Shocking Discovery in Storage Unit
Justin Rey, 35, was found in a storage unit with his newborn daughter, two-year-old daughter, and the mutilated remains of his wife, Jessica Monteiro, 32. The grim scene unfolded hours after Monteiro gave birth in a Kansas City motel and died shortly afterward.
Rey dismembered her body in the motel bathtub, skinning it “like a fish,” as he later confessed. He stored the remains in containers, including a cooler, fearing authorities would take his children away. Surveillance footage captured him wheeling a red cooler with a black bag through the hotel while pushing a stroller, with his toddler walking alongside.
Rey’s Actions and Excuses
Rather than calling emergency services, Rey spent eight hours dissecting the body, according to Monteiro’s sister. He positioned his daughters for photographs with the corpse and later admitted placing unflushed body parts into containers.
Police discovered the family after reports of someone living in the storage unit with children. One officer noted the elder child appeared severely ill, “almost like she had cancer.” Rey claimed they were heading to Arizona for a proper ceremony for his wife. The children were placed in protective custody.
Court Testimony and Confessions
During a preliminary hearing, Rey testified: “It’s something I had to do. My family is very dear to me. It’s something I had to do to protect my family.” He initially claimed Monteiro died by suicide, then said it occurred during childbirth. The coroner could not determine the exact cause of death.
Lenexa police detective Shannon Murphy testified that Rey confessed to skinning the body and photographing it with the children. Deputy Johnson County Coroner Charles Glenn reported multiple stab wounds on the remains, but their timing—before or after death—remained unclear.
Rey maintained they stayed at the storage facility for only 11 hours and flushed just the placenta down the toilet. “It was not fun for me,” he stated. In another statement, he said: “What was I supposed to do? I wasn’t going to leave mama behind.”
Background and Charges
Rey explained avoiding police contact due to fears they would “steal more children,” claiming he and Monteiro had six children together, some previously taken by authorities. In a letter dated June 23, he denied being a murderer or abandoning a corpse, insisting: “I did dismember a dead corpse under religious views.”
After his October 2017 arrest, Rey admitted guilt in Johnson County District Court to keep his family intact. He faced two counts of aggravated child endangerment and two counts of contributing to a child’s misconduct, stemming from photographs of teenagers found on his phone after he requested law enforcement review it for trial evidence.
Rey watched his hearing via video after repeated interruptions led the judge to remove him. He received a nine-year prison sentence and must register as a sex offender.
