Ventura Crimes: The Murder of Katrina Montgomery
Having spent most of my life in Ventura County, I’m always surprised to learn about crimes that made headlines I’d never heard of. The murder of Katrina Montgomery is one of those cases. I stumbled upon the case by accident after discovering a true crime book titled Dangerous Attraction by Robert Scott. I had never heard of Katrina, and it haunts me to think that her body has never been found, ultimately denying many of her loved ones closure now that she is gone.
The Life of Katrina Montgomery
Katrina Montgomery was 16 years old in 1989 when she met and began dating a man name Mitch. Mitch had been one of the first members of a white supremacist gang known around Ventura as the Skin Head Dogs (SHD).
As a young teenager, Katrina would attend SHD events and parties with Mitch, though she would never become a member of the gang. The SHD gangs gained a reputation around Ventura for committing racially motivated crimes and brawling in the street.
Eventually, Mitch enlisted in the army and was sent to Germany. Katrina followed him for several months. Katrina’s parents expressed unhappiness about her move, but the two had broken up by 1992 and she came back. When Mitch returned to the U.S., he left the SHD. In the meantime, Katrina maintained a friendship with the gang’s…
