Harmony Montgomery (L) and Adam Montgomery (R) appear in images released by the Manchester, N.H. Police Department.
Adam Montgomery, 32, the father of long-missing and presumed dead New Hampshire girl, Harmony Montgomery, was arrested and charged with her murder late Monday morning, authorities announced.
New Hampshire Attorney General John M. Formella and Manchester Police Chief Allen D. Aldenberg outlined the slate of charges against the girl’s father during an at-times emotional press conference.
In August of this year, after nearly eight months of investigation by various state, county, and federal law enforcement agencies, Harmony Montgomery was declared dead based on numerous leads, including “biological evidence.”
Formella said the father was charged with murder in the second degree for allegedly recklessly causing the death of his daughter “by repeatedly striking Harmony in the head with a closed fist.”
Additionally, Adam Montgomery was charged with one count each of falsifying physical evidence by allegedly destroying evidence when he hid or destroyed his daughter’s body to prevent the investigation from moving forward; abuse of a corpse for allegedly purposefully and unlawfully moving or concealing the corpse of Harmony Montgomery “or any part thereof” and tampering with a witness for allegedly attempting to have his wife, Kayla Montgomery, 31 “testify falsely.”
“While today’s arrest is a major step in this investigation there is much work to come,” Formella said. “Today I do want to again express my deepest sympathies to Harmony’s family, friends, and loved ones. We understand that today’s news, while significant for the investigation, is another difficult moment.”
By 10:30 a.m., Adam Montgomery was booked and charged, according to Aldenberg, who repeatedly broke into tears during his turn at the dais in announcing the update to the case that has led news coverage in the state since the young girl’s mysterious disappearance was belatedly announced in December 2021.
All told, police believe Harmony Montgomery actually went missing sometime in late November or early December 2019.
The lack of knowledge as to her whereabouts made their way onto law enforcement’s radar after an alarm was raised by her biological mother, Crystal Sorey, who repeatedly lost and regained custody of her daughter due to substance abuse problems throughout the girl’s too short life.
“I ask that we all do something nice for a child today,” the police chief said through tears. “Just take a few moments out of your day to say something nice to a child, give him or her a hug, some special words of encouragement, give them an extra hug or just simply tell them that you love them and that you’ll always protect them.”
Aldenberg went on to say that while the charges against the father of the girl – who was all of 5 years old when she died – were sufficient “solace” to himself and the many detectives who had worked on the case, “they bring no solace to Harmony Montgomery’s family and friends.”
“I know of no other way to respect and honor this innocent and defenseless child than to extend an act of kindness to another child in her memory,” Aldenberg said.
Adam Montgomery was never named a suspect in the case before today. He faces unrelated gun charges and an extant abuse charge for allegedly hitting his daughter. Kayla Montgomery faces welfare fraud charges after allegedly falsely representing that her household was the same size as before Harmony Montgomery went missing.
The defendant will be arraigned Tuesday, Oct. 25, 2022.
[images via Manchester Police Department]
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