Three months before Harmony Montgomery’s father was charged in the 5-year-old’s murder, her stepmother pointed the finger at her estranged husband—and claimed she’d been encouraged to lie to police.
In court documents filed this week in connection with a separate firearms case against Adam Montgomery, prosecutors reveal a June 3 interview they had with his estranged wife, Kayla Montgomery. During that interview, Kayla alleged that Montgomery had murdered Harmony in December 2019—about two years before she was reported missing in New Hampshire.
“Kayla also said that [Adam Montgomery] had encouraged her on multiple occasions to lie to police about Harmony’s whereabouts, basically giving Kayla a ‘cover story’ and telling her that as long as she stuck to the cover story everything would be OK,” the motion added.
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The revelation comes just as the New Hampshire Attorney General’s office on Monday announced Montgomery has been arrested and charged in connection with Harmony’s murder. Prosecutors allege that Harmony died after being repeatedly “struck” in the head with a closed fist on or around Dec. 7, 2019. Afterward, Montgomery allegedly “removed, concealed, or destroyed” his daughter’s body.
Montgomery, 32, pleaded not guilty on Tuesday to the four counts against him, including second-degree murder and falsifying physical evidence, and will remain in jail. He also faces several other charges, including for allegedly abusing Harmony and stealing guns just weeks before she was killed.
Next month, Montgomery is set to go to trial on the firearms charges, where Kayla is listed as a state’s witness. Prosecutors allege Montgomery stole two firearms between Sept. 29, 2019, and Oct. 3, 2019, but noted those weapons don’t have any connection with Harmony’s murder.
Court documents state that Kayla—who is also facing charges for allegedly using Harmony’s food-stamp benefits and receiving stolen property in connection with the firearms case—told at least four witnesses about her estranged husband’s alleged crime.
One of those conversations occurred while Kayla was incarcerated at the Hillsborough County House of Corrections. The witness, according to court documents, told police “that Kayla talked about ‘them’ stealing firearms and selling them for drug money.”
“Kayla said they needed money for drugs and taking care of the kids,” the court document added. “Kayla said she wasn’t there when the firearms were taken but it was Adam and a buddy who took them and brought them back to the house when she was home with the kids.”
Prosecutors note that Kayla lied to authorities about her knowledge on the firearm theft on two separate occasions. But in June, after she was arrested for perjury for her grand jury testimony, she provided new information about Montgomery’s alleged role in the firearm incident and Harmony’s death.
Authorities say that Harmony was last seen between Nov. 28 and Dec. 10, 2019, after her dad and Kayla were evicted from their Manchester home. Police were first made aware of Harmony’s disappearance when her biological mother, Crystal Sorey, reported her daughter “was missing and that she hadn’t seen [her] in over six months.”
