The father of a five-year-old girl who was last seen alive in 2019 has been found guilty of second-degree murder.
Adam Montgomery, 33, the dad of Harmony Montgomery, beat her and used opioids and ate fast food while leaving her to die in the backseat of his car, prosecutors argued during his trial.
A jury deliberated for roughly seven hours after the two-week trial and on Thursday afternoon also found Adam guilty of second-degree assault, abuse of a corpse, falsifying physical evidence and witness tampering.
Adam was not present in the New Hampshire courtroom as his verdict was read, and was not there throughout the trial.
Harmony’s birth mother, Crystal Sorey, was in the room and called Adam ‘a coward’.
‘He’s a coward, he’s always been a coward. That’s why he did what he did,’ she said.
‘He took her away from the people that loved her because he couldn’t hack that he didn’t have control. That’s all he cared about, control, everything in his life. She wasn’t anything to him.’
Prosecutor Ben Agati said he was ‘very, very grateful’ for the 10 women and two men who served as jurors.
‘It’s a very big relief that they have seen this through and that they’ve held him accountable for the actions that he’s committed,’ said Agati.
The defense had tried to sow doubt around prosecutors’ key witness, Harmony’s stepmother, Kayla Motngomery.
‘So Kayla decided to lie about Harmony’s death to accuse Adam of something he did not do, to get herself out of her own problems,’ said defense attorney Caroline Smith on Wednesday.
Harmony was last seen in 2019 and her remains have still not been recovered. Police believe she was killed in Manchester in early December 2019. Sorey alerted police on Harmony’s disappearance in December 2021 after looking for her for months.
Adam was arrested in January 2022 and charged in her murder in October of that year.
Prosecutors said that Adam concealed Harmony’s body for months, stuffing her in a duffel bag and cooler and using lime to reduce the odor. He allegedly rented a U-Haul truck and dumped her remains ‘like trash’ near Boston.
Despite being a felon and drug addict, Adam was given custody of Harmony after being released from prison for shooting a drug dealer.
Adam’s sentencing date has not yet been set, but will likely be scheduled in April or May.
Sorey said she will give a victim impact statement when Adam is in court for his sentencing.
‘I hope that what he did plays over in his mind every single waking moment that he lives on this earth,’ she said. ‘And I hope that he never falls asleep without seeing her beautiful face.’ (Metro)