EP. 148: NEW HAMPSHIRE - The Brutal Murder of Harmony Montgomery
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Warning. The following podcast is not suitable for all audiences. We go into great detail with every case that we cover and do our best to bring viewers even deeper into the stories by utilizing disturbing audio and sound effects. Trigger warnings from the stories we cover may include violence, rape, murder, and offenses against children. This podcast is not for everyone. You have been warned.

It's said that a father's love is a pillar of strength, guidance, and encouragement, ultimately shaping a child's sense of security and self-worth. However, not all fathers can effectively fulfill their role, especially when there are underlying factors like addiction, mental illness, or abuse. And the story we have for you today has a little bit of everything.

We didn't initially plan to tell this story right away, but I have been following this case religiously. So we decided to take all of the information we could find and put it together for you. The case is about a five-year-old little girl named Harmony Montgomery who went missing back in 2019. However, her disappearance would go unnoticed for two whole years.

Within those years, no one had seen the five-year-old little girl. And even though her family had a history with the Child Protective Services, no one was looking for her. Harmony's young life would fall through the cracks of the child protection system, the same system that had been created to ensure her safety.

Despite extensive searches and investigations, Harmony Montgomery has never been found. But her father, Adam Montgomery, would ultimately be charged with her murder. This case would shed light on an abusive household. It would uncover the truth about what happened to Harmony, and it would reveal a disturbing glimpse in what can only be described as pure evil. This case is also currently unfolding.

so we will be giving updates as it goes. But this is the horrific story of five-year-old Harmony Montgomery. I'm Courtney Brown. And I'm Colin Brown. And you're listening to Murder in America. ♪♪

Harmony Renee Montgomery was born on June 7th, 2014 to Crystal Sori and Adam Montgomery. During the time of her birth, Adam was serving time in prison for armed robbery, armed assault to murder, carrying a firearm without a license, and discharging a firearm within 500 feet of a building.

In early 2014, a frantic 911 call came in to the Haverhill Police Department, where a man said he had been shot in the face.

He told investigators that Adam Montgomery had met up with him to purchase a bag of heroin. But when he pulled out the drugs, Adam aimed a gun in his direction and attempted to rob him. From there, the two men wrestled on the ground and the drug dealer ended up grabbing Adam's gun, which caused it to fire off and a bullet would end up hitting him in the face.

After the brawl, Adam Montgomery managed to run away, but the Haverville police were able to successfully track him down. As it turns out, Adam also had a bullet wound to his arm, and from there he was promptly arrested and charged for the crime. Ultimately, Adam was convicted and given a suspended sentence of 18 months to run concurrently with another unrelated charge from another case.

So as you can see, Adam was no stranger to the criminal justice system, and he had an extensive criminal background that dated back to 2007, when he was only 17 years old. In one of these incidents, Adam was convicted of threatening a 15-year-old girl with a knife.

He pleaded guilty in that case, and the victim he threatened would later admit, quote, he has a black soul. But now it's 2014, and Adam is in prison again. And sadly, while he was incarcerated, Crystal Sori would give birth to their daughter, Harmony.

After Harmony's birth, Crystal struggled with her own demons involving drug abuse, something she admitted got worse after Harmony was diagnosed with a visual disability. According to Crystal, Harmony had been misdiagnosed twice before it was realized that she was blind in her right eye.

The stress of being a new single mother mixed with a disability caused Crystal to continue using illegal substances, and only a few weeks after her birth, the Haverhill office of the Massachusetts Department of Children and Families received three complaints that Crystal was using drugs and neglecting her newborn daughter.

Ultimately, the DCF opened a case against Crystal and determined that she was neglectful, but Harmony was not removed from her custody. Two months later, in August of 2014, two more complaints were filed against Crystal and it was determined that she was actively using illegal drugs and putting her daughter Harmony at risk. Due to this, Harmony was removed from Crystal's care and placed into a foster home with a woman named Michelle Raftery. Here is Harmony's mom, Crystal.

Would you please state your full name and spell both your first and your last name? My name is Crystal Renee Sori. C-R-Y-S-T-A-L-S-O-R-E-Y. And Ms. Sori, what town do you live in? I live in Fitchburg, Massachusetts. How long have you lived there? A year and five months. And how far did you go in school? I didn't graduate high school. Okay.

I'd like to ask you about a specific day, June 7th, 2014. What significance, if any, does that day have for you? It was the day my daughter Harmony was born. And Harmony was a girl, correct? Yes. Have you had any other daughters besides Harmony? No. And what was her full name? Harmony Renee Montgomery. Same middle name as you? Yes. What was her medical condition when she was born? She was blind in her right eye.

She was misdiagnosed twice before that. Yeah, just blind in her right eye. And after about three months after she was born, who did she go to live with? Michelle Rafferty. And do you know Michelle? Very well. Why did she go to live with Michelle? I am a recovering drug addict. I was struggling at the time handling her diagnosis. I was struggling.

Is it fair to say that who you are now in 2024 is different than who you were in 2014? Very. For the next four months of Harmony's life, she would live with Michelle and her husband in their home. And Michelle was more than equipped to care for her. She had been working within foster care for many years, and she loved it.

In the summer of 2014, DCF called Michelle and told her about a little girl named Harmony who needed a home. They also informed her of Harmony's medical condition called hydranencephaly, which is a serious birth defect that can affect brain development. And this diagnosis meant that Harmony wouldn't have an easy life. Here is Michelle.

Can you begin by stating and spelling your last name for the record? Yep. Michelle Raftery. R-A-F-T-E-R-Y. And what's your date of birth, Ms. Raftery? 9-11-70. Where do you currently live? Haverhill, Massachusetts. And how long have you lived there? In Haverhill, about 25 years. Who do you live there with? My husband and three of my children. And what's your husband's name? Timothy. And your children?

What are their ages? Oh, their ages? Ben's 25, Jayden is 14, and Claire is 13. And do you have children that live with you? Those are the ones that live with me, yeah. What do you do for a living? I'm a behavioral health partner. And how long have you done that? For a year.

Prior to that, what did you do for a living? I was a FRL, a Family Resource Liaison. And can you explain what that is to the jurors? Yes, I worked with foster parents and I helped support them and run support groups and trainings for them. Do you have any experience as a foster parent yourself? Yes, I do. Over 13 years. And can you tell the jury about that experience? Yes, we had the privilege of being, we had the privilege of being Harmony's foster parents.

And you mentioned the name Harmony just now. Yep. Who is she to you? She was our foster daughter. What did she call you? Mama. Your husband, Tim, what did she call him? She called him Dada and Papa. You said that you'd been a foster parent for 13 years? Yep. What point in that time when those 13 years did you take Harmony in? Like probably halfway through, probably halfway through the years. Yep. So she came to us in 2014.

And tell us about that. Yep. So I, you know, you always start off, you get a phone call from DCF and they tell you a little bit about the child. And Harmony was two months old at the time. And she had a pretty intimidating diagnosis at first. So, you know, I did a lot of Google research, but I still knew that we wanted to say yes. And Harmony came and lived with us when she was two months old. Pretty intimidating. What were you told about Harmony before you took her?

We were told that she has hydroprocephaly, which is like a disorder with her brain stem. And we were told that she was legally blind in both eyes and that she probably wasn't going to live seven months. I'm sorry, can you say that last thing? Yeah, that she probably wasn't going to live past seven months old. Hydro... Hyloprocephaly was the original first diagnosis. You mentioned this blindness. What can you tell us about that?

So at that time, she had a whole team of doctors and she was considered legally blind in both eyes. However, I started to notice when I would feed Harmony that she would track me with one of her eyes, at least one of her eyes. And, you know, then we went on to get different diagnoses for her. You mentioned having Harmony since she was two months old. Yes. What was Harmony's date of birth? 6/7/14. June 7th, 2014. That's correct.

What kind of child was Harmony Montgomery? She was a loving child. She was very sweet, very happy. She loved, she was super social. She loved to be with people. We used to joke around with her to leave a sparkle wherever she went because wherever she went, she left people happy and you knew that you met her. During the time Harmony lived with Michelle, she had a good life. She was loved, fed, cuddled, and given everything she needed.

But the only problem was that Michelle's loving home was only temporary. By January of 2015, her biological mother, Crystal, was given back custody of seven-month-old Harmony. And although she had gotten her drug addiction under control, things still weren't easy. Harmony's father, Adam, was still in prison. But that very month, Crystal brought Harmony to the prison to meet her dad for the very first time.

Adam Montgomery was born in 1990 to two teenage parents, and his childhood was damaged by drug abuse and violence. It was reported that his father, Michael, was only 16 years old during the time of his birth, and his mother was 15. Due to their young age, Adam was placed into the custody of Michael's family, along with his three-year-old brother.

His mother would later tell the Boston Globe that she never had a relationship with her son and he was originally supposed to be put up for adoption until his grandparents stepped in. As for her thoughts on Michael's family gaining custody, she said, "I don't even know those people." Meanwhile, while in the custody of his paternal grandparents, his biological father, Michael, went on a crime spree in 1995 in which he robbed a McDonald's in Revere, Massachusetts using a toy gun and wearing a mask.

He pleaded guilty to the crime and was sentenced to six to nine years at the Sousa Baranowski Correctional Center. In 1999, court records indicated that he committed the crime out of desperation to obtain more heroin. He further added, "To this day, I regret having fallen into this drug addict lifestyle which, I know now, could have only ended in harm to myself, my family, and the community in general."

By 2002, Adam's grandfather had passed away and his grandmother Helen decided to move to Bedford, New Hampshire with the two boys. Neighbors reported that they lived in a three-bedroom colonial house, but the boys were constantly yelling and trashing the place. And to them, it seemed like Grandma Helen was never able to control them.

In June 2004, when Adam was 14 years old, his father, Michael, was out of prison and was granted custody of his son. The two moved to Clearwater, Florida, and records indicated that Adam enrolled in high school. However, after only a few months, in September of 2004, Adam reportedly stole his uncle's BMW, crashed it, and then attempted to run away. One year later, in 2005, Adam ran away again.

It was obvious that Michael couldn't control his son and he eventually returned to his grandmother's house in New Hampshire. In 2007, Adam was 17 years old and he seemed to be following in his own father's criminal footsteps. That year, while living with his grandma, he even threatened a neighbor with gardening shears. His grandma Helen watched it all unfold and she even tried to step in.

But in response, Adam shoved his grandma to the ground. Eventually, the police would arrive. But when they asked Helen for a statement, she protected her grandson, telling them that she didn't see anything

According to the Bedford Police Department, quote, End quote.

One neighbor, a man named Robert Reynolds, admitted that he believed she was scared of her own grandchildren. At one point, Adam had kicked in the front door of her house, causing extensive damage. Robert had been the one to go over and help her replace the door because he felt bad.

Of course, other neighbors also witnessed the violence, including a man named Neil Forrest, who said, quote, they were a troubled family and you could tell, end quote.

Unfortunately, Adam continued to spiral and in July 2007, Bedford police found him inside a McDonald's bathroom stall with his 29-year-old uncle. According to the report, Adam's uncle, Kevin Montgomery, had multiple track marks on his arms from extensive drug use, and Adam was found in possession of a knife and a bag of heroin. The police noted that 17-year-old Adam had a tattoo of a teardrop below his left eye, something that is often associated with gang and prison culture.

Adam was charged with heroin possession and violating a city ordinance, but according to the Boston Globe, he was able to successfully fight the charges. However, his crime spree didn't end and he continued to get himself into trouble. Shockingly, in 2008, Adam was a suspect in the shooting death of a 28-year-old man named Darlin Guzman.

According to reports, Darlin was outside in the parking lot of a convenience store called White Hen Pantry in Lynn, Massachusetts, when he was shot to death. The owner of the store told investigators that he heard an argument outside, followed by gunshots. When he went out to investigate, he found Darlin on the ground with a single gunshot wound to his chest.

And unfortunately, after being taken to the hospital, he would pass away from his injuries. But witnesses were able to give investigators a description of the shooter. A description that matched Adam. He was around 6 feet tall, in his early 20s, and he was wearing a red hooded sweatshirt. The suspect was also said to have been driving a red Honda Accord.

Now, the police would end up talking to Darlan's family members who said that he had planned to meet up with Adam Montgomery that day, although they didn't know exactly why the two were meeting. We also aren't sure what kind of car Adam was driving at the time.

but he was and continues to be a person of interest in Darlan's murder. However, it is still unsolved to this day. But interestingly enough, just four days after Darlan's murder, Adam would break into an apartment in Malden with another man. And while there, he held three women at gunpoint demanding money. Although it would later be confirmed that the gun he had was a pellet gun.

But after the robbery, Adam was on the run. The women that he robbed went to the police and a warrant was out for his arrest, but no one could find him and his life of crime continued. In fact, while on the run, he even stabbed another man in the leg during an altercation. But luckily, after a few months, he would be caught and arrested.

Despite his lengthy criminal background, Harmony's mother, Crystal, said the two met through a mutual friend and had a brief romance before she found out she was pregnant. She admitted during an interview with the Boston Globe that Adam was known to be misogynistic and manipulative towards women. She said that when she found out that the two were going to have a daughter, she was concerned and told reporter Laura Cromaldi, "Adam has a severe hatred of women."

Nonetheless, Harmony was born in June but wouldn't meet her father until she was seven months old. Although Crystal now had custody of Harmony, it wouldn't last and a few months later, in April 2015, Crystal would once again lose custody due to neglect that was associated with her renewed drug abuse. For the second time in her short life, Harmony went back into the care of her foster mom, Michelle Raftery.

In July 2015, DCF changed Harmony's permanency plan from reunification with her mother to adoption. During the next two years of Harmony's life, she would live with Michelle, who admitted she was an extremely bright child who met all of her milestones without any issues.

How long was Harmony in your care for? So, which time? We took care of Harmony three times. She came back into care three times. So for the first time, she was with us for about two months. Then she returned to her mother, and then she returned to us. And then she stayed with us for about a little over two and a half years, and then she went back with her mother, and then came back ten months later.

You mentioned these disabilities. Yes. Was Harmony developmentally delayed? She was not. It definitely could have been a possibility. She started off with that original diagnosis and through going through testing, she had a neurologist, endocrinologist, ophthalmologist, and we had a whole team of specialists that worked with her and they changed the diagnosis to septo optic dysplasia.

And were you taking any steps when she was in your care to treat her needs? Yeah, absolutely. Harmony had, like I said, a team of doctors, but she also had early intervention workers. So she had two, she had a nurse that came weekly and she had a vision specialist that came weekly and we did all the treatments and the programs that she needed with that. Was she meeting benchmarks at that time? She was meeting every benchmark. She was succeeding, yeah.

Harmony was thriving in her new environment. In September of 2015, her father Adam would be released from prison, but for an entire year, he showed no interest in maintaining a relationship with her. However, in September of 2016, he finally contacted DCF

to resume visits with Harmony. It was reported that Adam had five supervised visitations, but then he stopped all contact with DCF about future visits. In February of 2017, DCF changed Harmony's permanency plan goal from adoption back to reunification with her mom, Crystal.

And one month later in March, Harmony was once again returned to the custody of her mother. By this time, Harmony was almost three years old and had spent a total of 28 months in foster care. However, it would not be a happy ending. And in January of 2018, at the age of three and a half,

Harmony was removed from her mother's home for a third time due to neglect brought on by substance abuse. And like the previous times before, Harmony was placed back into the care of Michelle Raftery. It was a horrible back and forth situation for her. Children need stability and constantly moving between homes is confusing. But life with Michelle and her husband was the best situation for her.

and Michelle loved Harmony like she was one of her own. Michelle desperately wanted to adopt Harmony and save her from this unstable environment. However, in August of 2018, after not seeing Harmony for nearly a year, Adam once again started supervised visitations.

In December 2018, the Office of the Child Advocate started working towards a new goal of reunification with Adam instead of Crystal. The Interstate Compact on the Placement of Children requested that the New Hampshire Division of Children, Youth, and Families conduct a thorough home study of Adam's residence in Manchester, New Hampshire. However,

according to Amy Covino at WMUR, the request did not include all the necessary information needed to conduct a home study at Adams' residence. A few months later, in February 2019, a hearing was held in Lawrence, Massachusetts, to consider both Crystal and Adams' requests for permanent custody of Harmony. Unfortunately, Crystal did not attend the hearing, as she was at another court hearing during the same time for another one of her children.

It's important to note that the additional information needed to conduct the home study was still being gathered, and the DCF attorney objected to Harmony being placed with Adam without any background information on the family and without the home study being investigated. Unfortunately, the attorneys that represented Adam, Crystal, and Harmony all agreed that Harmony would be better suited at the home of her father, and the family judge granted him full custody.

The judge believed that Adam Montgomery was a fit parent under Massachusetts law and that the ICPC should not infringe upon his rights to parent his own child. When the ruling reached Crystal,

she was shocked to learn that adam received full custody crystal would later tell court tv that having to choose between her two children's hearings was extremely difficult her son jameson was potentially getting adopted by another family during his hearing so she ultimately chose to attend that one over harmonies

saying, "If I wasn't at either of them, it was going to go bad for me." So I sent the courthouse proof that I was at my other child's hearing, and they went ahead and moved forward and granted Adam custody. So in the same day, not only did my son get adopted,

but my daughter got handed over to the one person that I begged them to never give her to. So from here, Adam Montgomery brought Harmony to New Hampshire, where he was living with his wife Kayla and their two young children, Declan and Seamus. When Harmony's foster mom, Michelle, learned that she was going to be taken away for good, she was devastated. Mr. Rafferty, when was the last time you saw Harmony Montgomery?

The last time I saw Harmony was December of 2018. Your Honor, may I approach the witness? Yes. Your Honor, I'm showing the witness what's been marked for identification as State's Exhibit 97. Ms. Rafferty, do you recognize this? I do. I'm going to get close to a microphone so I don't pick that up. What is this? That's the day that they were doing school pictures and she wanted to have a sparkly blue dress.

And do you recognize the person that's depicted in this picture? Yes. Who is it? It's Harmony Montgomery. Is this a fair and accurate representation of Harmony as you remember her? Yes. But sadly, there was nothing Michelle could do. Harmony was now in the custody of her father, Adam.

living at 77 Guildford Street in New Hampshire. Neighbors there would later say that police presence at the home was frequent due to loud arguments, trash, and reports of other Montgomery family members squatting at the house. Between 2018 and 2021, it was reported that the police responded to calls at the residence a total of 29 times.

Now, despite losing custody of her daughter, Crystal did see Harmony on a few occasions. At some point in 2019, who got custody of Harmony? Adam. Where was Adam living at the time? Manchester, New Hampshire. Do you remember what street he was living on? Guilford Street. And is that where Harmony was as well? Yes. What, if any, visits did you have with Harmony after she went to live in the house?

with Adam Montgomery? I had two physical visits with her. And then I had two FaceTime calls, both very brief. The physical visits, where did you visit her? Excuse me, Guilford Street. Did you visit with her outside the home or inside the home? Inside the home. Inside the home. Did you see where her room was? No, he never showed me.

When you say he, who is he? Adam never showed me. I was only allowed in the living room or the bathroom. How did you communicate with Adam at that time? Facebook. Facebook? Yeah. He wouldn't give me his number. When did you last see Harmony? April. April of 2019. April of 2019? Yeah, right before Easter. How did you see her? I was doing a Facebook video call.

That was how I had job training. So I couldn't do a physical visit that week because I didn't know my schedule. You said that was before Easter. Is that correct? Yes. Did you see her on Easter? Yes. Were you able to see her after that? No. What did you try to do to be able to see her or talk to her after that? I just kept reaching out to Adam and Kayla and, you know, asking, begging them to let me see her and

I was sorry for whatever I did. I wasn't even sure what I did. But I was just trying to reach out to really anybody at that point, his family, you know, his grandmother, his uncle, his dad, anybody.

The last time Crystal ever saw Harmony was in April 2019, a few days before the Easter holiday. According to a report from the governor of New Hampshire, on July 29th, 2019, an anonymous phone call was placed to the New Hampshire DCYF intake regarding abuse towards Harmony. The caller indicated that they had visited the Montgomery family during the week of July 22nd and stated that the five-year-old girl had a black eye and that Adam had admitted to causing the injury.

It was later determined that the phone call came from Adam's uncle, Kevin Montgomery. Here is Kevin Montgomery describing this incident. Let me ask you, when you got home, did you see Harmony there? I did. Where did you see her? I seen her standing in the kitchen. And when you saw her in the kitchen, how did she look to you? She had a black eye. Can you describe it for us? How did the black eye look? Full, like a raccoon's eye, black and blue.

Black and blue? Yes. And when you say full, what do you mean by full? Can you give us a good example? All the way around. All the way around. And I see just there you were pointing to your right eye. Did you see it on her right eye? I honestly can't recall, but I think the left. Okay. You think the left. Okay. I appreciate that for your honesty there. You said you saw her in the kitchen with this black eye? Yes. Okay.

So when you saw her in the kitchen with this black eye, what, if anything, did you say? It's okay. Take your time. Something along the words of, oh, my fucking God, what did you do, Harmony? And who answered that question? My nephew, Adam. Where was he? Standing right behind her. And what did Adam say? She didn't do anything. I bashed her around the fucking house.

Did Harmony ever say anything in response to the question or just Adam saying, I bashed her around the fucking house? I think just Adam. How did Adam say this? How did he say it? Yes. Let's put it this way. Can you say it the way that he said it so that we understand? I'm not sure. If I had to describe it to the best of my ability, it would be like a cocky son of a bitch. Did Adam tell you...

why he bashed her around the house and caused the black eye. He did. What did he say? He said he was in the bathroom moving his bowels and that he put Harmony in charge to watch Declan. And when he came out, Harmony had her hands over his mouth and I guess his lips were supposedly blue.

That's what was explained. That's what Adam explained to you? Correct. And after he explained that, how did he say he caused the black eye? I bashed her on the fucking house.

On the same day that the abuse was reported, the CPSW visited the Montgomery house on Guilford Street and observed the three children. It was concluded that they did not observe a black eye on Harmony and an email was sent to the Manchester Police Department that everything appeared to be well. Interestingly, the interview had been brief and Harmony was not interviewed. The CPSW agent stated that they caught both Adam and Harmony entering a vehicle and leaving the residence when they arrived at the location.

But even though CPSW didn't think anything was wrong, Harmony's uncle Kevin did not take the abuse lightly. After he saw Harmony with the black eye, he also called numerous people in his family to tell them about what he had witnessed. - I told my sister Erin, my brothers, Sean, Michael, and Richard. I told...

That's all right. I believe you answered the question. Okay.

Let me ask, did you also make any calls to what's called DCYF, or the Division of Children, Youth, and Families? I did. And the Nicholas and the Aaron that you referred to, is that Nicholas the same person as Nicholas Ahern? Yes. And is that Aaron the same person as Aaron Rue? Yes. Why did you tell all these people? Why did you call DCYF about this? Say that again? Yes. Why did you tell all of these people?

- To get help. - Help for who? - For Harmony. - In September of 2019, Harmony's uncle, Kevin Montgomery saw her for the very last time. During his interaction with Adam, he explained that Adam apologized for giving Harmony a black eye. It seemed as if Adam knew he had to be on his best behavior. About a month earlier, CPSW had visited their home again.

In that time, they interviewed Adam, Harmony, and Adam's wife Kayla. The CPSW agent noticed a red mark inside Harmony's eye and what appeared to be a faded bruise underneath the eyelid. But both Adam and Harmony told CPSW that the injury had been caused by a lightsaber during a play fight with one of her younger brothers.

Adam's wife Kayla admitted that she did not see the wound when it happened, but she said that Adam and Harmony had told her a similar story. When CPSW spoke with Harmony's biological mother, Crystal, she informed the agent that she had lost custody of Harmony, and after Easter of 2019, Adam wouldn't allow her any more contact with her daughter. Here is Crystal describing these efforts.

Did you try to reach out through the month of May and June? Yes. What about in July? I believe so. Did you receive any phone call from Kevin Montgomery, Adam's uncle, in July? Yes. I'm not going to go into the detail of what was said, but after that call, did you continue these efforts you talked about before, trying to get in touch with Adam? Yes. And what about September of 2019? Were you trying to get in touch with Adam then? Yes.

What about October and November of 2019? Were you trying to get in touch with Adam then? Yes. Christmas of 2019? Yes. Were you in touch with him then? Yes. Were any of those successful? No. Did you see or hear from Harmony at all during that time period? No.

During the course of the investigation with CPSW, it was reported that they visited the Montgomery home a total of three times, with two of the times being unannounced. The final visit was made on October 1st, 2019, and it was reported that the three children, including Harmony, appeared to be happy and healthy.

despite finding no signs of abuse or neglect cpsw scored the situation as high risk due to adam's history of drug abuse prior history with child protection services and other economic challenges that the family was facing

On October 17th, 2019, a final letter was sent to Adam and Kayla letting them know about CPSW's findings and information about additional services that could help assist the family with housing. On January 8th, 2020, another call was made to the New Hampshire DCYF regarding another child at the Montgomery household.

Once again, CPSW arrived at the house and asked about Harmony. However, Adam mentioned that Harmony no longer lived with him and she had gone back into the care of her mother, Crystal, in Massachusetts. Kayla Montgomery would later confirm this story, saying that the last time that she physically saw Harmony was after Thanksgiving 2019. She said that one morning before work she saw Adam and Harmony and the two were leaving the residence to return Harmony to Crystal.

Unfortunately, Harmony was not returned to Crystal. She said that in early 2020, both Kayla and Adam blocked her on Facebook and said she could not get into contact with her daughter. - What about in the year 2020? Did you continue to try to find and get in touch with Harmony or Adam? - I'm sorry, can you repeat that? - No problem. What about the following year, in the year 2020? Did you try to get a hold of Adam and Harmony? - Yes, I had made a new Facebook hoping

Because he had blocked me and so did Kayla, I was hoping to get through to him that way. According to the governor of New Hampshire's report...

On January 21st, 2020, the CPSW called Crystal wanting to confirm that Harmony was indeed living with her. However, Crystal did not answer and they were forced to leave a voicemail that she never returned. In the meantime, DCYF continued to show up at Adam Montgomery's house in response to concerns of the other children who lived there.

During one of these visits, CPSW inquired about Harmony's whereabouts, but Adam told them again that she had gone to live with her mother and that he hadn't seen her in over a year. So according to Adam, Harmony was with her mom Crystal, but Crystal told them that she hadn't seen her daughter either. So where was she?

In September of 2021, a person in close contact with Crystal called the DCYF and reported that Crystal hadn't seen or heard from her daughter since 2019. It was also reported that Crystal had tried on numerous occasions to contact both Adam and Kayla to set up a visitation, but was unsuccessful. It is important to note that in the official governor's record, quote,

New Hampshire DCYF has conducted a thorough review of its records and has no record of any calls from Ms. Sori between October of 2019 and September of 2021. Interestingly, Crystal disputed this evidence and said that she called DCYF on multiple occasions between 2020 and 2021, although there is no record of it. Did you try also through 2021?

Yes. By December of 2021, what else were you doing to try to find harmony? I was to respond. I was, you know, calling DCF. I was, you know, telling my therapist, talking to anybody that I knew was either a mandated reporter or had some type of leverage because I wasn't getting anywhere. I had wrote also to the mayor.

In order to gather more evidence, the DCYF contacted the Manchester Department of Education to see if Harmony had been enrolled in school. When it was discovered that she had not, the issue was assigned to the Manchester DCYF District Office. Between the months of September and December 2021, the Manchester DCYF District Office attempted to locate the Montgomery family, as they had all but disappeared from their previous residence on Guildford Street.

They called the last known phone numbers associated with both Adam and Kayla, spoke with family members, including Crystal Sorey, and searched the other known addresses that were associated with the family. By November 18th, 2021, the Manchester Police Department were notified and they also joined in the search for Adam, Kayla, and Harmony. Unfortunately, no one was able to locate the family and the CPSW also reached out to Child Protective Services in Massachusetts and Maine.

By December 2021, Crystal was now in direct contact with the Manchester Police Department and she admitted that she gave full authorization for any information that would be pertinent in their investigation.

On December 28th, 2021, the Manchester Police Department finally located Kayla Montgomery and she was brought to the station for a formal interview. According to their records, Kayla stated she had not physically seen Harmony since November of 2019. Over two years ago, Kayla claimed she had been under the assumption that Adam returned her to Crystal.

She said that after that day, she had not seen or heard about Harmony. As for Adam, Kayla mentioned that the two had broken up and she hadn't seen him since October of 2021. But during a brief telephone call with him, she learned that he had been living in a sober house. Then once he moved from there, he moved to Maine with another woman named Kelsey Small.

So on December 31st, 2021, a "Be On The Lookout" was issued for Adam Montgomery. Manchester Police Detective Craig Stansel said that the police department was looking for a blue Pontiac with main plates that Adam had been driving, and they looked everywhere. Eventually, Detective Stansel located the vehicle on Harville Street, where unhoused people are known to stay.

And inside the car, he found both Adam Montgomery and Kelsey Small asleep. From there, Adam was questioned about his missing daughter, but he refused to tell the investigators where Harmony was located. But he was adamant that she was still alive.

His new girlfriend, Kelsey, was also interviewed, and she said that the two had been dating for a little over a year. Kelsey said she was aware that Adam had four children, three with Kayla, two young boys, and a new infant daughter that was born after Harmony disappeared, and then one child with Crystal. However, when pressed further about Harmony, Kelsey said that Adam never talked about her,

and she had no idea where she was located. Here is the body cam footage from this interaction.

Hey, keep your hands where I can see them. What's going on? He was found sleeping in a car in a Manchester, New Hampshire parking lot on December 31st, 2021, when investigators caught up with Adam Montgomery for the first time to question him about the whereabouts of his daughter, Harmony, who hadn't been seen in two years and is now presumed dead. It just seems a little strange that you don't want to tell us where she is. All right, I got nothing else to say to you guys. Your daughter's alive? Yeah.

You're sure? I'm positive. You're like, swear on your life. I swear on my life.

The initial interaction lasted a total of 45 minutes before police let Adam go. Meanwhile, back at the Manchester police station, Detective John Dunleavy and Detective Riley sat down for a voluntary interview with Kayla Montgomery. She told the detectives that the last time she physically saw Harmony was on November 30th, 2019. This time, she admitted that Adam had driven her to work at 6 a.m. as she had an early morning shift at the Dunkin' Donuts on Eddy Road in Manchester, New Hampshire.

She said that Harmony was also in the car with them because Adam told her that after he dropped her off, he was going to meet up with Crystal for an exchange of custody. When her shift ended at 2 p.m., Adam picked her up and Harmony was no longer in the car. Kayla admitted that she believed that Harmony had gone back to Massachusetts to live with her mother.

With this new information, both detectives were concerned with Kayla's account of events. Throughout their investigation, they learned that during the time Adam said Harmony was with Crystal, she had been living at 39 Chapel Street No. 3 in Lowell, Massachusetts with her new boyfriend, a man named Joseph Eckert. Interestingly, Joseph Eckert had been interviewed and he told investigators that from October 2019 to present day, Harmony had not been inside the home, nor had the couple spoken to the child.

According to the records from DCYF, Harmony Montgomery had not been physically seen by anyone since October 1st, 2019. On December 31st, 2021, the 9th Circuit Family Division ordered Adam to release Harmony Montgomery to the custody of DCYF.

The order specifically stated that Adam Montgomery was to comply with the Manchester Police Department and help find the location of his daughter. Investigators went back out and located Adam walking down the street at around 4 p.m. that day.

And it was then when Detective Riley issued the order to Adam. Unfortunately, Adam did not cooperate with investigators and he refused to give up Harmony's location, saying he did not know her current whereabouts. Then from there, Adam told them, quote, either arrest me or I'm leaving. And although investigators knew deep down that he had harmed his daughter, they didn't have any proof.

So with nothing to hold him on, Adam was released. By now, the case of missing five-year-old Harmony Montgomery was making national news headlines, and the police were desperately trying to locate the young child. With an award of $40,000 now being offered for any information, tips started to roll in. On January 4th, 2022, Adam Montgomery was arrested and charged with second-degree assault for the incident of giving Harmony a black guy in July 2019, interference with custody,

and two additional charges of endangering the welfare of a child. He was brought down to the Manchester Police Department for a formal interview, but it was obvious to investigators that he did not want to cooperate. You understand this whole thing is getting a little out of hand, would you agree? Of course. So that's why, look, it's just the way you guys are going about it.

And again, I don't mean... Not you specifically, man. Yeah. Nobody comes out there like that for a second-degree assault charge. Nobody. Better us for worse charges. They don't come out and throw fucking flashbangs at my girlfriend's car and ram us into the fucking guardrail. They don't do that for a second-degree assault charge. Again...

You understand what the charges are, right? Secondary assault, right? Yep. Okay. There's also an endangering the welfare charge. Okay. And interference with custody. So how did I interfere with custody? So that paperwork that we served you the other day, remember that? Okay. When they were in the alleyway, remember outside of Lake Gap? Yeah. There's paperwork that you have to comply with. You understand that, right? We had that conversation, did we not? Right? Yeah.

So that's what that's all about. So secondary assault charge, what is this referring to? Well, that's what we want to talk to you about. Well, explain to me. If I'm being charged with it, what the hell am I being charged with at all? Well, your daughter had some injuries that you know about when you lived on Guilford Street. No, I do not. What are you referring to? Well, you were there. I wasn't, right? Well, what are you referring to? I'm referring to her having some good marks.

What are you referring to? Marks that were left on her by you? Absolutely not. I had nothing else to say. Adam denied ever hurting any of his children and even said that the kids always seemed happy. He brought up DCYF coming to his home on Guilford Street on numerous occasions without finding any evidence of abuse and eventually closing the case. So if your daughter had marks on her at some point when you lived over there, how would you explain those? How would she get those marks?

No.

If there was significant marks like you're referring to, I believe they would have flagged something at that point and they would have said something. They wouldn't have came there and seen that the kids were well taken care of. All the kids loved being at the house with me. So let me tell you about what second degree assault is. There's because there's a lot that encompasses that charge. Basically, if there's a mark on a kid that's under a certain age,

It constitutes second degree assault. Although it is a felony, which sounds extremely intimidating, it doesn't mean that somebody got their head bashed in or they got cut up or whatever. So although it sounds pretty intimidating, the charge, I understand that.

What we're talking about doesn't mean that it's the craziest crime that's ever been committed. Do you understand what I mean? Okay. So, somebody could have a bruise or a really bad welt on them, and that would constitute second-degree assault for a kid under a specific age. So that's why that charge is there. So nobody is saying that...

you took like a baseball bat or like stabbed your kid like I'm just gonna put that out there that is not what anybody's saying about you so I know you're concerned with when I say second degree assault but it sounds a lot worse than I think you're thinking it is is that is are we kind of on the same page yeah but for you to sit there and say that it was inflicted because of me

We're just going on what we hear. You're not telling us how it is, so we're going on what we have. I don't even know what you're referring to. What are you referring to? Your daughter had a mark on her face. People, multiple people, have told us was inflicted by you. Multiple people that weren't even living with us at the time. Well, there was enough people that had spoken about it.

People share knowledge of what they know. So somebody, you telling him and then he tells you and then he tells you, so something that just gets passed down the line. Yeah, I'm not talking about like a game of telephone here. I'm saying that people say a story and then the details kind of fill themselves in, like corroborate. Do you know what the word corroborate means? Of course I do. Okay. You're a smart guy. I'm not trying to insult your intelligence.

When people kind of fill in the blanks, that's what I mean by we're corroborating that story. This is your time to tell me, kind of explain that. If you're saying this was a mistake or this was an accident. I don't even know what you're referring to. That's what I'm trying to get at. I don't even know what you're referring to. I'm saying she had a mark on her face. I don't even know what you're referring to. You don't recall your daughter ever having a mark on her face? The reason DCYF came out to visit you guys, you don't recall that? Why did DCYF come out and start...

visiting you guys, what was the allegation? If I remember correctly it was because of um, I believe at the time, I could be wrong, I believe it had something to do with my uncle saying I was using drugs and I wasn't. Now who's your uncle? So we hear clear. Kevin. Okay, and Kevin's last name? Montgomery.

According to Adam, Kevin Montgomery lived with the couple and their three children for a few months right after he received custody of Harmony. And according to Adam, the reason why Kevin issued the DCYF complaint was because Kevin had been kicked out of their home after he refused to pay the electricity bill. According to his story, CPSW responded to a tip that the home was unfit due

due to no electricity. Not because Harmony had a black eye. So what time did DCYF get involved with you guys? Like, were they over there often? Or was it just like a certain period of time? They were there every single day. The police showed up every single day. Why were they there? Because that's what it was, that's what it was due to. So Kevin moved out because between me and my wife and Kevin, we were supposed to

Like, pay the bills, keep the heat on, the gas on, whatever. Well, Kevin was supposed to pay the electric bill. He didn't pay the electric bill. Me and my wife, I picked my wife from work, showed up at home. They were shutting the electricity off. So, me and Kevin got into an argument about not paying the bill. And he took his shit and moved out. And then, so, the next day...

DCYF, or two days later, something like that, I don't know, DCYF showed up and the police showed up because they said that we were unfit to have the children at the house because there was no electricity in the house. - Okay. - We had a generator running, we had the fridge hooked up to it, there was food in the fridge, everything was fine. The police showed up, seeing that the kids was fine, there was nothing wrong with them. The DCYF showed up and they left. - Was that like summer, fall, like when was that? - I wanna say maybe,

Spring, going into summer maybe. Oh, okay. So like you guys hadn't been there for too, too long then. Six months or so. Okay. And how did it end up that you guys got kicked out of there? All right. So it was my grandmother's house. Right. They didn't pay the mortgage or whatever. They moved to Florida, so the mortgage payments weren't being paid. And I don't know, right around Thanksgiving sometimes, the sheriff's came and threw us out.

And then me, Harmony, and Declan, Seamus, and Kayla left. Where the heck did you guys go from there? We were in our car. Oh, so you lived in your car at that time? For a couple of days. Okay. And then... Did you have like a van or something like that back then at least? What were you driving back then?

Oh, a Chrysler of some kind, I forget. Oh, so it was just like a sedan? A car sedan, yeah. Okay, so you're living in the car, so you, Kayla, and the three kids were living in the car for a few days, and then how'd you get out of that situation? Like, who took you in, or where'd you guys end up? We ended up in our mom's house, Kayla's mom's house. And what's her name?

Chris. Chris, how is she? Well, I mean, she must be okay. Is she willing to take you guys in? Yeah. All right. All right. You know what, man? I don't even want to talk anymore. This is just beating around the bush, man. It just seems a little too silly to me. Well, I'm trying to figure out who can substantiate your claims that you're not this monster of a person that...

It was later reported that the police were called to the residence on September 11th, 2019, after a neighbor reported a domestic dispute.

When an officer arrived at the house, he found that it was without electricity, but a generator was running. Adam told the officer that their electricity had been shut off for several months. But when the officer looked through the home, the children appeared to be healthy, well-fed, and clean. In his notes, he also mentioned that the house appeared to be cluttered, but determined that it was still a safe environment for the three children.

But now that Adam was being questioned by detectives, he continued to be combative with them and he absolutely refused to elaborate on any information regarding Harmony's whereabouts.

But yeah, no. But to sit there, man, and sit there and tell me, you yourself too, like, this is why I feel like it's just all bullshit. This is just a game. I know what it is. I'm not stupid. You're fucking... I'm just trying to give you the opportunity to explain yourself. You're sitting here telling me not to make myself, not to make me out to look like some monster. But you told my girlfriend the other day that she should get the fuck away from me, that you don't even know who I am and what my past is like and all types of crazy shit. But sit there and look me in my face and act...

I think you're talking about Kelsey. Yeah. Okay. I think Kelsey might be exaggerating a little bit. I don't know how to exaggerate like that. It wasn't us talking to Kelsey either. Oh, there was other people talking to me. She, she, she told me, she gave me your card and said this was the guy that said it. Well, I'm telling you that I didn't say that, but if you want to believe it, that's fine.

I mean, she never had no reason to lie to me. So I don't know what she could lie about at that point. She also told me she had no idea that you had a daughter. So I guess we could say the same thing about you telling her that. Right. Right? She knew I had a daughter. I mean, I have one with Kayla, so she knew I had a daughter. She didn't know about Harmony. She knew I had other kids. She told me she had no idea that you ever lived with her and that you barely knew her.

I don't know if that, if she was lying to me, it'd be good for whatever. I have no idea. I don't know her. I know you better than her. So that's what I'm saying. So Christina takes you guys in and she's doing all right. And then would you guys move over to Union Street after that? Is that when you guys get that spot? Nope. We go to the shelter. And that, that's the one on? Lake Gap. Okay. Who's we? Who went to the shelter? They allowed you to go as a family to the shelter? Yeah.

See, I thought they didn't let guys there for some reason. They always let guys there. They didn't let me in there this time for no reason. Their reason was bullshit because I would have been there with Taylor again. So back then they let you in there. Yeah, yeah. And it was all of you guys? It was the five of you? They let you guys stay there? No, no, no. All right, so yeah, you guys are just...

I'm trying to understand. I don't know your timeline of life, man. You're there. I'm not. That's why I'm trying to ask you these questions. Look, I already told you the other day what transpired. We all didn't even go to her mother's house. Who didn't go to her mother's house? Harmony was all... Okay, so Harmony didn't go to Chris's house. So explain to me how she didn't end up going to Chris's house. I've already explained this to you. Well, there's some discrepancies between what you're telling us and what...

Other people are telling us. You're saying you brought her down to Mass, that somebody said she came up for Mass. I never once said I brought her down to Mass. What did you say? She came up here to get her? I never once said... I was audio and video recording the other day. I never once said I went down to Mass. So you're saying that she came up for Mass? I'm not saying anything else.

Why is it that you refuse to talk about her every time we bring her up? Because you guys are just sitting here beating a fucking bush. It's over and over. You guys asked me what happened the other day. I told you what happened. You wouldn't tell us the other day. You guys talked to me the other day. I explained to him what happened the other day. And now...

It was just a charade. No, don't worry about it. Not under arrest. And I would come up with some fucking bullshit. They didn't arrest you? No, the other day. No, but then they had a SWAT team roll up on me and the fucking D-techs followed me around for the last three days. Yeah, people are coming out of the woodwork. That's what we're trying to tell you. We don't want you to be painted as a monster. We want you to maybe explain yourself a little bit and give us some side of your story. We have nothing. We have just what we're hearing from people.

40,000 bucks can drag a lot of people out, whether you believe you're her friends or not. It's a lot of money. Yeah, I know what it is. Absolutely it is. We're trying to get, now's your time. You keep locking up on us, you don't want to tell us anything about her. I got nothing else to say. Towards the end of the interview, one of the detectives asked Adam the one pertinent question that was on everyone's mind. Was Harmony still alive? He said, guys, I got nothing else to say. Hey, can you make me a promise? Like, man to man?

Can you tell me that she's alive? You gonna play the same word games that you played with me the other day? No, no. It's not word games. I got nothing else to say. We care, man. We wanna know. This isn't gonna go anywhere. Like, this isn't gonna stop. No, I know it's not. So, either get on the bus now or get run over. I got nothing else to say. Why is it you have so much trouble talking about Harmony? I got nothing else to say. I want a lawyer with me. I'm gonna leave this copy of this.

Um, expirate or, uh, it's a petition from DCYF. You can read it later sometime. I'll put it in your property. It's basically the same thing you got the other day, it's just a little more detailed that we handed you. Um, it does say that you're ordered to, uh, help us locate how many of you, unless you're not going to do that. I'm just telling you guys along the way.

Adam Montgomery was held at the Hillsborough County House of Corrections. Meanwhile, the Manchester Police Department continued to investigate Kayla Montgomery after her interview on December 31, 2021. They discovered that Kayla filed an affidavit on February 25, 2019 with the Department of Health and Human Services, Division of Family Assistance, to add Harmony Montgomery to the family's food stamp account.

With Harmony living with Adam and Kayla full-time, it meant that the family would receive additional money for assistance. Originally, Kayla told investigators that she had tried to remove Harmony from their account but wasn't successful. During their investigation, they learned that Kayla never called to remove Adam's daughter and she continued to receive additional money until June 2, 2021.

The Manchester Police Department determined that Kayla received over $1,500 in food stamps for Harmony between the months of December 2019 and June 2021, despite Kayla and Adam's story that Harmony had been out of the Montgomery household since late November 2019. Due to this discovery, Kayla was arrested on January 6, 2022 and charged with one felony count of welfare fraud. A few days later, on January 11, 2022, the charge was dropped.

but kayla remained in jail on a five thousand dollar bail for a new felony charge of theft by deception and two misdemeanor counts of welfare fraud meanwhile the manchester police with additional help from the fbi conducted a two-day search at adam and kayla's previous residence at 77 guilford street it was reported that during the search they dug up the backyard hoping to find any evidence related to harmony's disappearance unfortunately nothing was found

As the case continued to gain attention, the original $40,000 reward grew to over $100,000, and tips continued to roll in to the police department. Adams' uncle, Kevin Montgomery, also came forward in January of 2022, and he described the last time he saw Harmony alive.

In an interview with the Daily Beast, Kevin said that in October of 2019, he had returned to the house on Guildford Street and tried to push his way through the front door. However, Adam and Kayla wouldn't let him in. But he was able to catch a glance at Harmony and he said she, quote, looked like a scared puppy. According to Kevin, after the dispute, Booth...

Both Adam and Kayla blocked the family members on social media and cut off all contact with them. A few months later, the COVID pandemic hit and Kevin admitted, quote, I just assumed Harmony and that side of the family was okay. I was worried, of course, but I assumed everything was okay because I hadn't heard anything, end quote.

Meanwhile, concerned family members and police chief Allen Aldenburg remained hopeful that Harmony was still alive. Harmony's mother, Crystal, posted on Facebook, quote, During a press conference, Chief Allenburg said, quote,

All efforts are focused on that Harmony is alive. Until someone proves to me she is not. We have to operate under the assumption that she is alive. Help us find this little girl. Someone knows something. Do what is right and call in. I cannot emphasize this enough. Someone out there knows something. I cannot emphasize enough how important any and all tips are. Even if you believe you saw this little girl a year ago or two years ago, please call in.

Knowing where she was can help us narrow down where she is now. The Manchester Police Department is working with DCYF as well as the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children in every effort to locate Harmony. That tip line again is 603-203-6060. And again, we can receive phone calls and text messages. Please share this information and utilize it. I'm appealing to everyone. Help us find this little girl.

Someone knows something, do what is right, and call in. I cannot emphasize that enough. Somebody out there knows something. It's time for people to do the right thing. I cannot say it enough. I cannot emphasize it enough. Someone needs to call in, do the right thing, and provide us information on where Harmony may be. Again, that number is 603-203-6060. Help us find Harmony.

The tip line number has changed, so if you know anything about this case, the updated number is 603-932-8997.

On February 25th, 2022, New Hampshire Governor Chris Sununu's office released an official report regarding information on Harmony Montgomery and also recommending new protections and system improvements for children stuck in a custody battle. Some of the recommendations included that the state of New Hampshire add new positions, maintain a low number of caseloads for each worker, and pass a border agreement which would allow neighboring states to easily communicate with each other in the event that the custody disputes cross state lines.

In addition, it also stated that the DCYF policy be amended to confirm the residence of all children within a household, even if it's reported that one or all of the children have been moved. If a caregiver refuses to give information or doesn't respond to the requests, the matter should be reported to law enforcement immediately to conduct a welfare check. Perhaps if these changes had been implemented before Harmony Montgomery went missing, the case wouldn't have fallen through the cracks of the system that had been created to help her in the first place.

- In another surprising twist, on March 13th, 2022, Adam's girlfriend, 27-year-old Kelsey Small, was found dead inside of a hotel room in Manchester. According to reports, her death was, quote, "unexpected, but not considered suspicious." Although Kelsey was never a suspect in Harmony's disappearance, police questioned her alongside Adam in December of 2021.

She told investigators that Adam never spoke about Harmony specifically and she did not know her current location. But during an interview with WMUR, Kelsey's cousin said, "I hate that one of her last connections here on Earth was with Adam." Now, meanwhile, Adam's past continued to catch up with him.

and on April 4th, 2022, he was charged with eight more crimes for allegedly stealing a shotgun and rifle between the dates of September 29th and October 3rd, 2019. He was officially charged with two counts of receiving stolen property, two charges of felon in possession, two charges of armed career criminal,

and two counts of theft by unauthorized taking. A few days later, on April 12th, 2022, Kayla Montgomery was also charged with two counts of receiving stolen property in connection to Adam's theft of that shotgun and rifle. Investigators noted that there was no connection between Harmony's disappearance and the stolen firearms.

Ultimately, Adam pleaded not guilty and was held at the Hillsborough County House of Corrections until his scheduled court date for June 28, 2022. Kayla Montgomery also remained in jail for her charges of theft by deception and misdemeanor welfare fraud.

While both Kayla and Adam sat in jail for their multiple crimes, on May 4th, 2022, the Massachusetts Office of the Child Advocate released an official report that outlined several mistakes made regarding Harmony Montgomery's case. Shockingly, Harmony's disappearance wasn't known for two years, and the report indicated that one of the failures was the DCF not focusing on Adam Montgomery and placing most of their attention on Harmony's mother, Crystal.

Additionally, the DCF also never completed a thorough assessment of Adam, and he was not held accountable for starting and completing the taste of his action plan. It further stated, "There was no discussion on how Harmony could safely transition to Mr. Montgomery's care, given the limited time he had spent with her. This lack of a focus on Harmony resulted in the miscalculation of the risks to Harmony when she was placed in Mr. Montgomery's custody, and there was no planning to ensure that the custody arrangement would be successful."

Massachusetts child advocate Maria Macias reported that a home study review was never conducted at Adam and Kayla's residence prior to placing Harmony with her father and her specific needs, including medical, educational, and behavioral, were not a priority. It would later be discovered that while Harmony was in foster care at Michelle Raftery's house, she was being taken care of by a medical team and was actively going to school.

However, after she was in the custody of her father, she was no longer enrolled in school and there was no indication that he had taken her to a doctor. Other pertinent things missed were questions about Adam's willingness and fitness to care for Harmony, including his career and income to support his daughter and if the home he was living in was adequate to meet and fulfill her needs.

After the report was released, the DCF issued their own statement that read, quote, "Harmony Montgomery was last seen in New Hampshire in October of 2019, and the Department of Children and Family Services remains deeply concerned about her disappearance. The Office of Child Advocate report illustrates the grave responsibility of balancing the child's safety and best interest in a parent's legal right to have custody of their child

The safety of kids in DCFS care and servicing their needs should be the priority, not only of DCF, but of all participants in our child protection system. The department continues to make meaningful and lasting reforms to address these complex issues when a case comes before the court.

Crystal Sori's attorney, Russ Riley, also added, "...despite the admitted failures by Massachusetts DCF, the ultimate responsibility for Harmony's disappearance clearly falls on New Hampshire DCYF for failing to remove Harmony from her father's care and custody after reports that he physically abused her, for which he has been arrested."

New Hampshire DCYF also failed multiple times to ascertain Harmony's location and well-being, despite numerous concerns for her safety. The state of New Hampshire does not prioritize the safety of children in its care, and this report, along with that of New Hampshire Governor Sununu and Attorney General Formella, proves that.

the report recommended dcf take additional steps in the future that included both parents be adequately addressed in custody cases involving young children and provide training supervision and support it also added that the several organizations that determine a child's welfare including the dcf oca juvenile court and the committee for public counsel services work together in the future to make sure the needs of the children are properly met

New Hampshire Governor Chris Sununu stated in an interview with WMUR that the details are important to find out what happened to Harmony Montgomery, and added, "...I know they want to keep things confidential and sealed up, but at the end of the day, if we're going to bring Harmony home safe, we need to know what happened there. We need to know the hows and whys of those cases, not just on the DCF side, but on the court side as well."

On May 7th, 2022, Kayla Montgomery was released from jail after serving four months for her crimes. The Manchester Police Department ordered her to check in with them daily regarding her substance abuse treatment plan. They also ordered her not to contact Adam Montgomery or leave the state of New Hampshire.

On May 20th, Kayla arrived at the Hillsborough Superior Court to testify before a grand jury regarding the disappearance of Harmony. While under oath, Kayla recounted the timeline around the last time she saw Harmony and said that on November 30th, 2019, Adam drove her to a Dunkin' Donuts in Goffstown for her 6:00 AM to 2:00 PM shift. According to her story,

Harmony was also in the car and Adam told her that after he dropped her off, he was going to drop Harmony off with her mother in Massachusetts. And Kayla said that that was the last time she ever saw Harmony. But interestingly enough,

After her statement to the grand jury, investigators went to work and what they found was shocking. As it turns out, Kayla Montgomery was not working at any Dunkin' Donuts locations in Goffstown on November 30th. So her story was a lie.

They were able to obtain records from the New Hampshire Employment Security Office, and it indicated that in November of 2019, Kayla had been fired from that position a week before she claimed to have worked that shift.

Now, obviously, lying under oath is a serious offense. And once this information was gathered, a warrant was issued for her arrest in early June of 2022. On June 3rd, Kayla was arrested on perjury charges, and she agreed to sit down with investigators for another interview with her attorney present.

And it was here where she finally admitted that she had more information regarding Harmony's disappearance. During the interview, Kayla said that they had been evicted from the house on Guilford Street the day before Thanksgiving on November 27th, 2019. With nowhere to go, Adam, Kayla, Harmony, and the couple's two young boys were forced to live in their car at Chrysler Sebring, and they parked the vehicle in the parking lot of Colonial Village on River Road near their friend Anthony Badero's apartment.

Kayla, why were you evicted from the home? Because the mortgage wasn't getting paid. And after you were evicted, where did you begin living? In our car. What kind of vehicle was it? A Chrysler Sebring. When you began living in that car, who were you with? It was myself and Adam, Harmony and the two boys. Where were you sleeping during that period? In the car. Where would you keep the car? Behind Colonial Village in Manchester.

Why Colonial Village? Because that's where our friend lived. What was your friend's name? Anthony Bodero. Did he tell Mr. Bodero that you were living there in that parking lot? He asked us not to, but yes. And so can you just describe the sleeping arrangement in that vehicle for you and your family at the time? So Adam would sleep in the driver's seat. I slept in the passenger seat.

And Harmony was behind the passenger seat. And the baby, Declan, was in the middle. And Seamus was behind the driver's seat.

Kayla admitted that Anthony would visit them and brought them Thanksgiving leftovers. During their time at Colonial Village, Anthony often saw the three children and waved to Harmony on numerous occasions. On the morning of December 7th, 2019, Adam, Kayla, Harmony, and the two young boys made their way to Burger King on Route 3 in Manchester to grab breakfast after a short trip to the methadone clinic. While Adam drove the vehicle, Harmony, located in the rear seat on the passenger side, had an accident and urinated on herself.

This infuriated Adam who reached behind the seat and struck her with a closed fist three to four times on three separate occasions over the course of a few minutes. According to Kayla, Harmony had been urinating and defecating on herself in the car and not telling Adam or Kayla when she needed to go to the bathroom. Each time Adam would react in the same violent manner and hit his young daughter in the face, head, and legs. Kayla, I asked you earlier about whether Harmony was potty trained when you got custody of her.

And I believe you said she was. Yes. Did that change at some point after the eviction? Yes. And tell the jury about that. What happened to Harmony? She wouldn't let us know when she had to use the bathroom. And so she was peeing in the car, just in her seat that she was sitting in. And she wouldn't tell us that she had to use the bathroom. Was she only peeing or was she having other accidents at the time? She was also pooping.

How frequently was this occurring for Harmony? A lot, at least every day. And did those accidents, did they increase in frequency the longer you were in that car? Yes. How was the defendant responding when she had these accidents? Getting angry. Would he do anything physically to her when she had accidents? Yeah, he would smack her. And what does that mean that he would smack her? He would smack her in the face or on her leg or in her hand.

Were these soft smacks, hard smacks or something else? They were like hurt, stung smacks. What makes you say hurt, stung smacks? Because she would cry during, like whenever she got smacked by him and I could hear it and it sounds like it hurt. I'm sorry, you could hear the crying or you could hear the smack? Smack and the crying.

When you say she was crying, who's she? Harmony. Those strikes, were they manifesting in any way on Harmony? Yes. How were they manifesting on her? The more accidents she had, the more he would get angry and he would hit her repetitively. Was the defendant causing visible injuries to Harmony? Yes. I'm sorry? Yes. And tell us about those injuries. Um...

When he would hit her, she started getting black eyes and bruises on her face, on her legs. Yeah. Did you ever see her bleed as a result of being struck by him? No, I didn't see that. Did you ever see the defendant attempt to cover Harmony? Yes. And can you tell the jurors how he did that? He would cover her with a comforter that we had in the car.

Why would he cover her? So nobody could see her. How often would he cover Harmony? All the time. Anytime that we had interference with anybody, no matter who it was.

Was this only when you went out in public or was it when you were still in that parking lot or both? Both. However, this time would be different and after he delivered the final blow to her face, he turned to Kayla and mentioned he felt something odd. "I think I really hurt her this time. I think I did something." I want to turn your attention to December 7th of 2019. Yeah. Does that day stand out to you? Yes. Why? It's just a day that Harmony passed away.

The day that Harmony passed away? Yeah. Were you still living in the car at that point? Yes. Were you still sleeping in the Colonial Village parking lot? Yes. You mentioned Harmony having accidents and then becoming more frequent at that point. On December 7th, was she still having those accidents? Yes. And had they increased in frequency? Yes. Did Harmony have an accident first thing in the morning? Yes. And that would have been before you started your day? Yes.

What happened when she had that accident? Adam repetitively kept punching her in the head. Okay. So I want to break that up. That morning, where did you wake up? At Colonial Village. And what happened first thing in the morning that morning? We went to the methadone clinic. And before you left for the methadone clinic, did Harmony have an accident? Yes. And what did the defendant do afterwards?

Before you went to the methadone clinic, what did the defendant do to Harmony after that accident? He was yelling and screaming at her and punching her in the head. How did she react to that? She was crying. You mentioned the methadone clinic. Was that Habit Opco? Yes. And what did you do at the methadone clinic that morning? Got my dose of methadone and Adam got his also. And do you remember who went in first?

No, I don't remember who went first. And Kayla, I want you to walk the jurors through in as much detail as you can what happened on your route from Habitopko to that Burger King. Adam was getting really angry from Harmony peeing in the car, and he repetitively kept punching her on the way to Burger King and...

There were a couple red lights, and when we were at red lights, he would, like, go over the driver's seat, like, in between the passenger seat, and he was just punching her repetitively in the head. You've said there were several times where he punched her repetitively in the head. Yes. How many times did he hit her? I can't count. I don't know. Were you counting? No, I wasn't.

How many lights did that car come to where he repetitively struck her? At least two or three. Between Habitopko and the Burger King, did the defendant say anything to Harmony? He told her to shut the f*** up. Stop crying. At this point, Kayla admitted that Harmony had been making a moaning noise for about five minutes.

She told investigators that she attempted to intervene while Adam was hitting her, but she got scared when he looked at her in a way that she described as, quote, pure evil. You said she was making a weird noise. Yes. Can you describe it? It was like, I can't even describe it. It was like a moaning kind of noise, but crying. It was just weird. I can't explain it.

Did you try to help Harmony while he was striking her? Yes. Tell the jurors what you did to help, to try to help. I put my arm up and said to stop, but he looks at me and he gave me this look that was like evil. I don't, his crazy eyes. I didn't like it. And I didn't, I couldn't stop her, stop him from hitting her because he, the look that he gave me was scary. I was scared.

What were you feeling when he looked at you like that? Like he was either going to hit me or just, I don't know. It was weird. That moaning, did it eventually stop? Yes. Did you check on Harmony at any point after the moaning stopped? No. Did Adam? No. Why didn't you check on her? Because I was scared.

Once the moaning noises subsided, both Adam and Kayla continued about their morning and did not check to see if Harmony was okay. Kayla said that she handed the food to her two young sons in the backseat and just placed Harmony's food beside her while she was lying there unconscious. Kayla admitted that she didn't think Harmony was dead.

she thought she would eventually wake back up and eat her food. During this time, Adam and Kayla drove back to the Colonial Village parking lot and sat in the car for around 20 minutes doing drugs in front of their young children. Shockingly, no one thought to check on Harmony. - When you arrived at the Colonial Village parking lot, when you arrived back there, what did you and the defendant do? - We got drugs and got high.

When you say we got drugs and got high, what drugs did you get? Heroin and crack. And how long did you use those drugs for in that parking lot? Probably, we were there for probably 10 or 15 minutes.

After getting high, Adam drove the Chrysler out of the Colonial Village parking lot and the car ended up stalling in the intersection of Elm Street and Webster Street at around 11:12 p.m. And it was during that time when Adam and Kayla discovered that Harmony was no longer breathing. - Where did he go from the Colonial Village parking lot? - I don't remember where we were going, but I know we left.

You left at some point? Yes. And what happened when you left the parking lot? We made it to the next street over, going towards Elm Street, and the car died. We got to the traffic light, and it wouldn't start or anything, and so we were stuck without a vehicle. What was the defendant doing when the car died?

He was trying to get a jump and there was no jumping vehicle. And so we ended up having to leave it. And when we were getting out of the car and getting the kids out of the car, Harmony had passed away.

When Adam realized that Harmony was dead, he popped the trunk and grabbed a red and black Under Armour duffel bag that had been used to store clothing. He quickly removed the items and put his daughter's body into the bag. Shockingly, Kayla admitted that she and Adam did not have a conversation about attempting to save her life. Instead, her lifeless body was placed into the bag and the family walked back to the Colonial Village parking lot. You mentioned this duffel bag from the trunk. Yeah. Had you seen that duffel bag before, Kayla?

What was it used for? Did you see him put Harmony in that duffel bag? Yes. How did he put her in there, Kayla? He, like, folded her in half and put her in the duffel bag.

Adam walked to his friend Anthony Badero's apartment and asked him for help. Anthony would eventually drive the family back to the broken-down Chrysler, where they gathered the remainder of their items and had the vehicle towed. Kayla told investigators that Anthony allowed the family to sleep in his Audi

for approximately two or three days during this time the duffel bag that contained harmony's body was kept in the trunk but adam made sure to put it outside in the snow for hours at a time to stop the smell of decomposition interestingly anthony bedero testified before a grand jury on march 21st 2022 during the investigation into the disappearance of harmony montgomery

Anthony stated that he did allow the family to sleep in his car a few days after the Thanksgiving holiday. He said that he did not see Harmony with Adam and Kayla and did not bother to ask where she was. A proffer interview was conducted on September 22nd, 2022. And Anthony admitted that he knew Adam and Kayla because he frequently sold them drugs. Back in 2019, did you sell drugs to the defendant, Adam Montgomery? Yes, sir.

Did you sell drugs to Kayla Montgomery? Yes, sir. How often would you sell the defendant and Kayla drugs? Whenever I had any available. How frequently was that? Not frequent. Were you actively selling drugs back then? When I did have, yes. And how would they pay you when they would purchase those drugs? They would either pay me with cash or they would sell me food stamps. Let's talk about that. Yes, sir.

What do you mean when you say they would sell you food stamps? Well, they were, I would give them half of whatever they gave me in food stamps. Let me back up. What type of drugs were they buying from you back then? Heroin and crap. Mr. Badero, did the defendant, in this case, Adam Montgomery, did he ever sell drugs for you? Negative, no. Did you ever employ Mr. Montgomery to sell drugs for you? No.

Did you ever hire him in any capacity? No. Mr. Badera, I want to turn your attention to Thanksgiving of 2019. Does that timeframe stand out to you? Yes, sir. And can you tell these jurors why that stands out to you? Because they approached me saying they had no place to live and I let them stay in my vehicle. And can you describe that arrangement where you let them stay in your vehicle? Well, the reason I had them stay in the vehicle is because

I was living with somebody else that it was their apartment and there was no room for them to be there. So the only choice I had was to let them stay in my vehicle. And do you recall the specific, let me back up, how many days did they stay in your vehicle? Two days. Two days? Yes, sir. Do you recall the specific days? No, it was just after Thanksgiving weekend. And Mr. Badero, who stayed in your vehicle?

Adam, Kayla and the two boys. Earlier you mentioned Adam's third child Harmony. Yes. Where was Harmony during that time where you let them stay in their vehicle, in your vehicle? I do not know. Was she with them? No. Did you see her at any point during that that period where they're staying in your vehicle? No sir. And do you recall how they came to be living in your vehicle? What was, can you tell the jurors what that conversation was like?

Well, from what I recall, they gave me a call and told me they had no place to go. They came to where I was staying at. I let them upstairs. We talked and I told them, I was like, I could let you stay in my car, but I can't let you stay here because this is not my apartment. That was the arrangement.

During the course of the investigation, the Manchester Police Department obtained search warrants for Google and Facebook during the time period between late November and early December 2019. And the data that they recovered was consistent with the family staying at the Colonial Village parking lot during that time. Investigators also spoke to two friends of Adams named Courtney O'Brien and Matt Garcia.

Both individuals mentioned that they had known Adam for a long time. Courtney admitted that she had a conversation with Adam sometime in late December of 2019 and in early January of 2020. During their conversation,

Adam mentioned that Harmony was back with her mother in Massachusetts because she wouldn't stop peeing her pants. Matt Garcia, who had known Adam for almost his entire life, told investigators that Adam called him on December 31st, 2021. By then, the news had broke that Harmony was missing.

Adam apparently told Matt that he was frustrated that the police wanted to question him because he had already given Harmony back to her mother after Thanksgiving. According to the official police records, Matt stated, quote, Adam said, he goes, the kid wouldn't stop pissing and shitting everywhere. She was driving me nuts. We were living in the car, so I let her go. I had her mom come and get her, end quote.

As for the accidents, Matt admitted that Adam told him she was, quote, going everywhere all the time, every five minutes. We were living in a car. I couldn't take it. I had to give her to her mom, end quote.

After murdering his own daughter, Adam went to great lengths to hide Harmony's body. In her proffer interview in June 2022, Kayla told investigators that after leaving Anthony's car at Colonial Village, the family went to live with their mother, Christina Lubin, and her boyfriend, John Galen, on Dubuque Street in Manchester.

When they arrived at the apartment, Adam placed the duffel bag that contained Harmony's body inside a red cooler with a white top that was kept in the hallway of the apartment complex. Kayla said that the body remained in the cooler until the end of December 2019 when the couple moved out. Let me be more specific. At some point, did you ever see her and Adam and the two boys at your house but not with Harmony? Yes. And when did that occur in December of 2019?

That was, it was before December. It was shortly after Thanksgiving because I had just put my tree up. And I don't remember the exact date. I just remember shutting off the overhead lights so that the kids could see the Christmas lights and the ornaments. And that's when you saw Harmony that time? That's when I saw Harmony. Did they have anything else with them? Did they have any luggage with them? They had some bags with them. I don't remember exactly what.

This second time when they were there without Harmony, did you ask Adam Montgomery where Harmony was? I asked Kayla. You asked Kayla. Once they were there with you, how long did they stay before they moved on? They were there a couple of weeks. I think it was like December 29th, 30th.

Right around then. Do you know where they moved to when they left you? They went to Fit in Manchester. And Fit, is that short for the Families in Transition Shelter? Yes. How long had you owned that red cooler in the hallway? A couple of years. I used it for basketball, for the basketball team. Did you always store it in the hallway? No, sometimes it was in the apartment. Sometimes it was in the hall. Most of the time it was in the hall when basketball was all done.

You said a moment ago that you left money in the past there for Kayla and for the defendant. Was the cooler in the hallway when you did that? Yes. And how would you leave that money so that somebody else wouldn't take it? So it was next to my apartment door at the end of the hallway. And I would put money under a piece of cardboard and then close the cupboard.

So the cardboard was inside the cooler? Detective John Dunleavy traveled to Christina's apartment once he learned that the cooler had been used to stash Harmony's body. When he spoke to Christina, she informed him that the cooler had been moved to her bedroom closet but was once stored in the common hallway. The cooler was taken to the state lab for processing. The results indicated that there was no evidence of blood found in the cooler.

Adam, Kayla, and the two young boys left Christina's residence on December 30th, 2019, and from there, they moved into the family's in-transition shelter. At this point, Harmony's body was still contained inside of the red and black duffel bag, and Adam had placed the bag inside of a ceiling vent in the bedroom.

Kayla told investigators that by this time, the bag had started to emit an odor and eventually it started leaking onto the ceiling tiles. In an effort to keep the bag from leaking, Adam stuffed the duffel into a trash bag and then put it back into the ceiling vent.

However, a few days into their stay, a neighbor named Paula from apartment number five started to complain of a smell inside of the vents. A maintenance man was called to investigate, but Adam quickly moved the trash bag into the bedroom closet.

Ultimately, a worker determined that the smell probably came from a dead animal that had crawled into the vent and died, as he didn't see anything out of the ordinary. Detective Dunleavy was able to obtain a copy of the maintenance report and it stated that the neighbors inside of apartment number two had also complained of a smell when they turned on the heat.

Another report from February 2nd, 2020 indicated that there was a weird smell coming from the vents in apartment number one, where the Montgomery family had been living. However, when the report was made, Adam, Kayla, and the two young boys had already moved out. Investigators returned to the shelter on June 4th, 2022 and conducted a search of the room that the Montgomery family occupied.

177 Lake Avenue, Unit Number 1. Once the vent was removed, they located a large area on the ceiling tile that contained a large stain, and they determined that the area had smelled of decomposition. The ceiling tile was removed and taken to a state lab for testing, and on June 9th, 2022, it was determined that the stain was consistent with human decomposition fluid.

Shockingly, detectives were also able to gather fingerprint evidence from the metal vent and metal framing. And it was there where they found 10 identifiable prints, one from the framing and nine from the vent itself. And all 10 of the fingerprints matched Adam Montgomery.

After leaving the FIT shelter, Adam, Kayla, and the two boys moved into an apartment at 644 Union Street, second floor, apartment number two. The duffel bag that contained Harmony's body had been placed inside two trash bags at this point, and then placed into a plastic container. While the family moved, the container was put into a stroller and pushed from the shelter to the new apartment. Adam then stashed the container inside the bedroom closet, but removed it when he realized it was continuing to leak.

Once again, he used a third trash bag to contain the contents and moved the body into the refrigerator. Kayla said that the bag remained in the refrigerator for a while and Adam transferred Harmony's body from the Under Armour duffel bag into a new maternity bag that contained the letters CMC, which meant Catholic Medical Center. Due to the size of the bag, fitting Harmony's body would be tough unless it was dismembered or distorted.

At one point, Kayla said Adam took the bags into the bathroom and she could smell decomposition and cleaning supplies. For hours, Kayla heard the shower water running and when he would leave the bathroom a cloud of steam would come out. When he finally emerged, the CMC bag was placed into the apartment freezer. Interestingly, Kayla changed her story and admitted that the transfer into the CMC bag

actually happened while the couple was still living at the FIT shelter. According to her second proffer interview, Adam became paranoid when the maintenance man came to check the vents and Harmony's body was pushed into the CMC bag. So the defendant put Harmony into garbage bags and he squished her into a bag like this one? Yes. And this again was at that time he was in transition? Yes. Where did he do that to you?

in the bathroom of the room that we stayed in. Were you in the bathroom then when he did that? No. Did you hear anything when he was doing that to her in the bathroom? I heard a loud bang. Could you see what was going on in there? No. You mentioned the defendant stuffing Harmony into the duffel bag. Yes. At the reception, you'd barged on it. Yes. And then you mentioned squishing her into this bag. Yes.

Did she fill that bag, that CMC bag that you just saw? Yes. Her body filled that bag? Yes.

Meanwhile, Adam continued to go to great lengths to hide Harmony's body. At one point, Kayla said she visited Adam at his place of work, which was the Portland Pie Company on Elm Street. On the way there, she placed her boys in a two-seated stroller and then placed the bag holding Harmony's body in between her two sons.

The little boys had no idea that their half-sister's body was lying in front of them. But from there, Kayla wheeled the stroller over to Adam's work. According to her account, Adam took the bag holding Harmony's body and he placed it inside of a walk-in freezer at his work. It would stay there for about a week before it was brought back to the apartment on Union Street.

Records indicated that Adam was employed as a dishwasher and cook between the dates of January 14th and February 22nd of 2020.

Two employees there, named Cameron Gibney and Emily Thompson, would later speak to investigators, and they confirmed Kayla's story that she had brought a bag to the restaurant and that that bag was stored in the walk-in freezer. However, no one ever confronted him about the bag's contents, and eventually the bag was brought back to their apartment.

Once there, Adam dumped Harmony's body out of the bag and into the shower once again. Originally, Adam talked to Kayla about dismembering Harmony's body with a handsaw and Nutribullet. Kayla said that Adam also wanted to douse the body in lime to help with decomposition. Harmony's body had been left to rot and decay for months, but Kayla admitted that it still looked like her.

She still had teeth, hair, and skin. Eventually, Adam dumped Lime into the CMC bag and ran hot water over Harmony's frozen body to thaw her out. And he did this so it would be easier stuffing her back inside of the bag. According to official court documents, "Kayla saw Adam run the hot water in the shower

and he tried squishing Harmony's flesh to thaw it and make it easier for her to fit inside of the bag." Kayla also admitted to helping Adam cut the clothes from Harmony's body in an effort to help squeeze her back into the bag. You said he began to discuss dismembering Harmony. Yes. What did he say about dismembering her? That he... that he just wanted to put her...

and he would put her in pieces to get rid of her. And was that at the Union Street apartment? Yes. That's where that discussion occurred? Yes. Did he ever discuss using tools on Harmony with you? Using tools on her body? He said that he was going to try and use a saw. He wanted to use a hand saw or a NutriBullet. What was his idea? What was his purpose of using wine?

that it would help her body decay. That's what he told you? Yes.

Manchester Police Detective Max Raheel would later testify that the bank records indicated that Kayla Montgomery withdrew $500 from her bank account at Citizens Bank on February 26, 2020. According to investigators, Adam and Kayla then went to Home Depot, located just one mile away from the bank, and used $400 to purchase limestone, a power grinder, and a metal-cutting diamond blade. That yellowed-in portion, what does that show us?

That shows a 500 withdrawal from 688 South Willow Street, which is the Citizens Bank. And does it say the date on that document, the date and time of the withdrawal? It does. And you mentioned that it was 688 South Willow Street? Yes. Can you tell the jurors what the date and time is? It is February 26, 2020, and the time is approximately 1120 and 13 seconds.

We were looking for line purchases. Why were you looking for line purchases? Due to a statement made by Kayla Montgomery. And I asked you to look at the last page of that material, the packet that's in front of you. Can you tell us what that is? Yes, so this is the receipt from a transaction at Home Depot on March 1st. I'm just going to ask that you turn to the TV monitor behind you. Is that consistent with what you're looking at, the papers that you have?

Yes. What is that? It's a receipt. And I want to talk about the receipt. You mentioned the ATM transaction at 11:20 in the morning on February 26th of 2020. What is the date and time of this Home Depot transaction? 11:42 a.m. That's roughly 22 minutes after. Correct. And I want to discuss the amounts. Does that receipt tell you the amounts?

Yes. Can you just point them out to the jurors? Yes, it was $396.35. And it says cash there. Yes. What's your understanding of what that means? So the transaction was paid with cash, $400 in cash. What's your understanding of the size of the line bag that was purchased? It was a 40-pound line bag. 40 pounds? Yes.

And what additional items were purchased during that transaction? So there was a Milwaukee M18 fuel grinder, which is also known as an angle grinder, size 4.5 blade. There was also a Diablo 4.5 blade purchase and an M18 Milwaukee battery.

Prosecutors theorized that the purchase of the power tools indicated that Adam had originally planned to dismember Harmony's body inside the bathtub. Kayla stated, "I saw Harmony folded together the same way she was when we took her out of the car. She looked like she had barely any skin, just skin and bones, and was very bruised. He had the hot water running in the tub."

Harmony's body was once again zipped up inside the CMC bag and Adam placed it back into the freezer and brainstormed how he was going to get rid of it. In the meantime, Adam and Caleb placed a maintenance call to Dennis Clodier on February 27, 2020 to fix an issue with the bathtub. Records indicated that Dennis snaked the tub and fixed the lever. The guy called about his tub not draining. I knocked on his door. I met him in the kitchen, went around to the bathroom,

noticed that the overflow plate where the drain lever is was missing a screw turned sideways and he said the drain did not drain right so i removed the rest of it went down to the truck got a snake snaked out the drain discovered that he had dislodged the actual plunger that hooks to the ledger the lever so that was stuck down in the drain

So I removed that completely, went back to the truck, grabbed a brand new plate that doesn't have a lever hookup, and he just didn't get a lever. Okay. You see what I mean? And I just put a blank plate on that so it could at least overflow water, and that was that. So I snaked the drain and replaced the plate. Sounds like it was – would you say that that was a fairly easy repair that day? Yeah, it was in and out of there in maybe 35 minutes. Okay. While you were there, did you see anybody else inside the apartment?

Yes, I think the woman, Kayla, and some children were on the couch. Okay. And the children, you said that they were on the couch. Let me ask you, the size of the bathroom in that particular apartment, how big are we talking or how small? Really small. Really small. Okay. Like a galley bathroom size.

Okay, I see what you mean. So if I come through the door of the bathroom... If someone's standing behind the door of the bathroom, it won't open. It's a small bathroom. The plate that you said was off. It wasn't completely off. It was missing a screw. It was hanging sideways. It takes two screws. If you remove one, it's going to rotate over sideways. So when it was rotated over sideways, could you see kind of down back into where that overflow drain was?

Yeah, that's the point. That's where you enter the snake when you snake out a bathtub. You remove the overflow plate. Okay. And you're not about to say when, excuse me, let me back up a little bit. Having one screw on an overflow plate, that's not a way that you would typically leave an apartment when you go to get it ready for a new tenant. Am I right in saying that? No. With regards to when you're doing this repair, where is Adam Montgomery?

In addition to fixing the bathtub, Dennis admitted that he was also called to the apartment to replace light fixtures on the ceiling. As for what happened, Dennis admitted, he said he took them down because he thought there were cameras in there.

I think I had to go back one more time to fix some lights on the ceiling. Lights on the ceiling? Yes. Could you tell us a little bit about that trip? They were just popped off the ceiling. They were hanging by the wires. Literally off the ceiling? Yeah. The wires weren't disconnected. I mean, a light isn't heavy. The lights we use are real light. They'll hang by the wires and still work, but they were hanging by the wires, so put them back up. Any idea how those lights got pulled down? Excuse me. I'll withdraw the question and I'll rephrase.

With regards to those lights, did Adam Montgomery tell you how they got pulled down? He said he took them down because he thought there were cameras in them. With regards to other electrical work, did you do any other kind of electrical work on that unit while he was residing there? I had to replace the thermostat. You had to replace the thermostat? Correct. Okay. Any other electrical repairs that you know? No, that's it.

On July 14th, 2022, the New Hampshire State Police and FBI were granted a search warrant at the small, one-bedroom apartment on Union Street. They seized the refrigerator and a few of the floorboards. However, the manager couldn't say for sure if the refrigerator inside apartment 2 had been there while the Montgomery's resided there. A few months later, on September 8th, 2022, Blue Star Forensic was used to process the interior and it was determined that there was a reaction on the bottom of the refrigerator in three different areas.

DNA was collected from these areas, but it's unknown what the definitive outcome was. - Kayla told investigators that Adam kept Harmony's body inside of the bag in the apartment's freezer until the family moved once again in early spring of 2020. Kayla said that they moved to the Econo Lodge in Manchester

And from there, Harmony's body was transferred to a mini-fridge inside of the hotel room. Then, with the help of his two friends, Travis Beach and Brittany Betterd, Adam was able to rent a U-Haul sometime in March or May. Kayla couldn't remember which month. But on that night, Adam left at around 1 a.m. with the CMC bag.

According to Kayla's story, Adam did not tell her where he was taking Harmony's body, quote, "in case something like this happened," meaning Kayla ultimately talking to investigators about the crime. - The rental U-Haul was a van, like a van that people that do painting would use. - So it was a rental van? - Yes.

And I want to back up for just a moment. You said you were at the EconoLodge hotel. Was Harmony's body with you in that hotel? Yes. Where was that body, where was Harmony being stored? In the fridge. Did the defendant tell you where he planned to dump Harmony's body? No. Did he leave with a rental van at some point? Yes. Did he leave with the CMC bag at the same time? Yes. When did he leave? It was in the middle of the night. Did he say anything to you before he left?

No. Did he tell you what he was doing? No, but I already knew what he was doing. And that's because he told you before? Yes. Did he tell you specifically why he wasn't telling you where he was going, where he was dumping Harmony? Yes. Tell the jurors what he told you. He said he wasn't telling me where he was bringing her so that if anything like this happened and the cops got involved that I wouldn't be able to tell them

I wouldn't know where she is, so I couldn't tell anybody where she is. Only he would know. Kayla, where is Harmony's body? I don't know. Kayla, where did he dump Harmony? I don't know. Did he return to the hotel room? Yes. And when did he return? It was like right before the sun came out. Did he say anything to you when he returned? That he got rid of her.

That CMC bag, the one that he squished Harmony into? Yes. Was it still with him? No. Kayla admitted that after the murder of Harmony, Adam grew paranoid that Kayla was speaking to the police. While living at the shelter and at the Union Street apartment, Kayla said that Adam would accuse her of talking to detectives. And in an effort to maintain her silence, he began to physically assault her.

What did he suspect that you were informing on him about? About killing Harmony. And what did he do because of those suspicions? He started abusing me. I want to unpack that abuse. Can you tell the jurors what he did, what he did to you? When he would accuse me of talking to police or detectives, he would ask me if I was telling and I would say no.

And he would say just to tell him the truth. And I wouldn't agree saying that I did. And then I, 'cause he would end up hitting me and I finally said that I did, even though I didn't, but you still hurt me anyway. - You said that he ended up hitting you. He would still hurt me anyway. - Yes. - How did he hurt you, Kayla? - By punching me. - Where did he punch you? - In the head. - What did he punch you with, Kayla? - His hands.

Open hand, closed fist, something else? Both. How often did this happen to you? How often did he do this? Constantly. It just kept happening.

When Manchester police were aware of Harmony's disappearance in late 2021, the department set up a 24-7 tip line for members of the community to come forward with any information regarding her whereabouts. On February 26, 2022, an anonymous tipster stated that Travis Beach and his girlfriend Jenilee Paris had mentioned that two years prior, Adam Montgomery had frantically begged Travis to rent a U-Haul van for him.

Travis Beach was tracked down by Detective Feliciano at his apartment at 1361 Elm Street. However, Travis refused to cooperate unless he was present with an attorney. On March 9th, 2022, Travis was brought down to the Hillsborough County Probation and Parole Office and finally spoke with investigators in the presence of his attorney and parole officer. He admitted that he ran into Adam in early 2020 at a local convenience store and Adam told him, "I fucked up. I'm so fucked."

Adam wouldn't elaborate on what he meant, but he asked Travis, who was in the company of his girlfriend at the time, Brittany, to rent him a U-Haul. Travis stated that Brittany tried to rent Adam the U-Haul at a nearby business on South Willow Street. However, she wasn't successful and they had to ask another friend, Brendan Middleton, to rent it. When investigators asked why Travis hadn't cooperated with them at the beginning, he mentioned that after he saw the news regarding Harmony's disappearance, he put the two together and figured it might be related.

It was later on during the night. It was dark out, so 8-ish. Can you tell the jurors who you went with? Who accompanied you to get the U-Haul? Myself, Brittany Bedard, Brendan Middleton. Okay. And where did you go to get that U-Haul? The U-Haul place on South Willow Street here in Manchester, New Hampshire. South Willow Street. Yes, sir.

What did you do after getting the U-Haul, Mr. Beach? There's a gas station right next to the U-Haul place. We stopped there, put gas in it, and then we went back to the EconoLodge. When you say we went back to the EconoLodge. Myself, Brittany Bedard, and Brendan Middleton. And what did you do when you returned to the EconoLodge? Um...

We did drugs at the Econolodge. Mr. Nepp, French Dutch. Yes? Mr. Beach, when you say we did drugs, who is the we that you're referring to? Myself, Brittany Bedard, Adam, and Kayla Montgomery. And what drugs are you referring to? Cocaine. Is that crack cocaine? Yes, sir. At some point during that time while you were doing drugs, did you exchange keys with the economy?

Yes, sir. Did you provide any U-Haul keys? Yes, sir. Let's talk about that interaction. Can you tell the jurors where you were when you gave him the keys and what specifically he told you? We, myself and Brittany Bedard gave the keys to Adam Montgomery, which he was staying at the Econo Lodge on the first floor. After that, Adam Montgomery and myself went outside to smoke a cigarette. He was pacing back and forth. He

He said he effed up and I asked him what he meant and all he could say in repeat was he effed up and I'm not sure. And you said he repeated that? Yes, sir. How many times did he repeat? Four or five times. When you say effed, did he actually say the word? Yes, sir. What did he say? I fucked up. You repeated? Yes, sir. Multiple times? I apologize. It's okay. Thank you. Yes, sir.

Travis would later say that he believed the U-Haul was originally intended to help Adam and Kayla move their belongings from the Union Street apartment to the Econolodge. At a second proffer interview on August 9th, 2022, Travis admitted that he had re-

Travis admitted that he had reconnected with Adam while at the Mall of New Hampshire a week prior to the U-Haul rental. According to his story, he had gone over to Adam and Kayla's apartment on Union Street to do drugs, and Adam had asked Travis and Brittany to rent him a U-Haul. It was during that time when the Montgomery's were transitioning from their apartment to a hotel, so Travis figured it would be to help move furniture.

On June 30th, 2022, Detective Rahill was successfully able to obtain the U-Haul lease agreement that listed Travis Beach as an additional contact.

The transaction happened on March 3rd, 2020 at 5.49 p.m. and it was set to end on March 4th, 2020 at 1.47 p.m. The rental mileage totaled 133 miles. The total amount owed was $32.49, paid by a MasterCard belonging to Brittany Betterd.

Unfortunately, the U-Haul van rented was no longer at the Willow Street location and it had been sold during an auction in May of 2021.

Detective Davenport and Dunleavy located Brendan Middleton on July 6, 2022, and he admitted that he had rented a friend a U-Haul a few years back. According to his account, on the night in question, he picked up Travis and Brittany from the Ocono Lodge, and the three drove to the U-Haul rental location sometime after it was already dark.

Brendan said that he was under the impression that it was going to be used to move furniture. So the three took the U-Haul to a convenience store next door to the rental location. And Travis and Brittany drove Brendan's car while he drove the U-Haul back to the Ocono Lodge, where it was parked in the rear of the building. Kayla Montgomery would later say that Adam returned to the hotel at around 5 or 6 a.m., although he never mentioned where he had gone.

Kayla said that when he walked through the doors, Adam appeared to be tired and he mentioned to her, quote, "It's done."

Investigators were able to obtain a search warrant for Travis's Facebook account and they found messages from him and Adam pertaining to the U-Haul rental. Between the dates of March 3rd and March 4th, 2020, these were the messages sent between the two. Travis said, "Bro, what U-Haul did you drop it off at? 'Cause he just sent a text message saying the van was supposed to be back at two."

So please let me know what the fuck is going on ASAP. Adam says, I dropped it off on Willow, my word. Please don't message me stuff like this on Facebook again. Travis says, Um, okay, my bad. It won't happen again, bubba. Adam then places a call to Travis that he didn't answer. Adam then messages him, quote, Yo bro, can you please call me? I need to talk to you. It's very important. Please call me.

Do you know why the defendant didn't want you messaging stuff to him about a U-Haul rental? No. And let me back up. You said earlier you didn't know what he was using this U-Haul for. Correct. Did you ask him? No, sir. Why not? Honestly, I didn't think I had to because I saw all his belongings packed up. And prior during the day, he said he was having problems with DCYF. So I kind of figured that he was moving.

And were you aware that he had just moved into that apartment? No, sir. Did you ask Kayla what the U-Haul was for? I wasn't allowed to talk to Michaela. Why weren't you allowed to talk to Kayla? I didn't ask. Mr. Beach, did you ever meet a child in Parkview, North Emory? No, sir. No, sir.

Investigators were able to locate the U-Haul rental van that had been sold at auction to a man named Robert "Bob" Wood and his son Joshua Wood in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. They learned that the two men had converted the van into a work vehicle for their business, Woods Cleaning Services, and allowed investigators to process the van with Blue Star Forensic.

It's important to note that Blue Star is a chemical used to detect blood not visible to the naked eye. According to official documents, there was a reaction on the passenger's side floorboard. One on the right side of the interior step and two on the back of the passenger seat.

On July 11th, 2022, they searched the EconoLodge hotel room 216 and focused their attention on the mini-fridge, where Kayla said that Harmony's body had been located. Bluestar reacted to a small area beneath the interior freezer, and also inside near the interior door. Swabs were taken for DNA purposes. Criminalist Katie Swango created a DNA profile of Harmony using samples taken from Crystal Sorey and Adam Montgomery.

What known DNA samples did you have for this case? What are the knowns that you were working with? I had two known samples. I believe they were both buccal swabs. One was from Adam Montgomery and one was from Crystal Sori. So one from an Adam Montgomery and one from Crystal Sori.

Did you obtain a profile for Missori from the known swab that you had? Yes. And did you obtain a profile for Adam Montgomery from the swab that you had? Yes. Were you, from looking at those two, you now had two fully known profiles. So if I were to put these two side by side, I take it they would not look similar to one another. No, they wouldn't. Because as we said, everybody is going to have a different profile. Yeah.

However, Katie was also able to extract Harmony's DNA from a pink Trolls electronic toothbrush that had been found. DNA Labs International forensic biologist Alan Ackroyd-Azelis would later say that the sheetrock panel and rails taken from the ceiling of the Fitz shelter were tested and the staining was determined to be human blood. Although it was not conclusive that the DNA belonged to Harmony Montgomery, Alan said, the

probability is quite high. As for the DNA on the sheetrock, he said, "...the likelihood ratio was 1.1 trillion times more likely if the DNA profile originated from Harmony Montgomery and an unknown person than if it originated from two unknown people. For the railing, 1.4 trillion..."

Basically, Harmony Montgomery's DNA was detected on both items. On August 11th, 2022, Attorney General John Fermella made an official statement that said, "...investigators now believe that the case of Harmony Montgomery was a homicide due to Kayla Montgomery's interview with police."

One month later, on September 9th, Kayla was re-arrested for failing to show up to court following her charges of theft by deception, perjury, and welfare fraud. The police were able to locate her at her home in Manchester, and she was brought back to jail where she was held without bail.

Then on October 24th, 2022, Attorney General Formella announced that Adam Montgomery had been arrested and charged with second degree murder in the case of his daughter, Harmony Montgomery. - Good afternoon. I'm New Hampshire Attorney General John Formella, and I'm joined here today by Manchester Police Chief Allen Aldenburg and the team from the Manchester Police Department and members of my office. We're here today to provide a further update

regarding the ongoing investigation into the 2019 murder of Harmony Montgomery. As you'll recall, back in January we announced that five-year-old Harmony likely disappeared sometime between November 28th and December 10th of 2019. In August of this year, after almost eight months of investigative work undertaken by the Manchester Police Department, the Attorney General's Office, the U.S. Marshals Service,

the FBI, and other law enforcement partners, we announced that we had concluded that five-year-old Harmony was murdered in Manchester in early December of 2019. This conclusion was based on multiple sources of investigative information, including biological evidence. Since August, the Manchester Police Department, the Attorney General's Office, and our other law enforcement partners have continued to investigate this case in an effort to seek answers and justice for Harmony.

Today we are announcing another major step in this investigation. Earlier this morning, Adam Montgomery was arrested for the murder of Harmony Montgomery in 2019 and other related charges. Specifically, Mr. Montgomery has been charged with the following four crimes. Second-degree murder for recklessly causing the death of Harmony Montgomery, a person under 13 years of age, under circumstances manifesting an extreme indifference to the value of human life.

by repeatedly striking Harmony in the head with a closed fist in Manchester on or about December 7th, 2019, falsifying physical evidence for purposely altering, destroying, concealing, or removing the body of Harmony Montgomery with a purpose to impair its verity or availability in an official proceeding or investigation in Manchester between approximately December 7th, 2019 and March 4th, 2020.

Abuse of corpse for purposely and unlawfully removing, concealing, or destroying the corpse of Harmony Montgomery or any part thereof in Manchester between approximately December 7th, 2019 and March 4th, 2020. And tampering with witnesses or informants for purposely attempting to induce or otherwise cause Kayla Montgomery to testify or inform falsely.

in Manchester between approximately December 7th, 2019 and January 4th, 2022.

On November 28th, 2022, Kayla Montgomery pleaded guilty to two counts of felony perjury. And in pleading guilty to these charges, she reached a plea deal with the prosecution regarding her ex-husband, Adam. And in my opinion, and she got it off easy. The term stated that with her full cooperation in future proceedings, including testifying against Adam in court,

She would only face back-to-back sentences of three and a half to seven years in prison, but would be given a five-year suspension if she didn't break her terms of agreement with the state. This meant that Kayla Montgomery would only serve a minimum of one and a half years.

Defense attorney Paul Garrity said, quote, end quote.

Investigators continued to search for the body of Harmony Montgomery, including searching the wetlands around Route 107 in Revere, Massachusetts. That search ended Friday afternoon, and we still really don't have very much information as to what officers were looking for here.

In the woods, the water, and the mud, police investigators fanning out across the wetlands of Route 107 in Mervier, Massachusetts. We wouldn't be searching an area if we didn't have a reason to search it. Officers spending all day Friday combing through the grass and marsh as a part of the investigation into the disappearance of Harmony Montgomery. Five-year-old Harmony has been missing since 2019. Her father, Adam Montgomery, now charged with her murder. We're not

releasing any information beyond that at this time, given the ongoing investigation and the ongoing criminal case. It's not exactly clear what officers were looking for in the area, but investigators say the search was triggered by some sort of information or tip that was shared with them. Neighbors say they hope that something comes out of this search.

It seemed like a really odd sight to me to like a normal pedestrian going up and down there. So I really, you know, want to see what's going on because I never really got the full story. And it's tragic. It's awful. That poor little girl. I just want her to be found.

just to give peace of mind to the family more than anything. And even years after her disappearance, investigators are still urging the public to come forward if they know anything about where little Harmony might be. I would emphasize

As we continue the search for Harmony's remains, we do ask the public, if you have any information related to that, to please call Manchester's 24-hour tip line. And again, if you'd like to leave a tip for police, you can call the number 603-203-6060.

Unfortunately, her body was not located. Meanwhile, investigators continued to unravel bits and pieces of Adam's life. Sometime in 2021, Adam had joined a sober living community in Maine and befriended a woman named Rebecca Maines. Rebecca also said that she and Adam had became close and she considered him a best friend. At the time in 2021, did you ever talk with Adam Montgomery about a daughter named Harmony?

I did. Where did he say she was living in 2021 when you talked with him? He told me that he dropped her off to her mother in 2019 at a rest area. What did he say about how often he was seeing her back in 2021? He said her mother would not allow him to see her and that he had been trying for some time.

What, if anything, did he say to you about her having any sort of toilet problems or bathroom issues before she went to live with her mother? He said she was constantly wetting her pants or using the bathroom. He put her in the corner in her soiled pants, etc.

but that she would repeat it when she'd get in the car. She'd have an accident, but he said it was on purpose. On purpose? Yes. That's what he said? Correct. What did he say about why he decided to send Harmony back to her mother? Because she continually shit her pants. Sorry. That's okay. Are those his words? Yes. Okay. Then those are his words. Remember, one of the things is to make sure that you always tell the truth, correct? You just took an oath a moment ago to tell the truth. Totally.

With regards, again, to his words, did he ever tell you about a physical incident between himself and Harmony? He did. What did he say in his words that you recall? So he told me that he was in the bathroom, or the kids were in the bathroom, I don't remember the circum, but he was in the bathroom and he had walked out to find Harmony with her

hands over the baby's mouth and nose and that the baby was not breathing and turning blue and he said he saw red and he just backhanded her so he told you that he backhanded her and when she was holding her hand over you said the baby's mouth did he tell you which baby which of his other children you know what he did but i don't remember i want to say declan but i'm not

100% positive. Don't want you to guess. So if you remember, you remember. And if you don't, you don't. That's okay. Do you remember the name of the child that he was talking about? The baby? Yeah, I'm pretty sure it was Declan. Okay.

Rebecca also admitted that she was close with Adam's then-girlfriend, Kelsey Small, although Kelsey never spoke about Harmony. In an effort to fully recognize the situation, Rebecca asked Adam about Harmony and Harmony's mother. Shockingly, Adam admitted that he hated his daughter because she reminded him of her mother. Finally, with regards to what the defendant stated to you about Harmony, what if anything did he ever say, or I'm sorry, who if anyone did he ever say Harmony reminded him of? Her mother.

her mother her mother and did he tell you how that made him feel god bless you he said he hated her right to his core adam mcgovern told you that he hated his daughter did he say why she reminded him of her mother so not that so your testimony isn't that he hated her mother it's that he hated harmony correct because she reminded him of her mother his mother

Another woman named Rose Smith, who drove a Medicaid non-emergency transport for people in Manchester, admitted that she often drove Adam and Kayla to and from the methadone clinic on numerous occasions. She said that both Adam and Kayla would go into the clinic while she stayed in the van with their two sons.

While she stayed with the boys, she said they often sang the song "Baby Shark." However, she never saw Harmony Montgomery. During one incident in March of 2021, Rose said that she arrived to pick up Adam and Kayla, and she noticed that Kayla had a black eye that was starting to swell shut.

I'd like to ask you, when you first saw, did you see Kayla Montgomery on that day for this particular ride? Yes, I did. And without going into what Ms. Montgomery said, when you saw her face, how did she appear to you? Her left eye was badly bruised and starting to swell shut. Did you drive her that day down to the methadone clinic? I drove both of them that day. And with regards to

Pardon me. Excuse me. With regards to that drive, had you driven Ms. Montgomery the day before? Yes, I had. Did she have that black eye the day before? No, she had not. When you saw Kayla with the black eye and you were driving down to the methadone clinic and back, how was she moving in a car? Could you describe physically what you saw in terms of her movements? She didn't move very much and she...

Didn't say very much because Adam was in the car. At some point in time, did you pull out your cell phone? I had. She had asked to use my cell phone. Hold on just a minute, Ms. Smith. I'm sorry. I can't ask you what she said to you. So I just want to talk a little bit about what happened in the car. Physical movements, okay? Yes. And I apologize. That's on me. I should ask a more specific question. Okay.

With regards to the drive to the methadone clinic, did anything occur in the car on the drive down to the methadone clinic? No. Okay. And then for the drive from the methadone clinic on Market Street back to Union Street. Yes. Let me ask you, the event that I want to ask you about, did that occur when you were back at Union Street? Yes. Okay. When this event occurred, where was Kayla?

In the front seat beside me. Okay. And where was Adam at this point? Walking away from the car. And with regards to there with Kayla, what, if anything, did you try to give Kayla? I tried to give her my phone. What did you believe she was going to do with the phone? She said, well, I can't do what she said. She wanted to call for help. And with regards to...

How was she physically at the time? I know you've described the black eye already. How was she physically when you went to try to give her the phone? She was shaky. Where was Adam when you tried to give her the phone? He was walking back towards the car. And so at that point you said he was walking back towards the car? I didn't see Adam there. I saw rage. So pure rage walking towards me.

What did Adam do as he, were you in the driver's seat? Yes. And where was Kayla? Beside me in the passenger seat. And what did the defendant do? He reached into the window of the car and twisted my phone out of my hand and said, you're not giving my wife that phone. What did you say to him when he did that to you? I looked at him and I said, Adam, I love you.

Rose said she reported the incident to her boss later that day and she asked not to drive the couple anymore. Rose said it was obvious that Kayla was scared of Adam and that's why she believed she remained silent on the disappearance of Harmony.

But I don't know about that. Kayla was the one who hauled Harmony's body to Adam's work. She stayed with him for years, knowing his abusive side. So she's not an innocent victim in this. Now on June 1st, 2023, the trial for Adam Montgomery began regarding those stolen firearms.

On June 8th, Adam was found guilty of receiving stolen property and theft by authorized taking and being an armed career criminal. During a sentencing hearing in August of 2023, Adam addressed the court. I understand that I was found guilty by a jury and I'm not here to dispute that at all. The only consideration that I ask of you this morning is for you not to consider anything as it relates to the case regarding my daughter Harmony.

I did not kill my daughter Harmony and I look forward to my upcoming trial to refute those offensive claims. Probably won't believe me when I tell you that I didn't wake up one morning and choose to become an addict. I don't want to be an addict. And I will spend my time in prison utilizing it to the best of my ability to change things about myself. I could have had a meaningful life and I blew that opportunity through drugs.

But I loved my daughter unconditionally and I did not kill her. Please don't consider anything that relates to those charges. Only consider the facts to this case. Ultimately, Adam Montgomery was sentenced to 15 to 30 years in prison for the crime of stealing the weapons. After he was sentenced, Harmony's mother, Crystal Sorey, who had been in the courtroom during the sentencing, spoke to the media and said, "He wants people to feel sympathy for him. He's trying to be a victim."

On February 7th, 2024, Adam waived his right to appear in court for the murder of his daughter Harmony. So he didn't even have to sit through it as the jurors spent the day listening to the horrific details of Harmony's murder. But at the trial, Adam's defense attorney told the judge that Adam decided to plead guilty to two of the charges he was facing, abuse of a corpse and falsifying physical evidence.

The defense stated that while Adam was guilty of concealing Harmony's body, Kayla Montgomery was ultimately the last person to see her alive. On February 9th and again on February 12th, Kayla Montgomery took the stand and testified for more than six hours describing how Harmony was murdered and the great lengths that Adam took to conceal her body. - Adam would tell me that I couldn't leave

and I ended up leaving and running out of the house and I had my daughter in my arms and I ran to Tara's apartment which was right next door and asked her if she could call my mom and then Adam came out and followed me and put me in a choke hold and said to tell her to not call my mom don't make that phone call or else he's gonna hurt me

Kayla, why couldn't you leave the house? Because he thought that I was trying to tell on him. And let me ask you this, Kayla. When you left the house, were your two small sons still in the house with him? Yes. Why did you only take your daughter? Because she was in my arms. I was already feeding her, and I just ran. I just ran out to find help, and I could go back and get the kids.

Of course, the defense attempted to poke holes in Kayla's story by suggesting that she was also to blame for Harmony's death.

During cross-examination, the defense spoke about Kayla's willingness to stay with Adam, even after he murdered Harmony. "Because his face was pure evil, right?" "Yes." "And pure evil, a person with pure evil is not someone you want to protect." "No." "And a person who is pure evil is not someone that you love." "Well, that's hard to say." "Okay."

A person of pure evil is not someone you want raising your children. Right. Okay. And you would do anything to get your kids away from pure evil. Yes. And even though Harmony was your child, you felt the same about her. Yes. She was pretty much your child. Yes, I helped take care of her. Okay. And when you and Adam split up years later, or...

March of 2021 You wanted him back. We were both trying to fix our family and get back You wanted him back with the family and raising the children, right? and when You were sitting in your cell thinking about this and reliving it and you wrote that note about your

thoughts about what you wanted, you indicated that the children needed Adam as well as you, right? Right. And that's not the face of pure evil, right? No. Okay.

The defense also produced a betrayal letter that Kayla wrote in regards to how she wanted to move forward in Adam's trial. She wrote, That was in her letter.

Defense attorney Caroline Smith read the note aloud in court suggesting that Kayla's fear of Adam wasn't real, that it was an elaborate story to take the blame off of her. Carolina stated, Kayla responded,

I wasn't thinking about that. Yes. The defense rested their case on February 21st, 2024 after not calling any witnesses to the stand. Caroline Smith attempted to place blame on Kayla saying, "She's lying because she has something to hide still, because the truth points to her. Adam did some very, very bad things, but he did not kill his daughter." Senior Assistant Attorney General Ben Agati argued that Kayla was a battered woman and a victim of domestic abuse. During his closing statement, he said,

What she is is a battered woman admitting an inconvenient and terrible truth. She did nothing to help Harmony, nothing to stop it. She didn't kill her. The jury, consisting of 10 women and 2 men, were excused for deliberations around 1.14 p.m. And after one day of deliberating the fate of Adam Montgomery, the jury reached their verdict.

finding him guilty of murdering his daughter Harmony, second-degree assault, falsifying physical evidence, abuse of a corpse, and tampering with a witness and informants. Now again, Adam Montgomery was not in court while the charges were read and did not show up at any point during his trial. But after the verdict was read, Harmony's mother, Crystal, and her foster mother, Michelle, embraced each other

Crystal would later say, quote, I'm finally feeling relieved that there is some justice being served. Obviously, it's not over, but I have a little bit of peace knowing that he's being held accountable because he thought he was untouchable and that she didn't matter and that nobody would miss her. And he was so wrong. He was so wrong.

So again, my name is Senior Assistant Attorney General Benjamin Agati. I'm currently the Chief of the Homicide Unit at the New Hampshire Department of Justice. It's my understanding folks might have a couple of questions. We've just had our verdict upstairs with regards to the state versus Adam Montgomery. He was found guilty on all the charges that were pending against him that included second degree assault for punching and causing a black eye on Harmony back in July of 2019.

as well as for all of the offenses that he was charged with, that the jury found him guilty of beyond a reasonable doubt for the second-degree murder of his daughter, Harmony Montgomery, as well as falsifying physical evidence, the abuse of her corpse, and witness tampering with regards to Kayla Montgomery. Senior Assistant Attorney General Ben Agati also stated that even though the trial was over,

the investigation is still ongoing because Harmony's body still has not been recovered. And he said regarding Adam, quote, "He knows where she is."

Investigators are still encouraging anyone with information on the possible whereabouts of Harmony Montgomery to call the 24/7 tip line at 603-932-8997. Harmony's mother, Crystal, admitted that she was grateful to law enforcement for never giving up on finding her daughter. But the fight to find Harmony was not over. She said:

I'm never going to give up. Not until she's home and not until things are changed. Because this can't keep happening. The sentencing hearing for Adam Montgomery is scheduled for sometime in April or May of this year. He's facing up to 35 years to life in prison. Updates are still being released about this case to this day.

On March 7th, 2024, Kayla Montgomery was granted parole. She had been in prison for the perjury charges since November of 2022, and she served 16 months of her 18-month sentence. During her parole meeting, she said this. I got all caught up in the situation, and if I just was honest from the beginning, they could have done their job sooner.

And what was their job? To find harmony.

And with that, they set her free despite her participation in moving Harmony's body. On March 12th, a New Hampshire judge officially declared Harmony dead. And right now, lawmakers are trying to pass a bill that would force Adam Montgomery to attend his sentencing hearing. Many people were livid at the fact that he didn't have to sit through his trial. He didn't have to hear about the atrocities he committed.

And technically right now, he doesn't have to attend his sentencing hearing either. Meaning he doesn't have to hear victim impact statements or what the judge has to say or anything. This new bill that they are trying to pass is called HB 1713.

And it reads, quote, in any case where a defendant is charged with or awaiting sentence for an offense punishable by life imprisonment or imprisonment of a maximum term of 15 years or more, the defendant shall be required to be present at every trial stage, including jury selection and impanelment and the return of the verdict and at sentencing unless excused by the court, end quote.

And sadly, that is where our story ends. But it doesn't feel like it should end there. I wish I could tell you that every person responsible got what they deserved. I wish I could tell you that Adam will finally reveal where he put his daughter's body. But like many people said throughout this story, Adam Montgomery is the embodiment of pure evil. So, I don't see that happening.

But our thoughts are with Harmony's loved ones. And hopefully as this case unfolds, we will find where she is. Like we mentioned, Adam's sentencing is going to be sometime this spring. So we will be following that and giving updates on our Instagram as it unfolds.

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Hello, I'm Shelby Scott, the host of Scare You to Sleep, a podcast where I tell you spooky bedtime stories full of creepy sound effects and music that is soothing yet unsettling to help immerse you into a world of horror. This is a show for those of us who have realized that we are not alone.

Horror can be a strange but relaxing escape from reality. Speaking of escapes, sometimes I lead you through guided nightmares, like a guided meditation, but instead of flowery meadows, I take you on a journey through your own personal nightmare.

So come get lost in the terror with me. Listen to Scare You to Sleep wherever you listen to podcasts or find us online at bloody.fm. Sweet screams.

What's up, everybody? I'm Prince, also known as Head Knight. I am one of the hosts of Nightlight, a horror movie podcast, that's Night with a K, by the way, on Bloody FM via Bloody Disgusting. Every week, we cover horror films based on a monthly thematic schedule. We've covered and celebrated black horror, found footage, and psychological horror, just to name a few. We discuss these films to uncover the ultimate question, why horror?

We go extremely deep with the films in discussion. For us to accomplish this, we break down each film, scene by scene, spoiling literally everything. You can find Nightlight, a horror movie podcast, every Friday on your favorite podcast service. And remember, everybody, don't forget your nightlight. Get in, losers. This is the Lady Killers of Feminine Rage podcast. I'm Jen. I'm Sammy.

I'm Rocco. And I'm Mae. Our podcast is a tribute to the female-identifying killers in horror and more. Each episode will feature us, your Supreme Court of female murderers, discussing our favorite lady killers, from your Julia's and Jennifer's to your Carrie's and Christine's. We'll tell her story, decide if it's good for her horror, and answer the most important question of all, would we die for her?

Join us on Thursdays as we pull on our sweaters, snatch our ice picks, sharpen our scissors, and honor the lady killers who live on the silver screen. No boys were harmed in the making of this podcast. Yet.