'Monster' dad killed his daughter before hiding her body for months
A "monster" dad murdered his five-year-old daughter and carried her remains around for months, hiding them in different locations.
Police believe Adam Montgomery killed Harmony Montgomery two years before she was reported missing from the US state of New Hampshire in 2021.
He has since been jailed for a minimum of 56 years, with the state's governor stating he "deserved to spend the rest of his life in prison".
In July this year, Harmony's birth mother Crystal Sorey sued Montgomery for abuse and neglect against their little girl, the Mirror reports.
The pair had separated by the time Harmony was born in 2014. She spent her first few years living between her mother's care and foster families, until Crystal lost custody in 2018 while battling substance abuse.
Her father was granted custody, despite an extensive criminal record. Crystal said the last time she saw her daughter alive was in a video call around Easter in 2019.
According to Montgomery's estranged wife Kayla, who testified at his trial, by November that year the family, including her two sons, had been evicted from their home and were living in a car.
She claimed that on December 7, Montgomery had punched Harmony, who was partially sighted and had additional needs, in anger because she had wet herself inside the car.
She added she had been passing food to the children after visiting a fast food restaurant, but didn't notice Harmony was dead until they stopped due to the car breaking down.
Kayla claimed her husband put the little girl's body in a duffel bag, and continually hid her in different places over three months, including the boot of a car, a ceiling vent in a homeless shelter, a freezer and a cooler. She added she did not report the death because she was scared of Montgomery, who was also abusive towards her.
Montgomery's legal team said Kayla, who fled from him in 2021, was lying to protect herself because she was the last person to see Harmony alive.
Crystal eventually reported her daughter missing, with police issuing an appeal with images on New Year's Eve in 2021. They later determined the youngster had been killed, and legally declared her dead in early 2024.
Montgomery pleaded guilty to charges that he "purposely and unlawfully removed, concealed or destroyed" Harmony's body and falsified evidence, but insisted he did not kill his daughter.
However, the jury found him guilty in February 2024. He was sentenced in May to a minimum of 56 years behind bars, added to a 32-and-a-half year sentence he had started serving the previous year for unrelated gun offences.
He was also convicted of assaulting Harmony in 2019 and tampering with a witness, regarding Kayla.
A prosecutor offered to reduce his sentence if he told the court where his daughter's body was. However, he remained silent and her remains have never been found.
Following the sentencing, New Hampshire Governor Chris Sununu said in a statement: "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."
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Crystal filed a lawsuit for wrongful death against the state's Division for Children, Youth and Families last year. In May, officials said they would compensate her with $2.25million, but stated this was not an admission of its wrongdoing.
New Hampshire Attorney General John Formella said in a statement: "The state agreed to these settlements to avoid prolonged litigation and support closure for the families. We recognize their profound loss and hope this brings some measure of peace."
In July 2025, Crystal sued Montgomery on behalf of her daughter's estate, arguing that the youngster "endured breath-taking abuse and neglect by her father."
According to WCVB, the complaint states: "Five-year-old Harmony Montgomery was beaten to death by her father, Adam Montgomery, in December 2019.
"From the time Harmony was placed with her father in February 2019 until the date of her death in December 2019, Harmony endured breath-taking abuse and neglect by her father, leading ultimately to Harmony's homicide."
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