DeKalb woman beaten to death, man she was dating charged with murder: police

Devonne L. Montgomery, 30, was convicted felon at time of woman’s violent death

Jasmine Dejournette, 31, of DeKalb, shown here in this Oct. 26, 2024, photo provided by her brother Kevin Catlin. The photo is from when Jasmine was in Catlin's wedding in Michigan. Dejournette was killed Jan. 7, 2024. Police arrested a man charged in her death Jan. 9, 2024.

DeKALB – A 31-year-old DeKalb woman was beaten to death Tuesday and the man she was dating was charged Thursday with first-degree murder in connection with the killing, authorities said.

Jasmine Dejournette was pronounced dead at her home on West Hillcrest Drive early Tuesday morning, according to DeKalb County court records. She succumbed to what police described as “significant facial injuries.” A DeKalb police forensic pathologist said her cause of death was brain hemorrhaging due to excessive blunt force trauma, court records show.

Loved ones have set up a GoFundMe campaign to raise money for the family to help lay her to rest.

“Jasmine was a beautiful soul – kind, loving, and selfless – always putting others before herself," loved ones wrote in memory. “She had an incredible spirit, a heart full of love, and a presence that could light up any room.”

Devonne L. Montgomery, 30, a convicted felon, called 911 about 2:20 a.m. Tuesday to report “an unresponsive woman,” police said.

Devonne L. Montgomery, 30, of DeKalb, is charged with first-degree murder in the violent killing of 31-year-old DeKalb woman Jasmine Dejournette on Jan. 7, 2024.

When officers arrived at the apartment, Montgomery answered the door and the officers saw Dejournette naked and laying on the floor of the apartment, unconscious and not breathing, records show.

Montgomery is charged with two counts of first-degree murder, felony aggravated domestic battery and unlawful possession of a weapon by a felon, according to records filed Thursday in DeKalb County court.

If convicted, he could face a life sentence. Montgomery previously was convicted of aggravated battery and discharge of a firearm in a 2015 Kane County case, according to court records. He also was convicted in a 2013 Kane County case of aggravated unlawful use of a weapon.

In a lengthy Facebook post, Dejournette’s brother, Kevin Catlin, mourned his sister. She served in his wedding party in Michigan on Oct. 26, 2024, which he called “a blessing an honor” in an email to Shaw Local.

“She was one of the sweetest, most caring souls to ever walk this earth—someone whose love knew no bounds, whose heart was always open, and whose kindness never wavered, no matter how others may have treated her in the past," Catlin wrote in his online tribute. “Jasmine loved deeply, forgave freely, and cared selflessly.”

Catlin wrote that his running joke with his sister was that she was the “second mom” and he the “true dad.”

“She carried so much love within her, just like our mother, always putting others before herself, always making sure everyone around her felt seen, felt loved, felt valued,” Catlin wrote. “I always asked if she would be at family gatherings, because if Jasmine was there, you knew the room would be full of joy.”

Records shed light on violent night

He told officers he lived with Dejournette in DeKalb on days that he worked, police said. The Monday before Dejournette was killed, Montgomery had been playing video games and drinking alcohol, records show.

Authorities said Montgomery’s phone showed evidence of the two dating, although messages sometimes referred to his violent treatment of Dejournette, court records allege.

Between June 13, 2024, and Jan. 6, Montgomery and Dejournette exchanged 8,214 instant messages, according to court records. In some, she mentioned Montgomery beating her, according to documents filed Thursday in court.

On Dec. 2, Dejournette wrote, “you don’t have to put your hands on me to prove your point. The look in your eyes is scary af.”

In an audio message sent to Montgomery Jan. 1, Dejournette talked about him “putting his hands on her,” and her wanting to leave him but “knowing he was going through a lot,” according to court records.

On June 18, 2024, Dejournette messaged Montgomery and said, “Regardless of what we go thru, I’m never calling the police on you or telling them [expletive]...I would never wanna take you from your kids lives,” according to court records.

When officers arrested Montgomery, he initially said he wasn’t at the apartment the night of Dejournette’s killing, according to court records. Instead, he told them he arrived back to the apartment after a night out at a cousin’s home and found her lying on the floor with a pillow next to her and covered in a blanket.

Montgomery’s phone location data, however, showed his phone was in or around the apartment from 6 p.m. Jan. 6 to when police arrived after 2 a.m. Jan. 7, according to court records.

DeKalb police detectives searched Montgomery’s phone with a warrant and discovered he’d been on a three-way phone call with two cousins for hours early Tuesday morning leading up to Dejournette’s killing, according to court records.

One of the cousins, a man who’d been on the phone with Montgomery that night, told police Montgomery later called him from the DeKalb Police Department about 8 a.m. Wednesday and told him “to tell police that they were together the night before,” according to court records.

The man also said that during the phone call, Montgomery talked about how he was upset about his father’s recent death and that Dejournette hadn’t paid bills on time, police said.

The man said he overheard Montgomery and Dejournette arguing over the phone multiple times during the call, police said, and toward the end of the call, Montgomery told the man he would be back.

Five minutes later, the man said he heard Montgomery return and say that he had to go, and ended the call, according to court records, and about 3 that morning, Montgomery called the man back and said “something along the lines of ‘she’s gone.‘”

DeKalb police searched the apartment and found evidence of a bloody scene, according to court records.

Items included bloody clothing, soaked carpet, shoes with a tread pattern with shapes similar to the injuries officers saw on Dejournette’s face, a loaded pistol in a men’s shoebox upstairs in what Montgomery told police was the “game room,” and a Taurus pistol purchased by Dejournette under a bed upstairs, according to court records.

Montgomery made his first court appearance on the charges before Circuit Court Judge Philip Montgomery Thursday. The judge ordered him detained pending trial, ruling in favor of prosecutor Alicia Caplan’s petition to deny release. Montgomery was represented by public defender Chip Criswell.

He’s expected to remain held in DeKalb County jail with a status hearing set for 10 a.m. Feb. 5.

Editor’s note: Are you suffering from domestic abuse or violence? Safe Passage, a DeKalb-based shelter and advocacy agency, offers a 24/7 crisis hotline. Call 815-756-5228 or text 815-393-1995. You can also call the 24/7 National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-7233 or text START to 88788.

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This story was updated at 8:35 p.m. Jan. 9, 2024, with quotes from Kevin Catlin, Jasmine Dejournette’s brother. Additional updates could occur.

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