Adam Montgomery wants a judge’s permission to skip his sentencing

MANCHESTER, NH – Adam Montgomery wants a judge to excuse his appearance at his sentencing for killing his 5-year-old daughter, and other offenses.

Montgomery, 34, detained in the New Hampshire State Prison for Men, is to be sentenced on May 9 in Hillsborough County Superior Court North.

On March 20, 2024, prosecutors Benjamin Agati and R. Christopher Knowles filed a motion with the court asking that Montgomery be transported to the courthouse for his sentencing.  They cited New Hampshire RSA 651:4-a which says a defendant “shall personally appear in court when the victim or victim’s next of kin addresses the judge,” unless excused by the court when sentencing for the crime of second-degree murder.

They said while the application of the law is automatic, the state was providing notice that “Harmony Montgomery’s next of kin will be personally appearing in court along with other individuals victimized by the defendant’s crimes.”

Public Defender Caroline L. Smith, in her response filed March 28, 2024, said Montgomery maintains his innocence on the charges of second-degree murder, witness tampering and second-degree assault, for allegedly blackening Harmony’s eye in the summer of 2019.  He admitted to the abuse of corpse charge.

Smith asked the judge to use her discretion and excuse Montgomery’s appearance at the sentencing hearing.

Montgomery did not attend his trial or appear for the jury’s verdict when they found him guilty of all four charges.  The jury deliberated about seven hours over two days before reaching the guilty verdicts.

He appeared in court on the first day of jury selection but then opted not to attend the trial, which is his constitutional right.

Harmony’s mother Crystal Sorey, who struggled with substance abuse, was in rehab when she lost custody of her daughter to Adam.  She said Adam prevented her from seeing Harmony.  The last time she saw her was over Easter in April of 2019.   Manchester police learned of her disappearance in late 2021, nearly two years after she went missing.

On New Year’s Eve 2021, police held a news conference with large posters of Harmony front and center and announced they were searching for the 5-year-old who hadn’t been seen in more than two years.

That same day, police located Montgomery, who was sleeping in a car with his girlfriend Kelsey Small, near Wolfe Park.  The officer told him he wasn’t in trouble, that police just wanted to know where Harmony was.  Adam had gained custody of her in February 2019.

Montgomery told him he had nothing to say to them.

A few days later, Montgomery was arrested for assaulting Harmony in July of 2019, blackening her eye.  He told his uncle that he “bashed her around the house.”

In August 2022, authorities announced that Harmony was murdered in 2019 based on “recently confirmed biological evidence.” Ultimately,  Montgomery was charged with her murder.

At trial, Kayla Montgomery, Adam’s estranged wife, testified to what happened to Harmony on Dec. 7, 2019, the day she died in the back seat of the family’s Chrysler Sebring.

Kayla said Harmony was covered in bruises because she would have bathroom accidents in the car which the family was living in after being evicted from their home.  At that time, Kayla and Adam had two other children, both boys and then ages 2 and 11 months.

Kayla, who was on the stand for nearly two days, said around 2 to 3 a.m. on Dec. 7, 2019, Adam woke up, smelled urine in the car and punched Harmony in the head 10 to 15 times.  When the family awakened later before 7 a.m., Adam again smelled urine and again struck Harmony in the head.

By 7 a.m., Adam had driven downtown to a methadone clinic where he and Kayla received their daily doses.  When he came out and got in the car, he once again smelled urine and repeatedly punched Harmony in the head.

Kayla said she wanted to get food at Burger King.  Adam drove to the fast-food restaurant but when stopped at traffic lights, he would reach over the seat and continuously punch Harmony in the head.  Kayla said she put her hand up once to stop him but he gave her a look that was “evil” and it scared her.  She didn’t try to stop him again.

She could hear Harmony moaning in the back seat but she didn’t check on her.

After a final blow, Adam told Kayla, “I think I hurt her this time.   I think I did something.”

Still, neither one checked on Harmony.  They got their food at the drive-up, went back to Colonial Village where they parked the car and then did drugs.

A few hours later, they left Colonial Village but at the intersection of Elm and Webster streets, the car died.  Adam checked on Harmony and discovered she was dead.

Adam took a Duffel bag from the trunk of the car, put Harmony’s body in it and after gathering some belongings, they walked back to Colonial Village to meet their friend and drug supplier, Anthony “Tone” Bondero.  Bondero drove them back to their car which was already on a tow truck.  They got a few more things and then went back to Colonial Village.

Bondero let them stay in his car for a couple of nights.  Adam, at times, placed the Duffel bag outside in a snowbank.  After, they went to stay with Kayla’s mother.  There, Adam put the bag with Harmony’s remains inside a red and white cooler.  The cooler remained in a common hallway of the apartment building for weeks until the family obtained a room at Families In Transition shelter on Lake Avenue late in December 2019.

There Adam stored Harmony’s remains first in a closet and then in the ceiling over the bed where he and Kayla slept.  They were at the shelter for about a month.  Harmony’s body began to decompose and Kayla testified there was a horrible smell.  Neighbors began to complain about the stench.

So, Adam took the bag down from the ceiling, compressed Harmony’s body in the shower and repackaged it to fit in a smaller CMC canvas bag.  He then began taking the bag with him when he went to work at the now-defunct Portland Pie Company on Elm Street.  There he stored it in a walk-in cooler on a shelf where mustard and other condiments were kept.

Adam took the bag home with him each day.  One time, Kayla said he called from work and told her to bring the bag to him.  She did, placing the bag in between her two sons in their double stroller and taking the 15-minute walk to deliver it to Adam.

The family later moved to an apartment on Union Street, taking Harmony’s remains with them and storing them in the fridge.  Kayla said the two had talked about disposing of her remains and that Adam had wanted to buy tools to dismember her.

They agreed to tell everyone that Adam Montgomery dropped Harmony off with her mother, Sorey, around Thanksgiving 2019.

The prosecution found evidence of a March 2020 receipt for a withdrawal from the Montgomery account of $500 from the Citizens Bank ATM on South Willow Street.  They found another receipt from the nearby Home Depot where, 20 minutes after the withdrawal, there was a purchase of lime, a grinder saw, a blade and battery totaling about $400.

Agati, in his closing argument, said it was no coincidence the following day after that purchase, Adam called maintenance because the bathtub, where the day before Kayla said he had thawed Harmony’s body and squished out the liquids, was clogged.

In March, Adam had a friend rent him a U-Haul van and, in the middle of the night and with the CMC bag containing Harmony’s remains, drove down into Massachusetts back and forth across the Tobin Bridge.

When he returned to the EconoLodge where they were staying, he told Kayla, “It’s done.”

He no longer had the CMC bag.

Manchester police issued a news release following the verdict.

Harmony’s body has never been found and Manchester Police continue to monitor a dedicated tipline for any information leading to the whereabouts of Harmony. That number is 603-932-8997.