A convicted murderer investigated in connection with a series of grisly Southwest Florida killings — including two bodies discovered in wooded areas of North Port in Sarasota County — is scheduled to be executed Sept. 10.
Daniel Owen Conahan Jr., known as the “Hog Trail Killer,” was sentenced to death for the 1996 kidnapping and murder of 21-year-old Richard Allen Montgomery in Charlotte County.
Investigators have explored whether Conahan could be responsible for roughly a dozen killings across the region, including the “Fort Myers Eight.” However, he was never charged in those deaths or the other Hog Trail Murders.
Here’s what to know about Conahan, his crimes and the questions that remain.
The Hog Trail Murders
Five bodies were found in northern Charlotte County between
1994 and 1996. The crimes became known as the "Hog Trail Murders" after some victims were found along what was known as the "hog trail."
The first body, that of drifter Gerald "Jerry" Lombard, of Lowell, Massachusetts, was discovered Feb. 1, 1994. Lombard was identified in 2021 using DNA database services.
On April 17, 1996, investigators found more bodies in the general area of Lombard's remains.
Charlotte County Sheriff’s detectives discovered male body parts about a half-mile apart that were obviously dissected and decomposed.
The decomposed remains were eventually identified as Kenneth Smith of Fort Myers and Naples. The more recent body was identified as Montgomery.
After the discovery of Lombard's remains and before the discovery of Smith and Montgomery, two other bodies were found in wooded areas of North Port in Sarasota County.
In all, roughly a dozen bodies, believed to be part of serial killings, were discovered.
The Fort Myers Eight
Eight sets of skeletal remains of adult males between the ages of 18 and 49 were discovered during a land survey in a wooded area of East Fort Myers in 2007.
Police initially found three skeletons, but searchers later found five more, all within a 50-yard radius.
Four of the eight have been identified via DNA:
- Robert Ronald “Bobbie” Soden
- Jonathan Tihay, 25 or 26, a drifter without a solid job, he never was reported missing.
- Johnathan Blevins, 26, lived in the Fort Myers area before he went missing in 1995.
- Eric Kohler, 21, lived with his grandparents when he disappeared in 1995.
According to previous News-Press reports, the skeletal remains of the eight men found in Fort Myers displayed similarities to the Charlotte County deaths.
Police at the time wouldn't officially say the cases were linked, but an FGCU criminologist said the resemblances couldn't be ignored.
The hog trail murder of Richard Montgomery
According to court records, on April 16, 1996, Richard Montgomery told friends he was going out to make a few hundred dollars and would be back shortly. When asked whether it was legal, he smiled.
Previously, Montgomery told his mother someone offered him $200 to pose for nude pictures, but declined to tell her who made the offer. In the same conversation, Montgomery told her he met a new friend, Daniel Conahan, a nurse living in Punta Gorda.
The next day, two Charlotte County utility workers discovered a human skull in a remote, wooded area off Highway 41 and notified police.
While searching the scene, deputies found the nude body of a young, white male later identified as Montgomery. He had visible signs of trauma to the neck, waist, and wrists, and his genitalia had been removed.
Ligature marks found on Montgomery's body and other evidence found at the scene indicated that Montgomery had been tied to a tree and strangled.
During the guilt phase of Conahan's trial, the state presented evidence that, on the day of Montgomery’s disappearance, Conahan’s credit card was used to buy rope, Polaroid Film, pliers and a knife at a Wal-Mart store in Punta Gorda.
Due to the similarities, police reviewed a Fort Myers assault reported two years earlier.
Conahan's attack on Fort Myers man provides big break
According to court records, on Aug. 15, 1994, Stanley Burden reported to Fort Myers police that Conahan tied him to a tree and assaulted him.
Burden said Conahan offered to pay him $100 to $150 to pose for nude bondage photos. Burden agreed and Conahan drove them to a wooded location.
The bones of the "Fort Myers Eight" were found in woods off Arcadia Street in Fort Myers. That's near Rockfill Road, where Conahan allegedly assaulted Burden.
After taking several photos, Conahan pulled out a rope and tied Burden to a tree. While restrained, Conahan performed oral sex on Burden and attempted to have anal sex with him.
When Burden resisted by positioning his backside against the tree, Conahan placed the rope around Burden’s neck and unsuccessfully tried to strangle him for half an hour. Conahan asked Burden why he would not die and finally gave up, gathered his possessions and left.
Burden freed himself and reported the incident to police. Police located the crime scene and found a tree with markings that corroborated Burden’s injuries and story.
Police began an undercover investigation of Conahan.
The arrest of 'Hog Trail Killer' Daniel Conahan
On May 24, 1996, an undercover deputy, Scott Clemens, was approached by Conahan at Kiwanis Park, and Conahan offered Clemens $7 to show his penis or $20 if Clemens would allow Conahan to perform fellatio, court records show. Clemens refused the offer and the next day returned to the park where he again encountered Conahan, who offered him $150 to pose for nude photos.
On May 31, 1996, police searched Conahan's residence and vehicles and obtained paint samples from his father's Mercury Capri, which Conahan occasionally used. They then compared paint samples from the Capri with a paint chip from Montgomery's body and found them to be indistinguishable.
During a police interview, Conahan told a detective that he had a fantasy involving bondage and sex.
On February 25, 1997, Conahan was indicted for first-degree premeditated murder, first-degree felony murder, kidnapping, and sexual battery of Montgomery.
The trial court permitted the state to introduce evidence of Burden's attempted murder and sexual battery, ruling that "the evidence was sufficiently similar to the evidence leading up to Montgomery's death so as to constitute a unique modus operandi sufficient to establish the identity of Montgomery's murderer."
Conahan was found guilty of first-degree premeditated murder and kidnapping and subsequently sentenced to death. He is scheduled to be executed at Florida State Prison in Raiford on Sept. 10, 2026.
While Conahan has long been a person of interest, he was never formally named a suspect or charged with any of the other Hog Trail Murders or with the killings of the Fort Myers Eight.
Contributing: C. A. Bridges, USA TODAY Network Florida; Michael Brown, Fort Myers News-Press; Stacey Henson, Fort Myers News-Press & Naples Daily News
Kim Luciani is a journalist for the USA TODAY Network-Florida's Audience team. You can get all of Florida’s best content directly in your inbox each weekday by signing up for the free newsletter, Florida TODAY, at https://news-press.com/newsletters.
This article originally appeared on Sarasota Herald-Tribune: ‘Hog Trail Killer’ execution revives Sarasota County mystery
