Harmony Montgomery's father has murder conviction overturned after court made crucial mistake
Topics: True crime, Crime
Kiesha Dosanjh
Featured Image Credit: Manchester, NH PD
Topics: True crime, Crime
Harmony Montgomery's father has had his murder conviction overturned after being sentenced to life in prison in May 2024 in connection with the death of the 5-year-old.
Adam Montgomery was convicted of second-degree murder for the death of Harmony, in December 2019. Adam was also convicted of second-degree assault, for striking Harmony in July 2019. He was also convicted of falsifying physical evidence and witness tampering.
However, on June 11, The New Hampshire Supreme Court overturned the murder conviction. As per CBS News, 'the court determined that Montgomery did not receive a fair trial because his request to have his murder charge separated from other counts was denied.'
The court determined that Adam's murder charge should have been 'prosecuted separately from the charge of second-degree assault,' with the Supreme Court ruling that having the two together meant he didn't have a fair trial.
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“As compared to the evidence of multiple disinterested witnesses substantiating the July assault, the evidence of the December 7, 2019 fatal attack is substantially weaker,” the court ruled, as per NBC. “We therefore conclude that this disparity created a significant risk that the jury would rely on the strength of the evidence that the defendant struck the victim in anger in July to conclude that, as Kayla testified, he similarly — and fatally — struck the victim in December.”
Harmony's remains have never been found. However, it is believed she was killed in December 2019, which is two years before she was reported missing.
Prosecutors alleged that Harmony was beaten to death by her father in December 2019, later engaging in the “transportation and consolidation of her body over three months”.
According to the prosecutors, Adam lied about the whereabouts of Harmony for 2 years.
Adam will not be released from prison due to the overturned murder charge as he is in prison for at least 32 years for unrelated gun crimes.
His convictions for assault, falsifying physical evidence, witness tampering, and abuse of a corpse have been affirmed by the Supreme Court.
In a statement to PEOPLE, the New Hampshire Attorney General's Office said: “We are disappointed by the Court's decision to order a new trial on the second degree murder charge and we plan to pursue a re-trial on that charge.
"Adam Montgomery remains convicted of multiple serious felonies arising from Harmony's death, as well as separate firearms offenses that were previously upheld on appeal. Montgomery’s total sentence of 43.5 years for these additional charges stands and is not affected by the Court’s decision today."
"We remain confident in the facts of this case, the evidence presented, and the exceptional work of our prosecutors, investigators, and law enforcement partners. We will continue our efforts to seek justice for Harmony Montgomery and all those who knew and loved her."