MANCHESTER, N.H. — A jury was empaneled Wednesday to hear testimony in the case against Adam Montgomery, charged with gun offenses and being an armed career criminal.
The trial will begin Thursday morning in Hillsborough County Superior Court Northern District with attorneys presenting their opening statements.
Montgomery, accused in the murder of his 5-year-old daughter Harmony, is facing trial on six offenses: two counts each of being an armed career criminal; receiving stolen property, a rifle and shotgun; and theft by unauthorized taking.
The charges are unrelated to Harmony’s murder. He is charged with second-degree murder in Harmony’s death, among other charges including witness tampering accusing him of a more than a two-year attempt to get his estranged wife, Kayla Montgomery, to falsely testify.
On Wednesday, more than 100 prospective jurors arrived at Hillsborough County Superior Court Northern District. Judge Amy Messer read them a series of questions to see if they could be impartial or if they had any conflicts.
For instance, they were asked if they knew any of the attorneys in the case or any of the dozens of potential witnesses.
One of those witnesses is Kayla Montgomery, who is serving a sentence for two counts of perjury. She lied to a grand jury investigating the disappearance and ultimate murder of her step-daughter.
Kayla Montgomery, who has filed for a divorce, is expected to testify next week.
The judge issued an “omnibus order” last Friday on pending motions. Most were favorable to the defense although prosecutors will be allowed to admit evidence of Montgomery’s past abuse of Kayla Montgomery. She is expected to testify that from February 2020 onward that Montgomery became very aggressive toward her, that he punched her in the face a couple of times and that she was afraid of him and that he had the ability to cause serious injury to her.
Prosecutors said admitting the history of abuse would explain the difference between Kayla’s anticipated testimony at trial and prior statements she made in March and May 2022 to the grand jury. Specifically, Kayla told the police and the grand jury that she had never seen Adam Montgomery in possession of firearms at their house. About a month later, she told police she had seen him in possession of a shotgun and a rifle shortly after the theft occurred.
Kayla is expected to testify that she made the false statements due to the abuse and conditioning she allegedly suffered at the hands of her husband.
The defense maintains it was more than a year after the alleged abuse that Kayla testified before the grand jury. At the time she testified, she was no longer in a relationship with Montgomery. And, at the grand jury, she was specifically asked if she was afraid of Montgomery at that time and she said no.
The judge is allowing the defense to impeach Kayla on grounds “of the staleness of the abuse in question” and her grand jury statement that she was “not afraid of the defendant.”
While Kayla may testify about the abuse, prosecutors cannot submit a photograph of Kayla Montgomery with two black eyes.
The defense also will be allowed to admit evidence of an alternative suspect in the theft of the guns, given what was reported to police, and one of the stolen guns later being recovered in a home in Dorchester, Mass. The state argued testimony about the third gun was irrelevant since Montgomery wasn’t charged in connection with it.
The gun charges relate to a theft of firearms, reported on Oct. 3, 2019, from the home of Kimberly and Chris Frain in Manchester.
Chris Frain reported three firearms missing: a Mossberg 12-gauge shotgun, a Stag AR-15, and a .380-caliber Ruger handgun. He told police he saw the guns on Sept. 29, 2019 shortly before he left town, and that when he returned home on Oct. 3, 2019, they were gone.
Kimberly Frain told police her silver wedding band was missing as well. Her husband told investigators he thought his wife might have sold or traded the ring for drugs. She denied that and said it must have been stolen. Police later learned she had pawned it on Aug. 5, 2019.
The missing .380 was found in Omari Peterson’s possession. He said he received it from Ismael Garcia, who did drugs with Kimberly Frain, according to court records. Michael Sullivan testified Garcia told him he obtained two of the missing firearms from Kimberly Frain in an exchange for drugs.
Messer said she agreed with the defense that the evidence regarding the ring directly bears on Kimberly’s credibility and is probative of her character for truthfulness or untruthfulness.
Montgomery faces decades in prison if convicted of being an armed career criminal and the other charges.
The trial is expected to last five to seven days. Next Tuesday, Judge Messer is presiding over drug court so the trial will be suspended that day.