MANCHESTER, NH—Crystal Sorey, the mother of murdered 5-year-old Harmony Montgomery, has settled her wrongful death suit against the state of New Hampshire for $2.25 million, according to the settlement agreement.
Sorey sued the state in September alleging the state Division of Children Youth and Families failed to protect her daughter despite reports from people expressing concern that she was being abused.
The state, in the settlement agreement, admits no wrongdoing. The settlement was reached on April 9, 2025.
New Hampshire Public Radio was the first to report the settlement after filing a Right-to-Know request.
A Massachusetts judge placed Harmony in the care of her father, Adam Montgomery, in 2019, even though he had a violent history. He is serving a 56-year year prison sentence, after being convicted of beating her to death and abusing her corpse. Testimony at his murder trial, which he did not attend, revealed he beat the child to death in a car as the family was heading to Burgerr King.
He then hid the child’s remains for months, first in a duffle bag and then, after compressing them, in a smaller canvas bag before disposing of them somewhere in Massachusetts. The 5-year-old’s remains have yet to be found.
The state has paid out millions of dollars to settle similar lawsuits in the deaths of young children placed in its custody, according to documents obtained by NHPR. Parents, in their lawsuits, alleged the state failed to protect their vulnerable children.
The state settled with Danielle Vaughan last July for $5.75 million in the death of her son, 5-year-old Dennis Vaughan on Christmas Eve 2019 in Laconia. Sherry Connor, 61, of Epsom, is facing 12 charges in connection with the death of her grandson and her alleged abuse of him and his siblings.
According to published reports in the New Hampshire Bulletin, prosecutors maintain Connor tortured Vaughan and the other children, whom she had custody of between June 2017 and Vaughan’s death in 2019.
Connor allegedly slapped and kicked the children; put hot sauce on their genitals; held their heads under water during baths; smothered them with pillows; and regularly denied them food.
Prosecutors said Connor made Vaughan run in place for leaving clothes on the floor. After the boy fell to the floor, Connor kicked him, beat him on the head and neck with a broomstick until the handle broke, and then stomped on him, according to the New Hampshire Bulletin report.
When Vaughan was unable to get up, she covered him with a blanket and left him on the floor for about two hours. Later that day, she did not seek medical help when the boy lost control of his bladder and bowels; spiked a 104-degree fever; was unable to eat or drink; and began hallucinating, Cormier told the judge. At one point, Vaughan thought a white plastic bag was a Christmas present, according to the NH Bulletin report.
Connor told her grandson the devil was coming to take him away, Belknap County Attorney Keith Cormier said at a court hearing.
Vaughan’s mother lost custody of her four children in 2017 over concerns about drug use and domestic violence in the home, according to a lawsuit she brought against the state last year.
Attorney Kevin Leonard, who represented Vaughan as well as Crystal Sorey, alleged DCYF failed to protect Dennis despite multiple reports of abuse and neglect from neighbors and school officials.
DCYF had placed Dennis with his grandmother, who is charged with his murder.
The father of Elijah Lewis settled with the state in December for $2.25 million for the death of his son, whose body was found in 2021. The lawsuit alleged DCYF should have known the boy was in danger after his mother reported being unable to cope with him.
Danielle Dauphinais was convicted in her son’s death and is serving 50 years to life in prison for second-degree murder..
Republicans in the New Hampshire House, in their recent budget proposal, eliminated funding for the Office of the Child Advocate, the watchdog agency that holds the state accountable for its treatment of at-risk children.