Adam Montgomery's murder conviction in death of daughter Harmony overturned by New Hampshire Supreme Court
The New Hampshire Supreme Court has overturned the murder conviction of Adam Montgomery in the death of his daughter Harmony. In a decision released Thursday, 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.
In 2024, Montgomery was sentenced to 45 years to life for the murder of his daughter, 5-year-old Harmony Montgomery. Her body has never been found.
New Hampshire's highest court determined that the murder charge should have been prosecuted separately from the charge of second degree assault. Keeping those two charges together in a single case did not allow Montgomery to have a fair trial, the Supreme Court ruled.
"We conclude that the misjoinder of offenses was not harmless as to the homicide charge. Accordingly, we reverse the defendant's conviction of second degree murder," the court wrote.
The court affirmed Montgomery's convictions for assault, falsifying physical evidence, witness tampering, and abuse of a corpse.
Despite the ruling, Montgomery will not be released from prison any time soon. He's currently serving 32.5 years on unrelated gun charges.
Prosecutors said Montgomery killed Harmony, then moved her body to the trunk of his car. He was also accused of putting her body in the ceiling vent of a homeless shelter, and in the walk-in freezer at a restaurant where he worked.
Harmony's birth mother said she last saw Harmony in April 2019 and tried to contact Adam Montgomery about her after, but he did not respond. She reported the young girl missing in 2021.
Blair one of the adoptive fathers of Harmony's brother Jamison, posted a statement on social media following the Supreme Court's decision.
"We are absolutely disgusted by the decision of the New Hampshire Supreme Court. The reality is – more protection is in place for this monster than Harmony Montgomery ever received," he wrote. "It's always been our hope and prayer that Harmony's brother and our son, Jamison, would not have to experience court proceedings where he would see or hear about the nightmare that his sister lived. We always wanted his youth to help shield him. This decision by the justice system now means the nightmare returns and his innocence will be victimized again and again. It's not right."
The death of Harmony Montgomery led to calls for change at agencies in New Hampshire and Massachusetts because her disappearance went unnoticed for years.
