New Hampshire jury convicts Adam Montgomery of murder in the death of his 5-year-old daughter Harmony
MANCHESTER, N.H. – Adam Montgomery, the New Hampshire father accused of killing his daughter, 5-year-old Harmony Montgomery, was found guilty of second-degree murder on Thursday.
Montgomery was also found guilty of second-degree assault, falsifying physical evidence, abuse of a corpse, and witness tampering.
"This isn't about winning or losing. This is about a 5-year-old girl that was murdered by her father and I can think of no worse crime," said Manchester Police Chief Allen Aldenberg.
Jurors deliberated for about seven hours after getting the case on Wednesday. They asked the judge one question Thursday about the legal definition of the word "recklessly."
Montgomery was not in the courtroom when the verdict was read. He chose not to be in the courtroom for the entirety of the trial.
Harmony's birth mother Crystal Sorey and foster mother Michelle Raftery were both in the room when the verdict was read. They were joined by more than a dozen Manchester police officers, who showed up to hear whether their hard work delivered justice.
"He's a coward. He's a coward, he's always been a coward," Sorey said. "That's why he did what he did. He took her away from the people that loved her because he couldn't hack that he didn't have control. That's all he cared about, control, everything in his life. She wasn't anything to him."
Montgomery will be sentenced some time after April 1. Sorey said she plans to be in court when Montgomery is sentenced and will give a victim impact statement.
"I hope that what he did plays over in his mind every single waking moment that he lives on this earth," Sorey said. "And I hope that he never falls asleep without seeing her beautiful face."
The verdict comes after about two weeks of emotional and, at times, gruesome testimony.
"It's a very big relief that they have seen through and that they have held him accountable for the actions that he's committed," prosecutor Benjamin Agati said on Thursday.
Jurors heard closing arguments Wednesday before starting deliberations. Harmony was first reported missing in December 2021. Police believe she was killed in December 2019, though her body was never found.
New Hampshire Gov. Chris Sununu called Adam Montgomery "a monster" after the verdict was read.
"I am grateful to the judge, jury, and Department of Justice for delivering justice for Harmony. Adam Montgomery is a monster and deserves to spend the rest of his life in prison," Sununu said in a statement.
The jury deliberated for about two hours Wednesday and for about four more hours on Thursday before reaching a verdict.
Adam Montgomery is already serving a 30-year sentence for a gun conviction in another case. During that trial, Montgomery said he loves Harmony "unconditionally" and denied killing her.
Montgomery's defense attorney argued throughout the trial that his client's estranged wife, Kayla Montgomery, was responsible for the young girl's death. Kayla Montgomery was the star witness for the prosecution and said Adam Montgomery beat Harmony to death after she had a bathroom accident in the car the family was living out of. She said Adam Montgomery then stuffed Harmony's body in a bag that he hid for months before disposing of it in 2020.
Sorey said she last saw Harmony in April 2019 and tried to contact Adam Montgomery about her after but never heard back. She reported Harmony missing in 2021.
"The people who know me that I've known my whole life, they know how much I love my daughter," said Sorey. "And they know how much I fought for her and I did everything I could and when I didn't have anything left, I still tried."