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Daniel Conahan is a convicted killer and suspected serial killer accused of a series of murders in southwest Florida in the 1990s. Conahan's offenses, commonly known as the "Hog Trail Murders," attacked transient men looking for work or gay men, most of whom were last spotted along roadsides in the Charlotte County, Florida area.
Conahan lured victims by promising them money, leading them to isolated wooded spots, and binding, attacking, and murdering them. The victims were usually found naked, with signs of violence and restraint. The probe into the activities of Conahan resulted in his arrest in 1996 and conviction for Richard Montgomery's murder, although he is suspected of being responsible for several other deaths.
The case is set to be highlighted in Unknown Serial Killers of America, with Season 1, episode 3 focusing on Daniel Conahan and airing on June 1, 2025, on Oxygen.
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Timeline of the major events in the Daniel Conahan case
Early Background and Life
As per WFTV, Daniel Conahan was a practical nurse who lived in Punta Gorda, Florida, in the early 1990s. He was a veteran of the U.S. Navy and well known in the area for hanging out where transient men tended to congregate. Conahan would often offer men money to pose nude or for sex, a behavior that would be at the heart of the investigation into the Hog Trail Murders.
The first known victims (1994)
As per KIRO 7 News, in February of 1994, the decomposed and mutilated body of a man, later identified as Gerald "Jerry" Anthony Lombard, was discovered in a Port Charlotte, Florida, wooded area. Lombard had vanished from Massachusetts in 1991. The body found in 1994 was identified as Lombard's decades later, in 2021, due to DNA and genealogy testing.
Lombard was said to have been a drifter and would occasionally vanish for extended lengths of time, as reported by the Charlotte County Sheriff's Office. His death would later be attributed to Daniel Conahan, who was already suspected of committing similar acts in the region.
As per WFTV, two months later, in March 1994, another corpse was found by a driver in a forest area close to the first. The victim, then referred to as John Doe No. 3, was subsequently identified as John William Melaragno. Melaragno was bound, and seemed to have escaped briefly, but was pursued and stabbed to death.
The investigators observed that the victims were white males, naked, positioned on their backs, and bound to trees or with ligature marks on trunks in the vicinity.
Connecting the offenses and testimony of the survivor (1994–1996)
As per WFTV, detectives started making links between the cases after discovering the same type of ligature marks on trees at various crime scenes. In August 1994, Stanley Burden survived an assault after being enticed by Conahan with promises of cash to appear nude.
Daniel Conahan tied Burden to a tree, r*ped him, and tried to strangle him. Burden did escape and eventually gave detailed information to investigators, such as scars on his wrists and neck that coincided with marks on trees near where he was being held.
As per KIRO 7 News, Burden's testimony was key to the investigation, eventually. Investigators used his facts to devise an undercover sting. In May of 1996, a deputy who worked undercover was approached by Conahan, who made offers of money for sex and to appear nude.
Arrest, evidence, and more victims (1996–1997)
As per KIRO 7 News, police searched Conahan's house and cars shortly after the undercover operation. They discovered paint chips from Conahan's father's car that were identical to one on Richard Montgomery's body. Daniel Conahan had purchased a clothesline, Polaroid film, pliers, and a knife on the day that Montgomery went missing, according to receipts.
He also withdrew money from a local ATM, which further connected him to the crime. As per WFTV, Conahan was initially accused of assaulting and attempting to kill Burden, but was later dismissed from those charges after he was indicted for killing Montgomery in February 1997.
As per Fox 23, in May 1997, while awaiting his trial, additional skeletal remains were discovered nearby, including those of William Charles Patten, a landscaper missing since 1993. However, the authorities were unable to link Patten's killing to Daniel Conahan directly.
Trial, conviction, and aftermath (1999–Present)
In August 1999, Conahan was tried for the kidnapping and murder of Richard Montgomery, as per ABC7. In court, the prosecution relied on forensic evidence and survivor testimony. A judge found Conahan guilty of kidnapping and murder, though he was acquitted of sexual assault. In December 1999, a jury sentenced him to death. As per Fox 23, Conahan remains on death row at Union Correctional Institution in Raiford, Florida.
As per KIRO 7 News, police still suspect Daniel Conahan of being involved in several other unsolved murders in the area, including those of men whose bodies were found along the same "hog trails." Some were not identified until recently, using advances in DNA technology.
For more details about Daniel Conahan, watch Unknown Serial Killers of America on Oxygen.
