Harmony Montgomery trial shown blood-stained ceiling drywall where little girl’s remains were hidden

The prosecution said Harmony’s DNA and Adam Montgomery’s fingerprints were found on a cut-out portion of ceiling drywall

Prosecutors in Adam Montgomery’s trial showed the court evidence on Thursday of items where he allegedly hid the body of his five-year-old daughter Harmony.

Montgomery is standing trial on murder charges in connection with Harmony’s 7 December killing in Manchester, New Hampshire. Last week, the career criminal and alleged child killer, conceded to two charges of abuse of a corpse and falsifying information.

The prosecution has argued in court that Montgomery beat Harmony to death after she soiled herself inside the family car. At the time, Harmony, Montgomery, his estranged wife Kayla Montgomery and the couple’s two infant sons were living in the vehicle after being evicted.

Meanwhile, Montgomery’s attorneys have claimed in court that Harmony actually died under the care of her stepmother and that her father only went along with plans to destroy the body to “protect” his family. Between Harmony’s death in late 2019, and March 2020, her remains were moved from a cooler at the home of Kayla Montgomery’s mother to the ceiling vents at a homeless shelter where the Montgomerys stayed and then to a walk-in freezer at his workplace.

Manchester Police Detective Ray Lamy, left, and Evidence Technician Dave Dydo hold evidence during the trial of Adam Montgomery (AP)

He later disposed of the remains at an unknown location.

On Wednesday, the court heard from DNA experts who processed evidence in the case. Manchester Police Det Scott Reily told jurors that he was tasked with taking evidence from the room at the Families in Transition shelter after receiving a tip that Harmony’s body was once kept there.

“I could tell there was an odour in the room,” Det Reily said. “I didn’t know what it was ... As soon as I removed the cover, I could smell what I knew was decomposition. I could smell what I believed to be a dead body.”

Harmony’s DNA was found in blood stains in the vents, as well as Montgomery’s fingerprints, prosecutor Christopher Knowles said (CourtTV)

Harmony’s DNA was found in blood stains in the vents, as well as Montgomery’s fingerprints, prosecutor Christopher Knowles said. Detectives cut out a portion of the ceiling that Manchester Police Detective Ray Lamy showed the court.

Mr Knowles also showed the red cooler that Montgomery initially used to store Harmony’s body. The cooler was kept in a common hallway at the apartment building of Kayla Montgomery’s mother.

Kayla and Adam Montgomery did not realise that Harmony had died until several hours after he allegedly repeatedly hit her in the head. According to Kayla’s testimony, they kept the little girl under a blanket in order to hide her bruised and beaten body. The family stopped at a Burger King, with Kayla reportedly even placing a sandwich on the dead girl’s lap, before heading to buy drugs.

Assistant New Hampshire Attorney General Christopher Knowles shows a red cooler to the jury that had just been identified by witness Martin Orlowicz, a New Hampshire State Police Forensic Lab latent print examiner during Adam Montgomery's trial (AP)

After Montgomery realised his daughter was dead, he placed the body inside a duffel bag that he buried in the snow for a few days.

The remains were later crushed to fit inside a diaper bag and further manipulated with lime and different power tools, according to the prosecution, before Montgomery disposed of what was left at an unknown location in March 2020.

Harmony’s remains have never been found.