies

talhotblond: will you do me a favor

marinesniper: what exactly

talhotblond: don't let Tommy die

marinesniper: won't die as long as you carry it in your heart

talhotblond: let it live in you

marinesniper: you're crying, aren't you

talhotblond: I didn't stop

talhotblond: you sound like my Tommy

marinesniper: but I can't be your Tommy

marinesniper: I wish you every happiness in the world

marinesniper: I love you Jessica

marinesniper: and I will always love you

talhotblond: well I'm ready

marinesniper: okay, sweetie

talhotblond: goodbye Tom

marinesniper: goodbye Jessica

It could have been the perfect ending

for Tommy's fairy tale.

But it wasn't.

Jessi was still angry about Montgomery's lies

and he used me to to get even more revenge.

I'm not proud of what I've done further.

But Jessi had a power over me.

She convinced me to help her make a mockery Montgomery on the Internet.

I walked into a gambling parlor

and I called Montgomery the predator and a loser.

He was suspended from the games.

Then I decided to tell them to our colleagues at the factory

how he lied to Jessi.

Beefcake: what to tell them

talhotblond: it's up to you, darling

beefcake: I got to get him out of my head

talhotblond: you're bad

beefcake: still laughing

We must not forget that here something happened,

and what happened here

had no control.

The space in his life

merged with the internet,

because those co-workers of his

discovered his participation,

and they discovered it in an embarrassing way.

He was stripped of his privacy

and its capacity for self-deception.

Because once that happened,

it was difficult for him to find out in that fantasy.

Montgomery stopped talking to me,

he told us both to leave him alone.

Frankly, I was sick of Jessi's games.

He was going crazy.

But she invited me to meet her in person.

I should never have let let it slip away at work,

that I want to go to West Virginia

to visit the "virgin".

I received a warning message.

It seemed Montgomery was still feeling a thing for Jessi

and for her virginity.

Marinesniper: so you're gonna meet her

beefcake: I don't really feel like to deal with her nerves

beefcake: i don't know what i want or what I'm going to do with it

marinesniper: i can't believe you prefer her to our friendship

marinesniper: go and get her caimac, good luck.

Beefcake: why does it bother you so much, you're so much older than her

marinesniper: tell that little whore to stay out of my life

marinesniper: you wanted it, you got it, just tell him to leave me alone

Oh, how intense,

and as it turned out, superfluous.

I didn't get to meet Jessi,

got mad at me

pretending all I want is sex.

Our relationship

was over.

Maybe that's why he came back to Montgomery,

was addicted to attention,

and now, quite versed.

Even though Montgomery was still angry

Jessi for humiliating him,

look how she lured him back,

banking on Tommy's fantasy.

Marinesniper: you mean nothing to me

talhotblond: why did you talk to me these days if I don't mean anything

marinesniper: I don't know sorry but I don't know

marinesniper: you better not play with me Jessi

marinesniper: I'm holding on to you a little longer but I want you to be devastated

marinesniper: why Jessi why are you playing with me like this

talhotblond: can we start again as friends

marinesniper: why do you want us to take it all over again as friends

talhotblond: because Tom I meant too so much to each other to be like this now

talhotblond: only you are my link to Tommy and I will love him to death

marinesniper: I still carry Tommy in my heart

Fantasies don't die so easily.

He's still a Marine,

still believes, I dare say,

that he would get back what he had.

It's still his fantasy

that Jessi's going to face a few worlds, that she would repent,

and that they will be together again.

Marinesniper: Can I tell you something to keep between us

talhotblond: yes

marinesniper: never stopped to care about you

talhotblond: after all I've done

marinesniper: yes

marinesniper: I want us to be friends and have fun like we used to

talhotblond: I think it's a great idea Tom

marinesniper: let's start again as friends right now

marinesniper: hi this is Tom

talhotblond: hi I'm Jessi

marinesniper: i am 47 years old and i am former sniper

talhotblond: I'm 18 years old and I just graduated

marinesniper: congratulations Jessi

talhotblond: good night my friend

marinesniper: good night, sweetie

Now that Montgomery and Jessi were "friends" again,

he began to open up to her.

Marinesniper: lost a good friend Jessi

marinesniper: made a mortal enemy

I had no idea he hated me so much.

Marinesniper: you did the thing I was most afraid of

talhotblond: what

marinesniper: you have hardened my heart

marinesniper: I hate him passionately and I'd kill him for a dime

talhotblond: that's a bit drastic, no

marinesniper: revenge is a bitch Jessi

Marinesniper: I am the ultimate weapon I'm a sniper

talhotblond: what are you going to do?

Marinesniper: let's say that the life of the sweetheart your shitty little life is hanging by a thread

talhotblond: you're serious

marinesniper: yes

talhotblond: when

marinesniper: the day after you two idiots told me that you were making fun of me

talhotblond: oh

marinesniper: if i had just taken a little shot a little harder he would have died

Marinesniper: Brian will pay in blood

You'd think Jessi would be terrified of this outburst,

but she seemed overcome with rage.

Jessi promised Montgomery

that he would never text me again,

and to seal the deal, she took her friendship with

the real 47-year-old Thomas Montgomery

into a more obscure and distorted area.

Talhotblond: I long for Tommy

marinesniper: you killed him inside my Jessi

talhotblond: very sorry Tom

marinesniper: Jessi I would sell my soul to be that Tommy

marinesniper: I want you so much Jessi, I want to hold you and kiss you

talhotblond: make love to me Tommy

marinesniper: he pulls down her panties and gently rubs his penis against her clit

talthoblond: mmmmmm

marinesniper: rubs gently and smiles at his lady

talhotblond: mmmmm

talhotblond: introduce-o sweetie

marinesniper: not yet baby I want you to beg for it like a little girl

talhotblond: please now

marinesniper: okay baby he's gently poking his lady

talhotblond: it's so good baby

marinesniper: it moves more and more faster and faster and says "any minute now, baby"

talhotblond: baby I'm gonna finish

talhotblond: faster baby

talhotblonh: ohhhhhh

talhotblond: Tommmyyyyyy

talhotblond: get it over with

marinesniper: termin

God, Jessi loved to play.

Just when he'd managed to get Montgomery where he wanted to go,

started flirting with other men on the internet.

Montgomery was devastated.

He begged her to stop playing with him.

Marinesniper: You enjoy to make me suffer

marinesniper: why Jessi, why don't you give up if you don't want me in your life

talhotblond: yes I want you in my life Tom

marinesniper: my suffering matters so much so much to you that you can't give up

talhotblond: Tom I don't want you to suffer

marinesniper: you get horny when you step on me on your feelings

Then I made a stupid mistake,

threatening her.

I said, "If you don't leave me alone,

I will physically hurt you."

This was the anger I felt again,

I thought I had it under control, but I wasn't.

I told him if he didn't leave me alone

I'm gonna go over there and physically hurt her,

"or I'll get you something you care about",

I mean her mother,

that I'm going to go and hurt her mother.

And for a while we didn't talk.

Then he came back and said,

"my mother wants to talk to you".

I said, "okay, I'll talk to your mom."

He told me to leave Jessi alone,

I said, "Okay, I'll do it,

but please, tell her to let me go, too. in peace."

The same thing your daughter asked for.

He said, "fine."

So it's been a few weeks and nothing.

I never heard from Jessi again,

Then Jessi comes back and I tell her, "Wait a minute,

Your mother told me to leave you alone,

and you leave me alone."

and he said, "he'll never find out."

Marinesniper: I'm just saying you can't get in in and out of my life at any time, sweetheart.

talhotblond: I defied my mother to be with you

marinesniper: Jessi I can't believe it that we're back together like this

talhotblond: why not

marinesniper: how we argue I didn't think we'd ever be together

marinesniper: you always liked the attention you've received

talhotblond: yes

talhotblond: give me some more

It's a bit like an arcade.

If you go online and play a game,

are figures,

they have guns, they shoot each other

and they fight,

and someone dies, someone else doesn't.

Why is it a game?

Because the next time you press that button

everyone is alive again.

And this is a game at a certain level,

and rebirth

his "marinesniper" is crucial

for Montgomery's psyche.

Looking back,

you can see how the mind games of Jessi was driving Montgomery crazy.

They were texting each other every week.

Psychopathic messages of verbal abuse

and sexual attention.

Then... inexplicably,

started sending me messages again,

wanted to be friends again.

Montgomery didn't know,

until he saw my name on Jessica's MySpace page,

and then all hell broke loose.

Marinesniper: I can take you with anyone but him

marinesniper: are you back together?

Marinesniper: Answer me Jessi

talhotblond: we talked Tom but no, we're not together

marinesniper: what do you want from me Jessi?

Talhotblond: let's finish as friends not as enemies

marinesniper: I'm not a puppet to play with

talhotblond: I'm asking you to give me up

marinesniper: now you're gonna pay my bitch

marinesniper: you better shake with fear

marinesniper: i told you what would happen if you get back together with Brian

talhotblond: hi Brian.

Talhotblond: I wanted to tell you that I pissed him off Tom and he thinks we're together

beefcake: don't do anything, I don't care what he thinks

beefcake: I haven't spoken to him in a few months, I've been keeping away from this mess

talhotblond: Brian, he threatened you

beefcake: he tried to run me over in the parking lot, he won't look at me or talk to me.

talhotblond: Oh my God

talhotblond: make sure to stay away from your truck

beefcake: if she touches it I lose my temper

beefcake: do you think I should tell him to my boss or someone else?

Talhotblond: Brian I'm really afraid of him

beefcake: yeah, me too, he's crazy

marinesniper: you're just a lying whore who wants Brian's penis inside her

marinesniper: i know you'll have a penis Brian's cock inside you

talhotblond: no, Tom

marinesniper: I don't want to meet you or see you unless you're raped by niggers

talhotblond: I ask you to love me enough to give me up

talhotblond: I know it hurts and I regret it very much, I don't want to hurt you anymore

talhotblond: I'm leaving now

marinesniper: of course

talhotblond: goodbye sweetheart

ONE DAY LATER - THURSDAY

marinesniper: are you here?

Marinesniper: hey curvo, suck your boyfriend Brian's dick today

(talhotblond disconnected)

TWO DAYS LATER - FRIDAY

marinesniper: okay, play your game

marinesniper: are you here?

(talhotblond disconnected)

LATER THAT EVENING, FRIDAY NIGHT

10:00 pm Brian leaves work

He gets into his parked truck near the end of the parking lot

Someone approaches from behind

Having no plans for the weekend, his corpse Brian's body wasn't discovered for two days

It was a beautiful, quiet day September day

and I approached the truck and I saw three bullet holes.

The window was closed,

the driver's side window was closed, with three bullet holes in it.

He was sitting in the driver's seat,

lay slumped to one side.

He was slumped to the right,

his arms had fallen to his right,

you could see a hole here

and an enormous hole in his throat.

He was still covered in blood,

there was blood all over the front seat of the truck.

It was a cold-blooded murder, methodical...

...an execution.

I think Thomas Montgomery

he still thought he was a rifleman...

a sniper.

I think he planned all this,

when we found Brian's car

the driver's side tire had a flat,

which made Brian easy prey.

They're the kind of things

that they would have set up Thomas Montgomery,

told people he was a sniper,

that if he kills someone, he'll do it with this gun,

he's gonna shoot him, and that's exactly what happened.

I think Brian was such a young boy,

a happy kid, living in the moment

and I don't think...

although I think he was probably thinking that Thomas was weird,

that they had their disagreements,

that they will never be friends,

I don't think he ever thought...

... that he'll even get to fight with Thomas Montgomery,

let alone have it happen.

Why didn't Montgomery go after Jessi?

Why... why Brian?

Jessi was the one who...

ultimately...

from any angle you look at it,

committed the most serious...

murder.

She cheated on him,

and... exposed him.

And yet Jessi wasn't killed.

Why?

Snipers don't kill women.

At every turn

act according to the role,

and male,

defends its territory,

his companions,

killing another man.

The thing that mammals did since the beginning of time.

The Internet has become his world, and

I think he saw the...

Brian was the only threat to this world.

Brian paid with his life for lack of wisdom.

It's an old saying:

"If you play with fire,

you get burned once in a while."

It's not the same

with saying, "If you play with matches,

you'll probably burn to death."

Brian acted recklessly,

acted insensitively,

underestimated

the explosive forces that have erupted here.

He paid a price that no one should have to pay for it.

In memory of Brian Barrett

"We miss you more than can be missed can describe in words."

If I were alive, I would tell my family three things:

I'm terribly sorry I didn't tell you what's going on.

I didn't suffer,

and I'm glad I didn't know what I had what was to follow.

The investigation into my murder

quickly focused on Thomas Montgomery.

But the cops couldn't find him right away

and they were afraid they might go after Jessi.

Our fear was that if the killer was Thomas Montgomery,

in a state of rage that drove him to kill Brian Barrett,

might go after this girl in Virginia. I was afraid she wasn't alive.

So for the next few hours I tried to track him down.

- And how did you find him? - Two ways.

I tried the department, looking for driver's license, anything I could find.

And while I was at the computer, trying to see what I could find,

I went on MySpace and found it.

West Virginia police have been dispatched immediately to Jessi's home.

It was about 6 AM, between 6 and 6:30,

me, along with another cop, ended up here,

I came to this door. I knocked on the door, a lady came to open the door.

I asked her if her name was Jessi. She denied it,

said her daughter Jessi lived in Conquer.

I asked her if she'd been around recently, she said no.

I asked her if she had a number where I could reach her,

he told me no, there's no way he could find her, I said, "she's your daughter."

It could be in danger, I need to talk to her.

She was agitated, her eyes had started tearing up.

You could tell something was wrong, we kept questioning her,

trying to find out where Jessi is.

Then she burst into tears and said, "I'm Jessi,

I used my daughter's name on the internet."

Oh, my God! That was the truth! The unimaginable truth!

Jessi, the real Jessi, hadn't written her a word to Montgomery or me.

It was her mother, Mary Shieler,

who was sending Jessi and underwear

and had virtual sex on the Internet.

Mother used her beautiful daughter as bait.

And this is what happened!

I think she liked it, too, to the same extent that he liked this fantasy.

He was an 18-year-old sniper,

and she was a beautiful 18-year-old woman.

What does it say about her that she used pictures of her daughter?

What's terrifying is what didn't happen.

He could have caused his daughter's death, kidnapping his own daughter, harassing her.

It produced the perfect storm...

for anger and disappointment. And it made her day day after day, over and over again.

There's a cult of violence in her behavior! It's unspeakable to me!

It's all incredible... to this day, it's an incredible investigation.

The only person who told the truth in this investigation is Brian Barrett.

Here's what happened next. Mary Shieler gave a statement to the police.

She said Montgomery called her after the murder, thinking it was Jessi.

He told her it wasn't hard for him to handle with her boyfriend

and that no 18-year-old girl is making fun of him.

But when the police questioned Montgomery, he refused to cooperate.

He told them that he didn't kill me and it was convincing.

Denial of Thomas Montgomery of having committed murder was accurate.

In a certain metaphorical sense,

the sniper did,

just like a sniper would.

With a sniper rifle and after a well thought-out plan.

He didn't leave without killing.

He lived like a sniper and killed his rival, like a sniper.

He lived his fantasy to the last bullet.

As Montgomery did not confess and there were no eyewitnesses,

the investigation has grown. His computer Montgomery's computer was seized.

Experts found thousands of messages he had saved.

It was an object left at the crime scene

that matched Montgomery's DNA.

A bullet clip found near the truck also led to Montgomery.

And since the murder weapon was never found,

the search of Montgomery's home turned up something startling.

He had told one of his colleagues that, if he ever committed a crime

will use this type of weapon, an M1A1 weapon,

a very old military sniper rifle.

Naturally, the clamps I found at the crime scene

came from that type of rifle with a scope.

Among his photos I saw that type of rifle,

I found an old photo, a photo that Thomas took of Cindy

when they lived in Florida for a while.

In the background of that photograph I saw the same type of gun,

and the FBI compared the photos and determined that it's an M1A1

in the gun rack. If you put all the pieces together, everything fits.

Investigators now had a solid case and arrested Montgomery.

He still thought Jessi was a teenager, so imagine that moment

when Montgomery is taken into custody and is shown the picture

to Mary Shieler and is told, "that's who you've been talking to all this time."

When the cops first told him first time in the interrogation room,

he realized that everything that had happened had been a fantasy, she's not 18

but 46 years... not a word.

They told him there was blood in his car and he changed the upholstery which was white.

When I found out who it was, I was shocked to the max,

I really thought she was a teenager 18 years old.

He played his role very well, she was a great actress.

Even when... Made me believe he was 18 when

thought he could talk to a sniper on a combat mission,

in a military vehicle, playing on the computer, talking to each other,

made me think she was a teenager blonde 18-year-old girl with no brains.

Because under no circumstances can you use a computer in there.

Even as I got older, I was emotionally immature,

when he caught me on a leash, he was done with me, like a fish on dry land.

And it was very good.

Montgomery still didn't confess he killed me.

But he was clearly very troubled. He tried to kill himself in prison.

When he was arrested, he was solid, the rugged type.

And in the first two months he lost weight around 50 kilos.

I didn't eat until I got 58 kilos,

we found sleeping pills on one of cellmate of mine

and I took 25 pills, trying to to kill myself. I was a wreck,

my children were all I had left. Without them, there was no point in living.

Montgomery's lawyer wanted to plead not guilty by reason of insanity.

At my appointment with the psychiatrist, I realized I didn't have enough for this.

Let's not forget that we are not talking about defence on insanity defense for an internet relationship,

but the insanity defense for the murder of a young man.

And the way it happened indicated that everything had been planned

that it was well thought out, that...

we didn't have enough material for this type of defence.

Montogomery wanted a trial. Said he had an alibi.

He claimed he was home at the time when the murder took place

and that his wife and children will confirm his alibi.

But Cindy Montgomery didn't want to have anything to do with it.

She told the cops that her husband hadn't been home that night.

Montgomery spoke to his daughters in a prison phone call.

I'll protect you from all that.

But your mother knows that if don't testify, I'm gonna lose

and I'm going to jail.

But I love you more than you'll ever know.

- I love you so much. - I love you too, Daddy.

He didn't want to involve his daughters in the process.

That's when we started talking seriously about how he was going to plead.

How long did you talk about the plea? They say there was pressure.

I don't think "pressure" is the right word.

In my experience, and I told him this, given the evidence,

an acquittal will be almost impossible, that's my professional advice.

And now it's time to salvage what we can.

I met with him on Friday, Saturday and Sunday,

we met three times over the weekend. And Monday morning, I think that was

the day we met to set the plea.

Montgomery pleads to murder with aggravating circumstances

In view of the process

we have started the jury selection.

Judge: You intentionally shot this person with a gun?

- Yes. - What kind of gun?

- 30 caliber. - How many times have you fired?

Three times.

It's an absolutely senseless crime and all parties have made clear.

The result of a non-existent relationship, a love triangle between people

who didn't even know each other.

Montgomery is sentenced to 20 years of imprisonment

In my opinion, the evidence was overwhelming and he figured it out,

because someone of his character Thomas Montgomery doesn't plead guilty

unless he knows he'll be convicted.

He knows he's guilty and that's why he said under oath

that he was guilty and pleaded guilty,

which at least allowed him to get out from prison

during his lifetime.

If he had been convicted he would have received between 25 years and life imprisonment,

Instead he got 20 years.

If they behave in prison, he could do 17 years.

Do you think the lawyer shouldn't have demand a trial?

18 years is an extremely long time

for an ordinary citizen with no background to spend in prison.

But a young life is infinite more valuable.

From the point of view of those who care about Brian,

the sentence is an insult.

It's a commemorative plaque that was given to us given to us at his funeral.

BRIAN'S LAST PHOTO

If everyone involved had given one phone call...

Even the people at the factory, if they called to say,

"There's a problem here at work that you should know about."

Then we would have had the opportunity to sit by to talk to him, but Brian didn't complain about anything,

never said, "Jesus, these people are giving me a hard time."

I blame myself for finding them his job ad in the paper...

I blame myself for everything.

I blame my career choice, as an electronics repairman,

for having a computer in the house.

It was said that Jessica, the daughter, was a little everything he would want in a girl.

He liked blond girls, sports girls. He was on the basketball and softball teams.

He was a baseball fan. If he had another image of a girl in his mind,

maybe it wouldn't have gotten this far.

He mailed her the pictures that he had sent to Montgomery,

received a dozen photos.

He put it all together and started to believe that Jessica was a real person.

I was shocked to learn that a mother can do something like that,

to pretend she's a child,

to attract men on the internet,

how can a mother do such things.

A real mother would never such a thing.

Her actions have caused the greatest pain of mine,

to lose my oldest son.

We were shocked, we couldn't understand how someone could be so...

...immoral, to do something so horrible.

Mary Shieler was not charged in this lawsuit

How do you feel about the fact that she wasn't charged?

It can record on the tape which are our feelings for her?

I think there should be a law for protect other people and children on the Internet

because I think there's not enough control for their actions.

She can't be locked up for what she did because there is no law for that,

so someone can do something like this and get away with it.

In a perfect world where you can create the laws, should it be condemned?

She's got her share of guilt, she might have helped create this situation...

but the bottom line is that Tom Montgomery is who pulled the trigger.

In New York it's difficult, you have to prove that she helped him commit the crime

or told him to commit murder,

which he didn't, set him up to do it.

But he didn't say, "yes, we should take care of Brian."

"you should kill Brian."

It's a fine line, that's why I said... she should feel responsible?

I hope so.

- Is he remorseful? - I don't think so.

I don't think it does.

This is Tim Shieler, recently divorced from Mary.

Do you think she's in any way responsible for the death of that young man?

Yes. I can say that without any hesitation. Because...

Tim says Mary kept lying even after my death.

He didn't tell his family the whole truth either.

Last year when he had to go to New York

to testify at the trial, that's when I first heard about it...

about everything that happened...

Even then he told me, "I have to tell you something."

I said, "Fine." He said, "I did something bad."

He said, "I went online, "on a chat room,

one of the men I was talking to,

I didn't realize it, but he was in trouble mental problems," I think that's how he put it,

"and I was also talking to one of his colleagues "and I was chatting with one of my co-workers,

and the other got jealous and killed him."

I started asking him questions, and he said,

"I was one of the many people who were in the chat room".

- Did he tell you what they were talking about? - No. He said they were talking about the weather,

about the games they played, can you believe that someone

could actually say something like that... on general topics.

I thought, how could he do that? He did.

When did you find out he was using Jessi?

When Jessi came in and said. I think...

Friends and locals have commented about the event...

so he Googled his mother,

and when he looked for it, it all came out it all came out.

My little girl found out everything.

She looked and everything was there with her.

Our house, with her name,

and her photos.

He came and told me, "Daddy, did you know about this"?

How to tell your child, "I had no idea."

I talked to her for a few hours to convince her that I didn't know what her mother did.

I couldn't believe what her mother had done.

How can you do that to a stranger? And how can you do it to your child?

- Did you have a good marriage? - I thought so.

I had planned my whole life around this person. I thought he'd be with me till the day I died.

And when you finally realize something's different

is when you leave for work, or you come home from work,

and she's sitting on the couch with her laptop

and doesn't even look at you or say, "bye, I love you", "I love you",

It doesn't even concern me. He doesn't look up from what he's doing.

And you start to wonder what's wrong.

And when you try to talk to her, she gets defensive.

Have you never tried to look into her laptop?

I'd go up to her and kiss her and she was closing the laptop.

I always wondered, and I wondered why she did it.

I told her I just wanted to kiss her.

- Was it like a sex life for her? - Are you kidding me? Might as well have been.

As I told you, I thought there's something strange

and now I wonder and always I will always wonder

which was the thing he was looking for on the internet.

Jessi asked me why she did her mother did that.

And I had to tell him that I had formed an opinion of Mary over the years,

that Mary is capable of many things and believes she won't get caught.

If she thinks she can cry or explain, then it's okay.

It's something she used to do when she was little, when Mary was trapped...

her mother once caught her doing something and she started crying. I was joking about that.

These things should tell you something.

But you laugh at them, that's all.

You think, that was in the past, now it's better, now it's different.

Looks like Mary's been a good liar all her life.

Yes.

This is Jessi. The real Jessi.

Torn, distraught, fragile.

She did not want to be interviewed. But she severed all contact with her mother.

He refuses to talk to her. Jessi says that her mother still hasn't apologized

nor did he explain why he lied.

Betrayal has devastated her.

A mother should protect you and love you.

Finally, what should happen to bring Jessi and her mother closer together

is forgiveness.

But there is a problem.

If I were talking to Jessi right now, I'd tell her,

"Jessi, there's a rule for forgiveness:

Never forgive those who repent."

As long as her mother doesn't realize and takes responsibility

the magnitude of the harm he has done

has no remorse, and if he does not repent, she cannot be forgiven.

Should he go to jail?

I'm surprised it hasn't been closed. I'm really surprised.

There are days when I think that this is the only way he might have realized he'd done something wrong.

It took 6 months, a private detective

and an unannounced visit from reporters

to get Mary Shieler's version about this story.

She lives with her parents in this new house.

He refused the presence of the camera inside. He doesn't want Thomas Montgomery

to find out what it looks like when it comes out from prison.

When he explained why he did it, he defended himself saying she just wanted to be a good mother.

And that he didn't want it to happen to happen.

She says she was bored and lonely.

Her children had grown up, her husband was mostly at work.

And that he only wanted to have fun a little fun on the Internet.

He claims that the only reason he kept talking to Montgomery

was to keep him from talking with real teenage girls.

To put it simply, I don't believe Mary when she says that.

I think this is a comment meant to make her look like a victim,

and not as an evil person.

It's a denial of her involvement.

I don't think he acted on those reasons, she only took care of herself,

is concerned only with her needs psychological needs.

And I think he did that at the cost of losing another human life.

He escaped by not taking part directly in this, as far as I know,

but is still associated with the death of a of a 22-year-old.

Before his life began.

- And for what? - Excitement, boredom...

or something... I don't know.

You said something very nice on the phone, that you've been thinking about contacting the Barretts.

I'd like to, but I don't know how.

How would I feel if I were them?

Would they take my call? Or a letter?

Or something else from someone who that has anything to do with that woman?

If I were them...

I don't know.

There are no words, how can you say something to ease the suffering

to someone who lost their child?

It wasn't an accident, it was frivolous. and stupid.

When the police confiscated the computer Mary Shieler's computer

found something troubling.

There were hundreds and hundreds of pictures of Jessi.

It was like he was stalking his daughter with a camera.

Many photos were obviously taken without Jessi's knowledge.

But most worrying was that Mary was sending pictures to several men.

Not just Montgomery and me.

There was a video Mary had made a compromising video

with Jessi in a mini skirt

and emailed it back, asking men if they liked it.

Mary's son Tim Junior refused also refused to speak on camera.

His mother didn't talk about what what happened.

But he says it's started again spending a lot of time on the computer.

And he's worried.

They said Mary Shieler can't be charged with any crime.

She didn't pull the trigger, true.

But as far as I'm concerned, he did something much worse.

He unleashed an internet fantasy that more addictive than a drug.

And it's as lethal as a bullet.

Biologically speaking, even a snail would give its life to protect its offspring.

I think she should be here, too. with me.

She had to deal with it too.

I'd like to know why he did it,

why he used his daughter that way.

Did he have the same problems I did?

Lack of communication in her marriage and then some, but...

why use your own daughter?

You could have made up any name.

That's all I want to know, why he did it.

Don't make the same mistakes I did.

Don't keep it all inside you...

don't think you're solving your problems by talking to someone on the internet,

because it only makes it worse things.

And don't alienate your family from you.

When you're in trouble, keep your family close to make you stronger.

I see it in my children's eyes every time I see them.

And it hurts even more. The guilt kills me every day.

From my point of view, what we have to learn from all this...

is as simple as it gets, to be kind and not lie.

We've been on this planet for better for a million years.

If this interview were to take place today in a million years,

to be kind and not lie would be equally good advice.

Marinesniper: Honey, do me a favor.

talhotblond: ce

marinesniper: think before you act

marinesniper: think about the problems or suffering that may be caused

Thomas Montgomery appealed. He says he was pressured to plead guilty.

Barrett family hopes to create new laws for internet accountability.

Tim Shieler started going out on dates.

Jessi is rebuilding her life without her mother.

First public images of Mary Shieler

He wants to write a book about the dangers of the internet.

What's great about us is our fantasy because

fusion with technology have become creations

and their interference and coexistence with our basic needs

become evil, violent and murderous.

It's the best and worst thing about us, but what's unique about us.