Wrongful death lawsuit filed against NH DHHS, DCYF by Harmony Montgomery’s mother

MANCHESTER, NH – Employees with the New Hampshire Division of Children, Youth and Families repeatedly missed signs that Harmony Montgomery was being abused by her father in the months leading up to her murder, according to a wrongful death lawsuit filed by her biological mother.

Crystal Sorey, mother of 5-year-old murder victim Harmony Montgomery, is suing the state of New Hampshire, the state Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) and DCYF in Hillsborough County Superior Court North.

The 39-page complaint [see below] was filed Friday by Attorney Rus Rilee and provides details from numerous reports concerning Harmony’s well-being that were filed with DCFY by her father’s uncle and grandmother, neighbors and others who came in contact with the Montgomery family, all voicing concerns for the child’s safety.

The lawsuit comes months after Harmony’s father, Adam Montgomery, was sentenced to 56 years to life in prison in the beating death of his daughter.  Police say Adam killed his daughter nearly two years and then moved her body from place to place around the city before disposing of it in some unknown location.  Authorities were unaware the child was missing for nearly two years, even though child protective services in both New Hampshire and Massachusetts had contact with the family for years.

Police believe Adam Montgomery killed Harmony in Dec. 2019, after becoming enraged she kept wetting her pants inside the family’s car where they were living after being evicted from their home the day before Thanksgiving 2019.

While Harmony’s remains have yet to be found, a judge in March declared the child legally dead, clearing the way for Sorey to file the lawsuit.

Rilee, in a prepared statement, called the civil lawsuit historic, saying it arose out of Harmony’s disappearance and wrongful death.  He said the continuing search for Harmony, and the murder prosecution of Adam Montgomery, continues to garner national and international media attention.  The lawsuit, he said, is seeking money damages against, and answers from, the state surrounding Harmony’s disappearance and death.

“We are going to hold the State of New Hampshire accountable for Harmony’s senseless and preventable death, shine a light on the systemic failures in her case to prevent future tragedies, give Harmony the voice that she never had, and get Harmony the justice that she so deeply deserves.  Too many vulnerable children are being injured and killed while under the watchful eye of the State, it has been happening for way too long, and something needs to be done to stop it – enough is enough,” he said.

Michael Garrity, spokesman for the New Hampshire Attorney General’s Office, said the state will “respond as appropriate” after reviewing the lawsuit.

The lawsuit details how Harmony came to live with her father, who had a lengthy, violent criminal record, but was awarded custody by a Massachusetts court.  Ten months after living with her father, the 5-year-old was dead, beaten to death by the man who was supposed to love and protect her.

According to the lawsuit, Harmony was born on June 7, 2014, at a time Adam was in prison in Massachusetts where he remained until September 2015.  On release, he moved to New Hampshire. From the time she was born through February 2019, Harmony lived with Crystal in Massachusetts.

During that time, however, the Massachusetts Department of Children and Families (Mass DCF) removed Harmony from Sorey’s home due to allegations of neglect, and Harmony was placed in foster care.  Sorey has said she had a substance-use issue and was undergoing treatment at that time.  She said she has been sober ever since.

According to the lawsuit, on Dec. 19, 2018, Mass DCF requested the New Hampshire Division of Children, Youth and Families (DCYF) perform a home study on Adam, in preparation of placing Harmony with him and his wife, Kayla Montgomery in Manchester.

On Dec. 20, 2018, DCYF sent an email to the Mass DCF seeking additional information prior to conducting the home study.

DCYF did not receive the requested information and failed to follow-up with Mass DCF to determine whether the additional information was forthcoming and/or to determine whether Mass DCF was continuing with its plans to place Harmony with her father, the lawsuit says.

Two months later, on Feb. 22, 2019, a Massachusetts court award Adam custody.  Harmony became a member of the Montgomery household that included her father, step-mother and two younger siblings.  They lived in a home owned by Adam’s grandmother.

On July 29, 2019, DCYF received a report from Adam’s uncle, Kevin Montgomery, saying that on his and his mother’s return from Florida on July 22, 2019, they saw Harmony with a “vibrant” black eye, with bruising on the bottom of her eyelid extending to the cheekbone, on the corner of her eye, on her nose and on her temple.

Kevin, in reporting Harmony’s blackened eye, said he asked Adam what had happened, and Adam told him that he had left baby D.M. alone with Harmony while he went to the bathroom. D.M. began to cry; Harmony did not know what to do and “tried getting him to stop crying” by covering the baby’s mouth with her hand.

Adam told Kevin he had “bounced her off every fucking wall in this place, I explained to her why later.”

Kevin also told DCYF that Harmony was born legally blind; that the electricity to his nephew’s home had been shut off; that he found drug paraphernalia in the house and feared his nephew had relapsed; that Harmony was forced to clean the bathroom with a toothbrush, and was spanked on her bottom several times a week. One time, he said, she was forced to stand in a corner for between five and eight hours.

He became frustrated when he followed up on his report to DCYF and was told what was happening was confidential.  A DCYF worker also questioned him about the accuracy of dates he provided.

“This is why children die,” Kevin Montgomery told the DCYF employee, according to the lawsuit. He vowed to keep calling the agency every day until something was done, the lawsuit says.

Kevin also reported that at some point he had seen Adam and Kayla leaving the house with the two younger children.   Kevin said he went inside and found

Harmony and a man who identified himself as Alex Call who said that he was a recently-relapsed drug abuser; Adam was letting him stay in the house. Alex then left, leaving Harmony alone with Kevin.

Kevin, not wanting to leave Harmony alone in the house, took her along while he ran some errands, texting Adam to let him know that he had Harmony with him. Adam responded that Harmony was being punished and that, “She is never to leave that fucking house under no circumstances.”

DCYF assigned Demetrios Tsaros, a child protection social worker, to do an assessment, requiring a face-to-face meeting with the victim within 24 hours The same morning of the reported abuse, Tsaros made an unannounced visit to the Montgomery home.

Tsaros reported he saw Adam and Harmony getting into a vehicle and leaving the premises.  He saw the child “briefly” and did not “observe any concerns.”

The lawsuit maintains Tsaros only saw Harmony from a distance and failed to see the injury to her eye.  In his report, Tsaros noted he recognized Adam from “prior contacts.”  Tsaros had known Adams since he was 15 years old, when he was committed to the New Hampshire Youth Development Center (YDC) and Tsaros was one of Adam’s youth counselors.

Tsaros returned to the Montgomery home nine days later.  That time he observed a red mark in Harmony’s eye and faded bruising under her lower eyelid. Additionally, Tsaros noted in his report that Adam claimed that Harmony’s younger brother had hit her in the corner of her eye with a toy lightsaber.

Tsaros spoke to Harmony “a bit, making small talk” while she was watching a movie. Harmony had a red mark in her right eye and some faded bruising under her eyelid, Tsaros noted in his report after seeing the child nine days after the initial report by Kevin Montgomery.

Harmony told Tsaros that her brother had hit her in the eye with a light saber and, when asked, said she felt safe at home was not scared or sad and that no one had hurt her recently. Tsaros conducted this interview in a public part of the home with others present, in violation of DCYF Policy 1201, the lawsuit says.

A caller had also voiced concern that Harmony had not been seen by a doctor.  Tsaos spoke with Dr. Morrison on Aug. 8, 2019 and asked about “the children” without using their names.  He assumed when Dr. Morrison said “the children” were up to date medically and there were no concerns for abuse or neglect, that the doctor was referring to all three children.  The physician wasn’t, however, but was referring to the two younger Montgomery children, according to the lawsuit.

A family friend, calling DCYF on Aug. 9, 2019 on behalf of grandmother Helen Montgomery, worried Harmony would end up “like Bella, the little girl that was found dead on Dear Island…because she was beaten by a [sic] Mom’s boyfriend.”

In late August, a woman called to report concerns about the generator being the source of electricity for the home and that two days earlier there had been a fight the home and something was thrown out of a window, breaking it. She reported worrying that where the outside of the home was in an unkempt state the inside must be unclean as well.

She also wondered whether “DCYF was waiting for children to die.”

In a Sept. 11, 2019 report, after both Kevin and Helen Montgomery called DCYF again with concerns for the children, is a notation: “** CPSW Tsaros told family he has known father since father was 15 years old and should not have been assigned.**” according to the lawsuit.

On October 1, 2019, Tsaros made an unannounced visit to the Montgomery home. Adam and Kayla told him that the house had been foreclosed on and they were being evicted. While there, Tsaros observed Harmony watching television and said “hi,” to which she responded “hi.” That was the extent of Tsaros’ interaction with Harmony.

Later that day, Tsaros called Adam, apologizing for bothering him, and asked why Harmony was not at school. Adam said he had tried to enroll her in kindergarten and was told could not enroll her without proof that she was a New Hampshire resident.

Tsaros did not question Adam’s claim that he could not prove Harmony’s residence in New Hampshire. Had Tsaros inquired further, he would have realized that Adam would at the very least have legal documents regarding his award of Harmony’s custody, the lawsuit says.

On Oct. 8, 2019, Tsaros spoke to Sorey for the first time.  She said she had not been able to see or speak with Harmony because Adam made it impossible to co-parent.

Tsaros reassured her that he had conducted a thorough investigation and was attempting to close the report “soon.”

Tsaros, however, did not inquire about Adam’s reported refusal to co-parent with Crystal, the lawsuit says.

On Oct. 17, 2019, Tsaros sent Adam a letter informing him the case was closed as “unfounded.”

The Montgomery family was evicted from their home  the day before Thanksgiving, 2019.

On Jan. 7, 2020 an anonymous caller to DCYF reported Adam and Kayla were using drugs in front of their children. At the time, the family was living in a Families in Transition shelter.

DCYF asked Manchester Police to perform a welfare check.

On Jan. 8, 2020, Tsaros spoke to Adam by telephone who said police had been there.

Tsaros asked if he could stop by to see the family, at which point Adam told him Harmony was now living with her mother.

Adam said the family had been evicted the day before Thanksgiving, and because they were going to be homeless, it made sense for Harmony to stay with her mother, whom she was going to visit anyway.

It was not until 12 days later, on Jan. 20, 2020 that Tsaros left a voicemail for Crystal, seeking to know whether Harmony was there.

Tsaros never followed up on the voicemail he had left and never took any other action to confirm Harmony’s whereabouts, according to the lawsuit.

On Jan, 21, 2020, Tsaros spoke to the Division of Family Assistance and learned that Adam and Kayla had submitted applications listing only S.M. and D.M. as children living with them.

Kayla Montgomery, however, was continuing to collect benefits for Harmony.

It appears that either Tsaros did not, in fact, contact the Division of Family Assistance, or the Division of Family Assistance provided him with incorrect information.

On Sept. 7, 2021, DCYF received a report from someone identifying herself as a counselor/therapist who reported Crystal had not seen Harmony in two years because she was unable to locate Adam. Crystal was supposed to have visits with Harmony.

On Sept. 16, 2021, Crystal received a telephone call from a caseworker named Bailey Pischke.  Crystal reported that she did not know where Harmony was and believed that Harmony was living with Adam somewhere in Manchester.

Crystal told the social worker there is a parenting plan in place where she is supposed to have visits with Harmony, however she does not have any contact information for Adam and Adam has blocked her from all of his social media accounts.

She told the caseworker that when she would have telephone conversations with Harmony, Adam would be in the background coaching her and would hang up if Harmony said anything “out of the ordinary.”

It was only after being contacted by DCYF on Sept. 16, 2021, that Crystal began to believe that DCYF did not know the whereabouts of either Harmony or Adam or whether Harmony was safe. Prior to that date, Crystal reasonably believed that Harmony was safely living with Adam under DCYF’s observation, supervision and care.

At that point, Crystal began an immediate and frantic search for Harmony and Adam.

On Nov. 18, 2021, Crystal called the Manchester police telling them that she hadn’t seen Harmony since a Facetime call on Easter, 2019.     Crystal told police   she had been a drug abuser in 2018 when she lost custody of Harmony, but she had since regained her sobriety.

DCYF employees soon determined Harmony was not registered in the Manchester school system.
On Dec. 29, 2021, Crystal sent an email to Manchester Mayor Joyce Craig, begging her for help in finding Harmony. Two days later, police held a press conference and announced the search for Harmony.

Between Easter, 2019 and Sept. 16, 2021, Crystal repeatedly called DCYF to try to arrange for contact with Harmony, but she was told “every single time that DCYF could not share any information with Crystal because it was confidential. “

On   Jan. 7, 2022, Crystal received a copy of “discovery materials,” including some portion  of DCYF’s case record for Harmony. It was only after receiving those records that Crystal began to understand  DCYF’s role in failing to protect Harmony, the lawsuit says.

On Dec. 31, 2021, police located both Kayla and Adam.  Adam was uncooperative and refused to provide information regarding Harmony’s whereabouts.

Kayla told police after they were evicted on Nov. 27, 2019, the family was living in their car.

Between Nov, 27, 2019 and Dec. 7, 2019 Adam would grow upset with Harmony because she was not saying that she needed the bathroom and consequently was having accidents, Kayla told them. On each occasion that Harmony had an accident, Adam would strike her in the face and/or head with a closed fist.

On Dec, 7, 2019, Adam struck Harmony three separate times over the course of a few minutes because she had had a bathroom accident.

After the final blow, Adam heard or saw something that caused him to believe that he had caused Harmony serious injury.

Kayla recounted that Harmony moaned for approximately five minutes. Sometime later, Adam and Kayla realized Harmony had died.

Kayla eventually informed the police she and Adam had concealed Harmony’s body in a number of locations before Adam finally dumped the body in an undisclosed location.

In November, 2022, Kayla Montgomery pleaded guilty on two charges of perjury after reaching a negotiated plea agreement with the Attorney General’s Office, and  was sentenced to eighteen months in prison.

On Feb, 25, 2022, a report titled “Comprehensive Update on the Ongoing Case Involving Harmony Montgomery and Recommended Systematic Improvements” was issued by the New Hampshire Governor’s office in consultation with the Attorney General.

The stated purpose of The Governor’s Report was to facilitate locating Harmony and “…making recommendations for systemic improvements.”

The lawsuit maintains that:

“Unfortunately, not only does The Governor’s report contain inaccuracies and omissions in its recitation of the facts which collude to downplay DCYF’s negligence and to mislead the public, but they also raise questions about the effectiveness of the ‘systemic improvements.’”

According to the lawsuit, The Governor’s Report recounts that on Dec. 20, 2018, DCYF requested additional information from Mass DCF so that it could perform a home study, and goes on to state that “Prior to receiving the requested additional information, NH DCYF was informed that the Massachusetts court had awarded custody to Adam Montgomery.” The Governor’s Report glosses over the fact that the award of custody to Adam occurred two months after DCYF requested additional information, during which time DCYF never followed up on its request or otherwise contacted Mass DCF.

More egregiously, The Governor’s Report states that on July 29, 2019, “The CPSW visited the home, and observed the children, including Harmony Montgomery…This Assessment was conducted as Adam Montgomery and Harmony were entering their vehicle.” The Governor’s Report does not state that this “assessment” was done “briefly” and from a distance, and that the CPSW did not ask either Harmony or Adam about the reported black eye, in violation of DCYF policies.

The Governor’s Report also states that the CPSW sent an email to the Manchester Police Department on July 29, 2019 stating that he “…did not observe an injury on the child consistent with a black eye.” (emphasis added). In fact, Tsaros’ email to the Manchester Police stated that the CPSW “did not observe any bruises, marks, etc.” The Governor’s Report thus downplays the paucity of the CPSW’s “assessment” of Harmony’s condition and safety, in violation of DCYF policies.

The Governor’s Report also states that “The CPSW spoke with Harmony Montgomery’s biological mother, Crystal Sorey, who asserted that she lost custody in Massachusetts and that Adam Montgomery obtained full custody…” What The Governor’s Report does not state is that this call took place on Oct. 8, 2019 and was made only in response to a call made by Crystal to DCYF fourteen days earlier. This was only nine days before DCYF closed out the case as being “unfounded.”

The Governor’s Report also states that there is no record of Crystal calling DCYF between Oct. 19, 2019 and Sept. 2021. This is demonstrably false (as will be proven during discovery) and fails to note that Crystal had also been making her own efforts to locate Harmony and Adam during this time period, according to the lawsuit.

The lawsuit also says the Governor’s Report states that “On Jan 8, 2020, a referral was received by NH DCYF regarding the Montgomery household but did not reference Harmony Montgomery.” However, the report, dated Jan. 7, 2020     states “Concern for Harmony, 5 yo, [S.M.], 2 yo, and [D.M.], less than a year old who reside with their parents, Adam, and Kayla Montgomery.”

On Jan. 14, 2022, Rilee   emailed Attorney General John Formella, requesting from then DHHS Commissioner Lori Shibinette and then DCYF Director Joe Ribsam a complete, unredacted copy of Harmony’s DCYF case record. Then Associate Attorney General Anne Edwards responded that the records would be “provided in the regular course.”

As of the date of this lawsuit, no one from DHHS, DCYF, or the AG’s office has communicated with undersigned counsel about this matter in any way or provided him with Harmony’s complete, unredacted DCYF case record.

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