Unsealed court records reveal disturbing details in Harmony Montgomery case

Editor’s note: This story includes descriptions of violence against children.

Adam Montgomery fatally struck his daughter, Harmony, after she had a bathroom accident in the car the family was living in, then spent months hiding her body in various locations, according to court records unsealed Tuesday.

Filed in New Hampshire court, the 48-page probable cause statement reveals disturbing details about what investigators believe happened to 5-year-old Harmony Montgomery, the child at the center of a high-profile missing person search and, later, a homicide investigation.

Prosecutors have accused Adam Montgomery of killing Harmony on Dec. 7, 2019, when he allegedly struck her in the head repeatedly with a closed fist. Montgomery has pleaded not guilty to charges of second-degree murder, falsifying physical evidence, tampering with a witness, and abuse of a corpse.

Police launched an investigation into Harmony’s disappearance in December 2021, after her mother, Crystal Sorey, pleaded with officials to help locate her daughter. Sorey had lost custody of Harmony, who was blind in one eye, while battling substance abuse issues in 2018.

“I have my days where I still can’t believe it,” Sorey told WBZ last fall. “I didn’t think this would be the outcome.” 

‘I think I really hurt her this time’

Harmony’s stepmother, Kayla Montgomery, told investigators that the family was evicted from their Manchester, New Hampshire, home the day before Thanksgiving in 2019 and was living in a car, according to the probable cause statement. Adam Montgomery was “extremely upset” that Harmony was having bathroom accidents in the car and would get upset and strike Harmony each time, Kayla Montgomery reportedly told authorities.

She said Adam Montgomery struck Harmony in the face and head following an accident on Dec. 7, 2019, according to the court document.

“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,’” the probable cause statement reads. “Harmony began making a moaning type noise which went on for roughly five minutes and then stopped. At no time did anyone stop or get Harmony medical attention as a result of this assault.”

Later that day, the family’s car broke down. It was at that point that Adam Montgomery realized Harmony had died, Kayla Montgomery reportedly told investigators.

She allegedly explained how her husband retrieved a duffel bag from the car’s trunk and used it to store Harmony’s body. Adam Montgomery initially kept the bag with Harmony’s body in the trunk, but would also leave it in the snow to stop decomposition, according to the probable cause statement. 

What happened to Harmony Montgomery’s body? 

The court document describes how Kayla and Adam Montgomery allegedly moved Harmony’s body between several locations in the months that followed. 

First, the family lived with Kayla Montgomery’s mother in Manchester for a few weeks, during which time Harmony’s body remained in a cooler in a common hallway, according to the probable cause statement. The family next moved on to a Families in Transition shelter, where Adam Montgomery allegedly stored the body in a ceiling vent.

Kayla Montgomery reportedly told investigators that at some point, Adam Montgomery transferred Harmony’s body to a new bag.

“This bag was much smaller than the Under Armour duffle bag, and it would not likely fit Harmony’s body unless it was dismembered or grossly distorted,” the probable cause statement reads.

Kayla Montgomery reportedly told investigators she brought the bag containing Harmony’s body to her husband’s place of work, Portland Pie Company in Manchester. She said she pushed the bag containing Harmony’s body in a stroller that also held two of her children, according to the court document. 

When the family signed a lease for another Manchester apartment in February 2020, Adam Montgomery allegedly stored Harmony’s body in a plastic storage container, then in the new apartment’s refrigerator.

Kayla Montgomery reportedly told investigators that she was in the apartment’s bathroom with Adam Montgomery when he allegedly took Harmony’s body out of the bag in order to add lime to aid decomposition. According to the probable cause statement, she told authorities that her husband had a hard time fitting Harmony’s body back into the bag, because the body was frozen.

The bag remained in the apartment freezer until some point during the spring of 2020, the court document says. At that point, Adam Montgomery allegedly used a U-Haul and made an overnight trip to an unknown destination to dispose of Harmony’s body, Kayla Montgomery reportedly told investigators. 

“Kayla said Adam then returned at approximately 5:00 or 6:00 A.M. that same morning,” the probable cause statement reads. “When he returned, he seemed very tired, and he said words to the effect of ‘it’s done.’”

Harmony Montgomery’s body has never been found.

Adam Montgomery Unsealed Probable Cause Statement