New Hampshire man convicted of killing daughter whose body has not been found

Adam Montgomery enters the courtroom for jury selection ahead of his murder trial. Photo / AP

In the US, a New Hampshire man has been convicted of second-degree murder by a jury in the death of his 5-year-old daughter, who police believe was killed nearly two years before she was reported missing in 2021 and whose body was never found.

Adam Montgomery, 34, did not attend the trial and wasn’t present when jurors returned their verdict. He had proclaimed his innocence, saying in court last year in an unrelated case that he loves Harmony Montgomery “unconditionally”.

His attorneys earlier acknowledged his guilt on two lesser charges, that he “purposely and unlawfully removed, concealed or destroyed” her corpse and falsified physical evidence, but said he didn’t kill his daughter. The jury also convicted him of assaulting Harmony Montgomery in 2019 and of tampering with the key prosecution witness, his estranged wife and stepmother of his daughter, Kayla Montgomery.

Adam Montgomery enters the courtroom for jury selection ahead of his murder trial. Photo / AP

Investigators believe Harmony Montgomery was slain in December 2019, though she wasn’t reported missing for almost two years. Kayla Montgomery testified that the body was hidden in the trunk of a car, a cooler, a ceiling vent and a workplace freezer before Adam Montgomery disposed of it.

Adam Montgomery had custody of the girl. Her mother, who was no longer in a relationship with him, said the last time she saw Harmony Montgomery was during a video call in April 2019. She eventually went to police, who announced they were looking for the missing child on New Year’s Eve 2021.

Crystal Sorey, Harmony Montgomery's biological mother. Photo / AP

Photos of the girl were widely circulated on social media. Police eventually determined she had been killed.

Kayla Montgomery is serving an 18-month prison sentence after pleading guilty to perjury charges related to the investigation into the child’s disappearance and agreed to cooperate with prosecutors. She testified that her husband killed Harmony Montgomery on December 7, 2019, while the family lived in their car after being evicted from their home.

Kayla Montgomery testified that her husband repeatedly punched Harmony Montgomery in the face and head because he was angry that she was having bathroom accidents in the car.

The couple noticed the girl was dead hours later when the car broke down, at which time Adam Montgomery put her body in a duffel bag, Kayla Montgomery had testified.

Kayla Montgomery gestures while testifying during the trial of Adam Montgomery. Photo / AP

For the next three months, she testified, Adam Montgomery moved the body from container to container and place to place. According to his wife, the locations included the trunk of a friend’s car, a cooler in the hallway of his mother-in-law’s apartment building, the ceiling vent of a homeless shelter and a workplace freezer.

Adam Montgomery’s attorneys said that he didn’t kill his daughter, and that the only person who knew how she died — his wife — was lying.