On October 2, 2023, the life of 35-year-old Matthew Dean Fiechtner was tragically cut short at his residence near Hobson, Montana. What began as a reported search for a missing person soon unraveled into a homicide investigation, culminating in the arrests of his ex-wife and her boyfriend. The events of that afternoon were pieced together by law enforcement through witness statements, conflicting accounts from the suspects, and crucial surveillance footage that captured the fatal encounter.
The Judith Basin County Sheriff's Office received a 911 call from Megan Michelle Fiechtner, Matthew's ex-wife, who claimed she had arrived at his house to find blood on the steps and door, but he was nowhere to be found. Upon their arrival, deputies discovered Matthew Fiechtner deceased inside his home, lying face down in a hallway.
Megan had initially told authorities that she and her boyfriend, Tyson David Kolar, had come to the residence to see her and Matthew's son.
As the investigation unfolded, both Megan Fiechtner and Tyson Kolar were taken into custody at the scene. Kolar was subsequently charged with deliberate homicide, while Megan Fiechtner faced charges of deliberate homicide by accountability and obstructing a peace officer. Their initial statements to law enforcement were inconsistent and later contradicted by evidence gathered during the investigation. Kolar at one point claimed he shot Matthew in self-defense during a physical altercation.
However, surveillance footage from a camera system located on the property told a different story. The video reportedly showed Matthew arriving home in his water truck, followed shortly after by Kolar's vehicle. The footage captured a brief verbal exchange between the two men before Kolar allegedly fired his handgun at Matthew, who then ran towards his house. The video evidence did not show any physical altercation preceding the shooting. Further surveillance captured a male, believed to be Kolar, running after Matthew and trying the front door, which had been locked. Faced with this evidence, Megan Fiechtner admitted to being present during the shooting, claiming Kolar shot Matthew because he believed Matthew was reaching for a weapon. Kolar later admitted to the shooting, though he maintained it was in self-defense, and led investigators to where he had hidden the alleged murder weapon, a. 357 magnum revolver.
