New Hampshire’s highest court has overturned the second-degree murder conviction of Adam Montgomery in the death of his five-year-old daughter Harmony, ruling that a prior assault charge should have been tried separately. The decision means Montgomery will face a new trial on the murder charge, though he remains imprisoned on multiple other convictions carrying a 43.5-year sentence.
Why The Court Reversed The Conviction
The New Hampshire Supreme Court determined that trying the December 2019 murder charge alongside an earlier assault charge from months before created unfair prejudice. Justices wrote that combining the cases created “a significant risk that the jury would draw the impermissible inference that because the defendant assaulted the victim before by striking her in the head, he must be the one who fatally assaulted her in December by again striking her in the head.” The court vacated only the murder conviction while preserving convictions for second-degree assault, falsifying physical evidence, witness tampering, and abuse of a corpse.
The Attorney General’s Office expressed disappointment but confirmed plans to retry the murder charge. Their statement emphasized confidence in the evidence and noted Montgomery’s substantial prison time on remaining charges continues regardless of the appellate decision. Montgomery originally received a minimum 56-year sentence in May 2024 after conviction on all charges.
The Evidence Against Montgomery
Testimony at Montgomery’s February 2024 trial revealed disturbing details about Harmony’s final days. Kayla Montgomery, Adam’s estranged wife, testified the family had been evicted before Thanksgiving 2019 and lived in their car with Harmony and two young sons. On December 7, she stated Adam punched Harmony repeatedly because the child was having bathroom accidents in the vehicle. The couple later discovered Harmony dead, according to Kayla’s testimony.
Kayla Montgomery told jurors her husband concealed Harmony’s body in a duffel bag and moved it between multiple locations over several months. These hiding places included a car trunk, a cooler, a ceiling vent at a homeless shelter, and the walk-in freezer at Adam’s workplace. Police believe Montgomery killed Harmony nearly two years before anyone reported her missing in 2021. Authorities have never recovered the child’s body. Adam Montgomery refused to attend his own trial.
State Accountability And Settlement
New Hampshire agreed to pay Harmony’s mother, Crystal Sorey, $2.25 million last year to settle a negligence lawsuit. Sorey accused state social workers of disregarding clear signs of physical abuse after Adam Montgomery received custody in early 2019. The settlement agreement included no admission of wrongdoing by the state. The case raised serious questions about child protective services and custody decisions in cases involving documented abuse concerns. Prosecutors and investigators maintain their commitment to pursuing justice for Harmony despite the appellate setback on the murder charge.