MANCHESTER, NH – Adam Montgomery, convicted of beating his 5-year-old daughter to death and hiding and abusing her corpse for months before disposing of it in a still undiscovered location, was sentenced Thursday essentially to life in prison.
Judge Amy Messer, presiding in Hillsborough County Superior Court North, adopted the recommendation of the state in sentencing him to a total of 56 years in prison.
“The court has the responsibility to impose a sentence that not only punishes you harshly for the crimes that you have committed, but considers deterrence, that is, how to keep you from hurting others,” she said. 45-years-to-life for second-degree murder. He was given two, 3 ½ to 7-year sentences for witness tampering and falsifying physical evidence. She also sentenced him to 4 to 8 years for a second- degree assault charge. She noted that on the assault charge that Montgomery’s uncle testified that Harmony’s blackened eye, which happened in July 2019, was like a “raccoon eye” and that Montgomery told him he had “bashed her around the fucking house.”
On the abuse of corpse charge, he was given a 12-month suspended sentence with the condition that he have no contact for 25 years with the Sorey, Raferty and Miller families. Crystal Sorey is Harmony’s biological mother; Michelle Raferty was her foster mother, and Johnathan Bobbitt-Miller and Blair Miller are fathers to Harmony’s brother, Jameson.
The sentence totaled 56 years and is consecutive to Montgomery’s 32 ½ to 67-year sentence for convictions of being an armed career criminal and stolen weapon offenses. Agati, at a news conference after the sentencing, said he hasn’t done the math yet but believes Montgomery will not be eligible for parole until he is 115 or 118 years old.
The judge imposed the sentence after listening to Harmony’s family members.
Crystal Sorey, Harmony’s biological mother, began her statement with, “To the monster who murdered my baby.”
She said after Montgomery killed Harmony, he told people he had dropped her off with Sorey. “If you had, she would be thriving now and not stuffed in a CMC bag where you put her,” she said.
Harmony, she said, was sassy, loving and kind. “She wasn’t a coward like you and I will be forever grateful for that.”
Harmony lit up a room when she walked in, Sorey said, and was an “incredible big sister” to her bother Harrison who she loved. “And I know she loved your sons too,” she told Montgomery.
She said on Dec. 7, 2019, the day Montgomery beat the 5-year-old to death because she continued to wet her pants in the car where the then homeless family was living, Sorey said she woke up in the middle of the night in agony not knowing why but later realizing she had lost a part of herself when Harmony died.
Sorey said she wished Montgomery misery and pain for the rest of his life. She said she always knew Montgomery was a bad person “but now I know you are just plain evil.”
Blair Miller with his husband Johnathan Bobbitt-Miller, adopted Harmony’s brother Jameson and had offered to adopt Harmony as well but a Massachusetts judge gave custody to Montgomery, even though he had a lengthy criminal history.
Blair Miller said a few weeks ago, Jameson’s teacher asked him to draw a picture of his family. He drew his two dogs, hie two brothers, his two dads and he drew a heart above them all. “In that heart, he wrote the letter H. “He said that was Harmony, looking down on us,” he said,
At that, people sitting in the full gallery began to cry and/or sniffle and reached for tissues.
They said Harmony and Jameson were always in foster care together.
The dads said they’ve told Jameson that Harmony is an angel. “I’m really sad she’s an angel,” Bobbitt-Miller said Jameson told him. “I miss her. She was my best friend.”
Jameson said he hoped Harmony was eating M&Ms in heaven “I hope her glasses are safe and not broken,” he told his father.
Foster mother Michelle Raferty said Harmony lived with her, her husband and their five children. Her children lost a sister when Harmony died.
“She filled our hearts with love,” Raferty said. “She was full of life. Harmony always had two mothers but she only had one father, my husband.”
Prior to the sentencing, Senior Assistant Attorney General Benjamin Agati told Judge Messer that if on Thursday, while in court, Montgomery would say where he disposed of Harmony’s body, and it could be recovered in seven days, he would recommend the minimum mandatory sentence of 35-years-to life with all the other sentences to be served concurrently.
Montgomery said nothing.
Agati then said that Montgomery’s not responding is just another reason why a sentence longer than the 35 needs was needed.
Public Defender Caroline Smith called the offer a “stunt.” She said the state wanted to get a reaction from Montgomery. “Mr. Montgomery does not have to express remorse here for something for which he maintains his innocence,” she said.
The defense attorney said he did not kill his daughter “but when he discovered his daughter’s death, he broke, and he did inexplicable things. Even he can’t explain his actions. But eventually he pulled it together, and he was able to say goodbye to his daughter, and that’s what he did.”
Agati, after the hearing, said Montgomery admitted at trial that the jury could find him guilty of the two charges that related to the disposing of Harmony’s body — abuse of corpse and falsifying physical evidence.
The Millers, after the sentencing, said that Harmony became everyone’s daughter and everyone’s sister. Blair Miller said the sentencing was not a celebration for them but “we can tell Jameson the monster was put away forever” and that “he will never hurt anyone” again.
Manchester Police Chief Allen Aldenberg said it was a bittersweet day for police. Montgomery, he said, seems determined to keep the details of where Harmony’s remains are located to himself.
Police continue their search for her body and as recently as two weeks ago took another look at areas they had searched before but did not find her.
NH Attorney General John Formella said justice had been served.
“Today’s sentence demonstrates that our legal system takes heinous crimes seriously and holds perpetrators accountable for their actions. The murder of an innocent child leaves a lasting scar on New Hampshire and our hearts go out to Harmony’s family and all those who knew and loved her,” Formella said. “While no sentence can bring back the life that was taken, we will honor Harmony’s memory by working to ensure that we are doing all we can to protect New Hampshire’s children and bring any person that would harm a child to justice.”
The story of Harmony’s disappearance and murder made national headlines. Law enforcement was unaware she was missing until late in 2019, nearly two years after she disappeared.
Sorey, who struggled with substance abuse, was in rehab when she lost custody of her daughter to Adam. She said Adam prevented her from seeing Harmony. The last time she saw her was over Easter in April of 2019.
Sorey said she contacted child services at various times to report she hadn’t seen her daughter but no one listened to her. It wasn’t until the Division of Children, Youth and Families referred the case to Manchester police that anyone took her seriously.
Capt. Jack Dunleavy of the juvenile division was the individual who listened and ultimately headed the investigation into the child’s disappearance.
On New Year’s Eve 2021, police held a news conference with large posters of Harmony front and center and announced they were searching for the 5-year-old who hadn’t been seen in more than two years.
That same day, police located Adam Montgomery, who was sleeping in a car with his girlfriend Kelsey Small, near Wolfe Park. The officer told him he wasn’t in trouble, that police just wanted to know where Harmony was. Adam had gained custody of her in February 2019.
Adam told him he had nothing to say to them.
A few days later, Adam was arrested for assaulting Harmony in July of 2019, blackening her eye. He told his uncle that he “bashed her around the rucking house.”
In August 2022, authorities announced that Harmony was murdered in 2019 based on “recently confirmed biological evidence.” Investigators had found her blood on a ceiling panel at a family shelter where the Montgomerys had stayed. Montgomery’s finger and palm prints were found on the panel as well. Ultimately, Adam Montgomery was charged with her murder.
At trial, Kayla Montgomery, Adam’s estranged wife, testified to what happened to Harmony on Dec. 7, 2019, the day she died in the back seat of the family’s Chrysler Sebring.
Kayla said that Harmony was covered in bruises because she would have bathroom accidents in the car which the family was living in after being evicted from their 77 Gilford St. home. At that time, Kayla and Adam had two other children, both boys and then ages 2 and 11 months. Kayla had a daughter later but, on the stand, said she does not see any of her children and has no right to them.
She served a sentence on two counts of perjury, for lying to the Grand Jury investigating Harmony’s disappearance. She was paroled in May
Kayla, who was on the stand for nearly two days, said around 2 to 3 a.m. on Dec. 7, 2019, Adam woke up, smelled urine in the car and punched Harmony in the head 10 to 15 times. When the family awakened later before 7 a.m., Adam again smelled urine and again struck Harmony in the head.
By 7 a.m., Adam had driven downtown to a methadone clinic where he and Kayla received their daily doses. When he came out and got in the car, he once again smelled urine and repeatedly punched Harmony in the head.
Kayla said she wanted to get food at Burger King so as Adam drove to the fast-food restaurant and stopped at traffic lights, he would reach over the seat and continuously punch Harmony in the head. Kayla said she put her hand up once to stop him but he gave her a look that was “evil” and it scared her. She didn’t try to stop him again.
She could hear Harmony moaning in the back seat but she didn’t check on her.
After a final blow, Adam told Kayla, “I think I hurt her this time. I think I did something.”
Still, neither one checked on Harmony. They got their food at the drive-up, went back to Colonial Village where they parked the car and then did drugs.
A few hours later, they left Colonial Village but at the intersection of Elm and Webster streets, the car died. Adam checked on Harmony then, touching her and saying, “Wake up, baby girl. Baby girl, wake up.” It was then he and Kayla realized she was dead.
Adam took a Duffel bag from the trunk of the car, put Harmony’s body in it and after gathering some belongings, walked back to Colonial Village to meet their friend and drug supplier, Anthony “Tone” Bondero. Bondero drove them back to their car which was already on a tow truck. They got a few more things and then went back to Colonial Village.
Bondero let them stay in his car for a couple of nights. Adam would place the Duffel bag outside in a snowbank at times. After, they went to stay with Kayla’s mother. There, Adam put the bag with Harmony’s remains inside a red and white cooler. The cooler remained in a common hallway of the apartment building for weeks until the family obtained a room at Families In Transition shelter on Lake Avenue late in December 2019.
There Adam stored Harmony’s remains first in a closet and then in the ceiling over the bed where he and Kayla slept. They were at the shelter for about a month. Harmony’s body began to decompose and Kayla testified there was a horrible smell. Neighbors began to complain about the stench.
So, Adam took the bag down from the ceiling, compressed Harmony’s body in the shower and repackaged it to fit in a smaller CMC canvas bag. He then began taking the bag with him when he went to work at the now-defunct Portland Pie Company. There he stored it in a walk-in cooler on the shelf where mustard and other condiments were kept.
Adam took the bag home with him each day. One time, Kayla said he called from work and told her to bring the bag to him. She did, placing the bag in between her two sons in their double stroller and taking the 15-minute walk to deliver it to Adam.
The family later moved to an apartment on Union Street, taking Harmony’s remains with them and storing them in the fridge. Kayla said the two had talked about disposing of her remains and that Adam had wanted to buy tools to dismember her. Adam said they would have to wait until they received their tax refund, according to Kayla.
They also agreed to tell everyone that Adam Montgomery dropped Harmony off with her mother, Sorey, around Thanksgiving 2019.
The prosecution found evidence of a March 2020 receipt for a withdrawal from the Montgomery account of $500 from the Citizens Bank ATM on South Willow Street. They found another receipt from the nearby Home Depot where 20 minutes after the withdrawal there was a purchase of lime, a grinder saw, a blade and battery totaling about $400.
Agati, in his closing argument, said it was no coincidence the following day after that purchase, Adam called maintenance because the bathtub, where the day before Kayla said he had thawed Harmony’s body and squished out the liquids, was clogged.
In March, Adam had a friend rent him a U-Haul van and, in the middle of the night and with the CMC bag containing Harmony’s remains, drove down into Massachusetts back and forth across the Tobin Bridge.
When he returned to the EconoLodge where they were staying, he told Kayla, “It’s done.”
He no longer had the CMC bag.