An affidavit revealing graphic and disturbing details about the investigation into the disappearance and death of Harmony Montgomery has been unsealed by a New Hampshire judge.Harmony Montgomery hasn’t been seen since 2019, but she wasn’t reported missing until two years later. In August 2022, her father, Adam Montgomery, was charged and subsequently indicted on a second-degree murder charge in the child’s death. Her body has never been found. The 48-page affidavit, released Tuesday, is heavily based on interviews with Adam Montgomery’s estranged wife, Kayla. The affidavit said Kayla Montgomery admitted to lying in her grand jury testimony, in which she said claimed she last saw Harmony two days before Thanksgiving 2019.Investigators said they believe the girl was fatally beaten by Adam Montgomery after she had a toileting accident in a his car on Dec. 7, 2019.“Adam was extremely upset that 5-year-old Harmony was not saying when she needed to go to the bathroom and was having accidents in the car,” Adam Montgomery’s wife, Kayla, told investigators, according to the affidavit.”Kayla stated that after each accident, Adam would get upset and would strike Harmony in the face or head with a closed fist,” the affidavit said.”Kayla stated that after the final blow, Adam said words to the effect of that he felt something or heard something when he hit Harmony, and, ‘I think I really hurt her this time. I think I did something,'” according to the affidavit.Kayla Montgomery told police that Harmony began making a moaning noise for about five minutes and then stopped.The affidavit says later that day, Adam and Kayla Montgomery realized Harmony was dead. The affidavit also details how Adam Montgomery put the girl’s body in a duffle bag and allegedly moved it several times. The affidavit indicates he stored her body in a cooler at a relative’s house, in a space above the ceiling at a transitional shelter, in a hotel refrigerator and in the freezer of a restaurant in Manchester, New Hampshire, where he worked.Kayla Montgomery said Adam Montgomery rented a U-Haul in either March or May 2020 that prosecutors say he used to hide the remains.In December 2021, Manchester police issued a missing persons report, and in August 2022, the New Hampshire attorney general’s office declared Harmony dead, a victim of a homicide.Adam Montgomery was convicted earlier this month on unrelated weapons charges and will be sentenced on those later this summer. A judge released the affidavit after granting a motion from WMUR-TV.In May 2022, the Massachusetts Office of the Child Advocate blasted the legal representation of Harmony Montgomery, who was in the custody of the state’s Department of Children and Families, and the 2019 decision made by a Massachusetts judge to award custody to her father without an interstate compact in place between Massachusetts and New Hampshire. In a 99-page report, the Office of the Child Advocate found Montgomery’s safety and complex needs were not prioritized in the case.”Based in part on recommendations by the Office of the Child Advocate and based on a review of court policies and practices that relate to the timely placement of children, the Trial Court formed a working group comprised of Juvenile Court judges and key partners in care and protection proceedings including the Department of Children and Families, the Committee for Public Counsel Services, and the Office of the Child Advocate. The working group began its work in September 2022 and is currently developing recommendations towards establishing reasonable time periods to the permanent placement of children and identifying and addressing barriers to achieving timely permanency,” Jennifer Donahue, spokesperson for the Massachusetts Executive Office of the Trial Court, said in a statement.A DCF spokesperson said the department has addressed all agency-specific recommendations in the Office of the Child Advocate report. According to the spokesperson, major DCF milestones reached during that process include the development of a Protective Case Practice policy that reinforces the assessment of child safety, as well as service provision and support to families; the implementation of quarterly permanency reviews for children with a goal for adoption; and the signing of a memorandum of understanding between Massachusetts and New Hampshire on Jan. 3 to allow provisional placement of a child with approved kin on an expedited basis, pending a full Interstate Compact Placement of Children home study.The DCF spokesperson also said the department has created 38 new positions — including attorneys, paralegals and redactors — in order to decrease the caseloads of staff attorneys and provide enhanced litigation support to attorneys. According to the spokesperson, 23 of the positions had been filled as of April 18 and the remaining 15 job openings are in the process of being filled.
An affidavit revealing graphic and disturbing details about the investigation into the disappearance and death of Harmony Montgomery has been unsealed by a New Hampshire judge.
Harmony Montgomery hasn’t been seen since 2019, but she wasn’t reported missing until two years later.
In August 2022, her father, Adam Montgomery, was charged and subsequently indicted on a second-degree murder charge in the child’s death. Her body has never been found.
The 48-page affidavit, released Tuesday, is heavily based on interviews with Adam Montgomery’s estranged wife, Kayla. The affidavit said Kayla Montgomery admitted to lying in her grand jury testimony, in which she said claimed she last saw Harmony two days before Thanksgiving 2019.
Investigators said they believe the girl was fatally beaten by Adam Montgomery after she had a toileting accident in a his car on Dec. 7, 2019.
“Adam was extremely upset that 5-year-old Harmony was not saying when she needed to go to the bathroom and was having accidents in the car,” Adam Montgomery’s wife, Kayla, told investigators, according to the affidavit.
“Kayla stated that after each accident, Adam would get upset and would strike Harmony in the face or head with a closed fist,” the affidavit said.
“Kayla stated that after the final blow, Adam said words to the effect of that he felt something or heard something when he hit Harmony, and, ‘I think I really hurt her this time. I think I did something,'” according to the affidavit.
Kayla Montgomery told police that Harmony began making a moaning noise for about five minutes and then stopped.
The affidavit says later that day, Adam and Kayla Montgomery realized Harmony was dead.
The affidavit also details how Adam Montgomery put the girl’s body in a duffle bag and allegedly moved it several times. The affidavit indicates he stored her body in a cooler at a relative’s house, in a space above the ceiling at a transitional shelter, in a hotel refrigerator and in the freezer of a restaurant in Manchester, New Hampshire, where he worked.
Kayla Montgomery said Adam Montgomery rented a U-Haul in either March or May 2020 that prosecutors say he used to hide the remains.
In December 2021, Manchester police issued a missing persons report, and in August 2022, the New Hampshire attorney general’s office declared Harmony dead, a victim of a homicide.
Adam Montgomery was convicted earlier this month on unrelated weapons charges and will be sentenced on those later this summer.
A judge released the affidavit after granting a motion from WMUR-TV.
In May 2022, the Massachusetts Office of the Child Advocate blasted the legal representation of Harmony Montgomery, who was in the custody of the state’s Department of Children and Families, and the 2019 decision made by a Massachusetts judge to award custody to her father without an interstate compact in place between Massachusetts and New Hampshire. In a 99-page report, the Office of the Child Advocate found Montgomery’s safety and complex needs were not prioritized in the case.
“Based in part on recommendations by the Office of the Child Advocate and based on a review of court policies and practices that relate to the timely placement of children, the Trial Court formed a working group comprised of Juvenile Court judges and key partners in care and protection proceedings including the Department of Children and Families, the Committee for Public Counsel Services, and the Office of the Child Advocate. The working group began its work in September 2022 and is currently developing recommendations towards establishing reasonable time periods to the permanent placement of children and identifying and addressing barriers to achieving timely permanency,” Jennifer Donahue, spokesperson for the Massachusetts Executive Office of the Trial Court, said in a statement.
A DCF spokesperson said the department has addressed all agency-specific recommendations in the Office of the Child Advocate report. According to the spokesperson, major DCF milestones reached during that process include the development of a Protective Case Practice policy that reinforces the assessment of child safety, as well as service provision and support to families; the implementation of quarterly permanency reviews for children with a goal for adoption; and the signing of a memorandum of understanding between Massachusetts and New Hampshire on Jan. 3 to allow provisional placement of a child with approved kin on an expedited basis, pending a full Interstate Compact Placement of Children home study.
The DCF spokesperson also said the department has created 38 new positions — including attorneys, paralegals and redactors — in order to decrease the caseloads of staff attorneys and provide enhanced litigation support to attorneys. According to the spokesperson, 23 of the positions had been filled as of April 18 and the remaining 15 job openings are in the process of being filled.
