UNITED STATES NEWS

Police say Harmony Montgomery’s father hid and moved her body for months after murder

Jun 20, 2023, 11:00 AM

CONCORD, N.H. (AP) — A New Hampshire man charged in the murder of his missing 5-year-old daughter, Harmony Montgomery, spent months moving and hiding her body before disposing of it, according to a police affidavit released Tuesday.

Adam Montgomery, 33, pleaded not guilty in October to second-degree murder, falsifying physical evidence and abuse of a corpse charges. His daughter was reported missing in November 2021, nearly two years after police believe she was killed in Manchester. Her body has not been found.

Although prosecutors requested that information about the case remain sealed, a judge released the affidavit Tuesday in response to a public records request from WMUR-TV. Much of it is based on interviews with Montgomery’s estranged wife, Kayla Montgomery, 32, who agreed to cooperate with prosecutors after reaching a plea deal in a separate perjury case.

According to the affidavit, Kayla Montgomery told police that Adam Montgomery killed Harmony on Dec. 7, 2019, while the family lived in their car. Kayla Montgomery, who was Harmony’s stepmother, said he was driving to a fast food restaurant when he turned around and repeatedly punched Harmony in the face and head because he was angry that she was having bathroom accidents in the car.

“I think I really hurt her this time. I think I did something,” he said, according to Kayla Montgomery.

The couple noticed Harmony was dead hours later when the car broke down, at which time Montgomery put her body in a duffel bag, Kayla Montgomery said.

For the next three months, investigators allege, Adam Montgomery moved the body from container to container and place to place. According to his wife, the locations included the trunk of a friend’s car, a cooler in the hallway of his mother-in-law’s apartment building, the ceiling vent of a homeless shelter and an apartment freezer.

At one point, the remains were kept in a tote bag from a hospital maternity ward, and Kayla Montgomery said she placed it in between her own young children in a stroller and brought it to her husband’s workplace. An employee at the now-closed restaurant told police he saw it there but never questioned Montgomery “since he knew he had children.”

Investigators allege that Montgomery disposed of the body in early March 2020 using a rented moving truck. Toll data shows the truck in question crossed the Tobin Bridge in Boston multiple times, but the affidavit has no other location information to indicate the location Harmony’s body. In April, police searched a marshy area in Revere, Massachusetts.

Montgomery’s attorney did not respond to an email request for comment Tuesday.

Kayla Montgomery was sentenced in November to at least 18 months in prison. She had pleaded guilty to charges that she lied to a grand jury about working at a doughnut shop on Nov. 30, 2019, the day she said she last saw Harmony.

As part of that plea deal, she agreed to cooperate with prosecutors, who dropped charges that she lied to state health officials about having the child in her care in order to collect welfare benefits and that she received stolen firearms.

A Hillsborough County jury found Adam Montgomery guilty of six felony weapons charges in a separate case earlier this month, setting him up for at least two decades in prison.

United States News

Associated Press

University of the People founder and Arizona State professor win Yidan Prize for education work

NEW YORK (AP) — Shai Reshef, president and founder of the online, tuition-free University of the People, and Arizona State professor and researcher Michelene Chi, who has developed a framework to improve how students learn, are the 2023 winners of The Yidan Prize, the biggest award in education. Reshef and Chi will each receive 15 […]

41 minutes ago

Associated Press

Massachusetts man stabs five officers after crashing into home following chase, police say

TAUNTON, Mass. (AP) — A Massachusetts man who sped away during a traffic stop led police on a chase that ended with him crashing into a home and then stabbing five officers, including the local police chief, before he was arrested, authorities said. The Taunton police officers were injured trying to take Douglas Hagerty, 35, […]

1 hour ago

Associated Press

3 dead after car being pursued by police crashes in Indianapolis minutes after police end pursuit

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Three people including a teenage boy died when a car being chased by police in Indianapolis for reckless driving collided with another vehicle only minutes after officers ended their pursuit, authorities said Wednesday. An Indiana state trooper began the pursuit Tuesday night when the driver of a Dodge Challenger fled the officer’s […]

1 hour ago

Associated Press

Man serving sentence for attacking parents fails to return to halfway house and considered escapee

MOUNT LAUEL, N.J. (AP) — A man serving a prison sentence for attacking and seriously injuring his parents more than two decades ago remains missing Wednesday, several days after he failed to return to the halfway house where he was living. Edward Berbon, 54, was assigned to a halfway house in Camden County and had […]

2 hours ago

FILE - Former President Donald Trump pauses before ending his remarks at a rally in Summerville, S....

Associated Press

A judge found Trump committed fraud in building his real-estate empire. Here’s what happens next

WASHINGTON (AP) — A judge’s ruling that Donald Trump committed fraud as he built his real-estate empire tarnishes the former president’s image as a business titan and could strip him of his authority to make major decisions about the future of his marquee properties in his home state. The Tuesday order rescinds business licenses as […]

2 hours ago

Associated Press

Montana judge blocks enforcement of law to ban gender-affirming medical care for minors

HELENA, Mont. (AP) — A law to ban gender-affirming medical care for transgender minors in Montana is temporarily banned, a state judge ruled Tuesday, just four days before it was to take effect. District Court Judge Jason Marks agreed with transgender youth, their families and healthcare providers that a law passed by the 2023 Montana […]

3 hours ago

Sponsored Articles

Sanderson Ford...

Sanderson Ford

Sanderson Ford congratulates D-backs’ on drive to great first half of 2023

The Arizona Diamondbacks just completed a red-hot first half of the major league season, and Sanderson Ford wants to send its congratulations to the ballclub.

...

Ability360

At Ability360, every day is Independence Day

With 100 different programs and services, more than 1,500 non-medically based home care staff, a world-renowned Sports & Fitness Center and over 15,000 people with disabilities served annually, across all ages and demographics, Ability360 is a nationwide leader in the disability community.

...

OCD & Anxiety Treatment Center

5 mental health myths you didn’t know were made up

Helping individuals understand mental health diagnoses like obsessive compulsive spectrum disorder or generalized anxiety disorder isn’t always an easy undertaking. After all, our society tends to spread misconceptions about mental health like wildfire. This is why being mindful about how we talk about mental health is so important. We can either perpetuate misinformation about already […]

Police say Harmony Montgomery’s father hid and moved her body for months after murder