The father of a five-year-old girl, last seen alive in 2019, has been convicted of second-degree murder.
Adam Montgomery, 33, was accused of beating his daughter Harmony Montgomery, then leaving her to die in the backseat of his car while he consumed opioids and fast food. Prosecutors presented this narrative during his trial.
After a two-week trial, a jury deliberated for approximately seven hours before finding Adam guilty of second-degree murder, along with charges of second-degree assault, abuse of a corpse, falsifying physical evidence, and witness tampering.
Reports indicate that Adam was absent from the New Hampshire courtroom when the verdict was read, and he did not attend the trial.
Harmony’s birth mother, Crystal Sorey, who was present during the trial, described Adam as “a coward” and criticized his actions, stating that he took her daughter away from those who loved her out of a desire for control.
Prosecutor Ben Agati expressed gratitude towards the 10 women and two men who served as jurors.
‘It’s a very big relief that they have seen this through and that they’ve held him accountable for the actions that he’s committed,’ said Agati.
The defence strategy had been to sow doubt around the prosecutors’ key witness, Harmony’s stepmother, Kayla Montgomery.
‘So Kayla decided to lie about Harmony’s death to accuse Adam of something he did not do, to get herself out of her own problems,’ said defence attorney Caroline Smith on Wednesday.
Harmony was last seen in 2019 and her remains have still not been recovered. Police believe she was killed in Manchester in early December 2019. Her mum, Sorey alerted police on Harmony’s disappearance in December 2021 after looking for her for months.
Adam was arrested in January 2022 and charged with her murder in October of that year.
Prosecutors said that Adam concealed Harmony’s body for months, stuffing her in a duffel bag and cooler and using lime to reduce the odour. He allegedly rented a U-Haul truck and dumped her remains ‘like trash’ near Boston.
Despite being a felon and drug addict, Adam was given custody of Harmony after being released from prison for shooting a drug dealer.
Adam’s sentencing date has not yet been set, but will likely be scheduled in April or May.
