A New Hampshire judge has ruled that Harmony Montgomery, the 5-year-old girl killed by her father, is legally dead and appointed her mother to administer her estate.
While her father, Adam Montgomery, was found guilty of second-degree murder in Harmony's killing, since her body was never found, she had never been declared dead.
The ruling will allow Crystal Sorey, Harmony's mother, move forward with a wrongful death lawsuit.
Sorey was in Nashua District Court Monday for the hearing over her request; Adam Montgomery was not. He also declined to show up at his two-week trial.
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Sorey's lawyer argued in court Monday that Harmony should be declared dead because of Adam Montgomery's conviction — he admitted during the trial that he abused her corpse. He requested that Sorey be named as the head of her daughter's estate — both she and Adam Montgomery were listed as Harmony's heirs.
Adam Montgomery and Sorey were not in a relationship when their daughter was born in 2014. Harmony Montgomery lived on and off with foster families and her mother until Sorey lost custody in 2018. Montgomery was awarded custody in early 2019, and Sorey testified she last saw her daughter during a FaceTime call around Easter of that year.
Sorey eventually went to police, who announced they were looking for the missing child on New Year’s Eve 2021. In early 2022, authorities searched a home in Manchester where Montgomery had lived and charged him with assault, interference with custody and child endangerment.
By that June, Montgomery also was facing numerous charges related to stolen guns, while his estranged wife, Kayla Montgomery, was charged with perjury for lying to a grand jury investigating her stepdaughter’s disappearance. She has been serving an 18-month sentence and is expected to be paroled in May.
In August 2022, Attorney General John Formella announced that investigators believed Harmony was dead and that the case was being treated as a homicide.
Harmony Montgomery’s case has exposed weaknesses in child protection systems and prompted calls to prioritize the well-being of children over parents in custody matters.
