Harmony Montgomery’s mother reacts as father Adam is convicted of her murder
GRAPHIC WARNING: Disturbing content. Harmony Montgomery, five, was last seen alive in late 2019, but authorities in Manchester, New Hampshire, only started looking for her two years later
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The mother of slain five-year-old Harmony Montgomery spoke to reporters outside a courtroom after the little girl’s father was convicted of her murder.
Jurors convicted Adam Montgomery on all charges following a gruelling trial which took place more than four years on from when Harmony was last seen alive in 2019.
Authorities failed to search for the missing child – who was known to protective services – for more than two years after she went missing.
Kayla Montgomery testified that her husband struck the Harmony several times after she had a bathroom accident.
She testified that, after killing her, the family drove to a Burger King. She fed her two young sons and placed a sandwich on Harmony’s lap without realising she was dead.
“After the defendant repeatedly struck Harmony. After he put the blanket over her. After she moaned. After the strange crying moaning stopped. After you did drugs and after the car died, you thought she was sleeping under that blanket,” the prosecutor said.
“Why did you think that she may be sleeping after Adam repeatedly struck her?”
“Because she would usually just go to sleep after,” Kayla answered.
The little girl’s remains were hidden in a ceiling vent at a shelter where the family stayed after her death. Montgomery snuck the remains into his workplace freezer, before disposing of them in March 2020. Harmony’s remains have never been found.
After the verdict was handed down, Harmony’s mother Crystal Sorey told reporters she was “grateful” that it was over – but vowed that she and authorities would not stop fighting to find her daughter’s body.
She also slammed Montgomery as a “coward” for failing to attend any of his trial.
In a press conference, Manchester Police Chief Allen Aldenberg also vowed to continue to push to find Harmony.
“We’re still going to find her,” Chief Aldenberg told reporters as he choked back tears.
“This girl deserves better than the life that she had. This is never about winning or losing, this is about a five-year-old girl who was killed by her father. And I can’t think of a worse crime.”
Adam Montgomery’s defence tries to blame Harmony’s murder on wife in closing statements
Harmony Montgomery’s father posted ‘loving’ social media post two years before allegedly punching her to death
Rampant abuse, damning DNA evidence and a ‘betrayal’ prison letter: Harmony Montgomery trial’s key revelations
Lead prosecutor Ben Agati holds press conference following guilty verdict
“They had to listen to facts that the Manchester Police Department has had to live with.
“I think a lot of people did not know the facts. We are very grateful to the jury for their attention and their time. It is a big relief that they have seen through and that they held him accountable for the actions that he committed,” Mr Agati said.
“I know other statements in the past ... ‘Why waste so much time and resources on this little girl? Where are the resources for other cases?’ Every person who has their life taken in a murder ... has value to their life.”
“That attention is put on every case. “
Prosecutor Ben Agati says authorities hope to find Harmony’s remains
“One of the things that we could not state before ... During trial, we heard that the last place people saw Adam Montgomery drive that U-Haul to between March 3 and March 4 in 2020,” Mr Agati said.
“He drove 133 miles, so tracking back the 3.2 miles from the rental, that left him with roughly a 106-mile road trip all the way down through tolls and back to Manchester.
“What that means is .. she is somewhere along that route. You heard about the searches that have been done near the Rumney Marsh Reservation, around the Chelsea Creek Area.
“Those are still our big areas of search. And the areas where we are still hoping somebody sees something
“Anyone who may have seen the trial, also would have seen the CMC bag [where Harmony’s body was stored]. He had that bag in the U-Haul.
“We’re still asking for anybody who has heard this information. If you see this bag while taking the dog out ... please let us know.
“There’s a part of her body that we haven’t recovered. We’re still hoping that we can do that and she gets a proper burial.”
‘We’re going to find her, Manchester Police Chief says
“It’s hard,” Chief Allen Aldenberg told reporters as he choked back tears. “We’re still going to find her.”
“This girl deserves better than the life that she had. This is never about winning of losing, this is about a five-year-old girl who was killed by her father. And I can’t think of a worse crime.”
Manchester PD Chief calls for people to be held accountable
“There have been some failures, but those failures were not by Manchester police. And I will hold that by the end of my career. I still think some people in other agencies need to be held accountable
“This little five-year-old girl deserves people held accountable who failed along the way. We wouldn’t be standing here today if other people had done their job.
Montgomery to be sentenced this Spring
Mr Agati said that he expects sentencing to take place sometime between late April and early May.
‘We will continue until we find her'
“It’s important that we find her for dignity,” Mr Agati said. “It’s what she deserves.
“And so the search for her will continue until we find her.”
Harmony Montgomery’s mother chokes up as she slams absent murderer Adam
On Thursday, the 34-year-old was found guilty on a second-degree charge in connection with Harmony’s death in December 2019. Ms Sorey and other family members attended the verdict; Montgomery did not. He hadn’t appeared in court since the first day of jury selection.
“She’s no longer Harmony Mongtomery, she’s Harmony Renee,” Ms Sorey said after the guilty verdict, explaining that they shared the same middle name. “She’s no longer a Montgomery.”
After the verdict, Ms Sorey remarked on Montgomery’s absence: “He’s a coward.”
The Independent’s Kelly Rissman reports:
Harmony Montgomery’s mother chokes up as she slams absent murderer Adam
‘I hope that what he did plays over in his mind every single waking moment that he lives on this earth,’ the little girl’s mother said
WATCH: Adam Montgomery convicted of second-degree murder of daughter Harmony
Rampant abuse, damning DNA evidence and a ‘betrayal’ prison letter: Harmony Montgomery trial’s key revelations
Harmony disappeared in 2019, but police didn’t know she was missing until two years later, when her mother publicly demanded an investigation after months of failed attempts to get in touch with Montgomery.
Montgomery’s estranged wife and Harmony’s stepmother Kayla Montgomery later came forward with allegations that he fatally hit Harmony in the head after she soiled herself while the family was travelling in a car. Kayla and Adam Montgomery’s then-infant sons were also inside the vehicle, where the family had been living after being evicted from their home in November 2019.
What followed were two years of disturbing plots to hide Harmony’s decomposing body. Montgomery finally disposed of it at an unknown location in March 2020.
Harmony’s remains have never been found.
Here are some of the key revelations that have emerged in court during the trial:
Key revelations in Harmony Montgomery murder trial
GRAPHIC WARNING. Adam Montgomery’s trial has heard disturbing revelations surrounding his daughter’s December 2019 death
Adam Montgomery’s fingerprints found next to Harmony’s blood
After Harmony was killed on 7 December 2019, her father, stepmother Kayla Montgomery, and the couple’s two infant children moved in with Kayla’s mother. At that time, Montgomery reportedly kept Harmony’s remains inside a red freezer with a white lid.
The family later moved to a shelter, where Montgomery then hid Harmony’s body inside a ceiling vent.
“He compressed and contorted her body into this bag,” the prosecution said while showing a medium-sized tote bag.
The state said that when investigators returned to the room two years later, they saw deep blood stains in the ceiling vent and smelled decomposition.
“And surrounding Harmony’s blood, all that was left of her .... the defendant’s fingerprints and palm prints, froze in there for a time,” the prosecution said.