MANCHESTER, N.H. – A New Hampshire man accused of killing his 5-year-old daughter did not attend the start of his trial on Wednesday. Adam Montgomery, 34, has been charged with second-degree murder, abuse of a corpse, falsifying physical evidence, assault, and witness tampering in connection with the disappearance of his daughter, Harmony Montgomery, in 2019.
The trial commenced in Manchester with a jury of 12 people and five alternates selected for the case. Although Adam Montgomery had the right to appear at his trial, he chose not to attend. Judge Amy Messer instructed the prospective jurors not to speculate on the reasons for his absence or draw any inferences.
Montgomery pleaded not guilty to all charges in 2022. The trial is expected to last approximately three weeks, and Adam Montgomery has been incarcerated since 2022. The prosecution’s key witness is expected to be his estranged wife, Kayla Montgomery, who is currently serving an 18-month prison sentence after pleading guilty to perjury charges.
According to an affidavit, Kayla Montgomery informed the police that her husband killed Harmony on December 7, 2019, while the family was living in their car. Allegedly, Adam became enraged when Harmony had bathroom accidents in the vehicle, and he proceeded to repeatedly punch her in the face and head. Several hours later, upon realizing that Harmony was dead, Adam placed her body in a duffel bag.
The affidavit further states that for the next three months, Adam Montgomery moved the body from one location to another, including a friend’s car trunk, a cooler in his mother-in-law’s apartment building hallway, a homeless shelter’s ceiling vent, and even an apartment freezer. At one point, the remains were allegedly kept in a tote bag from a hospital maternity ward, which Kayla Montgomery carried alongside her own young children in a stroller.
Investigators allege that Montgomery disposed of Harmony’s body in March 2020 using a rented moving truck. Toll data indicates that the truck crossed the Tobin Bridge in Boston multiple times, but there are no other details regarding the exact location where the body was abandoned. Last year, authorities conducted a search of a marshy area in Revere, Massachusetts.
The case of Harmony Montgomery has shed light on weaknesses in child protection systems and sparked discussions about prioritizing the welfare of children in custody matters. Harmony had been moved between her mother and foster parents’ homes multiple times before Adam Montgomery gained custody in 2019 and relocated to New Hampshire.
As the trial unfolds, the jury will hear testimonies and review evidence, including the statements of Kayla Montgomery, who has agreed to cooperate with prosecutors. The defendant has maintained his innocence, stating in court last August, I did not kill my daughter Harmony, and I look forward to my upcoming trial to refute those offensive claims. The trial is underway as the search for Harmony’s body continues.
Please note: This news article was generated using AI language models. It should be read as a news piece written by a journalist, and not as factual information.
