Deceased/Not Found NH - Harmony Montgomery, 7, Manchester, Oct 2019 *reported missing Dec 2021* Arrest* MEDIA ONLY

[PommyMommy]

NOV 19, 2024

In wake of Harmony Montgomery case, some changes have been made

Next month will mark five years since Harmony Montgomery was murdered by her father, Adam Montgomery, shortly after he got custody of her.

www.wmur.com

"Policy around visits to children, making sure that children are seen within specific time frames and sat down and interviewed," said Cassandra Sanchez, the New Hampshire child advocate. "There's a lot of work that my office has done this this year, particularly looking at our child abuse and neglect laws. They are very outdated."

New Hampshire has also joined a revised version of the Interstate Compact on the Placement of Children, which aims to enhance communication and services around children who are placed across state lines. Eighteen states have signed on, and 35 total are needed before it can take effect.

 

[PommyMommy]

NOV 13, 2024

WMUR, Very Local documentary digs into the murder case of Harmony Montgomery​

Powerful new documentary tells story of girl missing for years​

 

[PommyMommy]

JAN 6, 2024

Highest court in Mass. to hear arguments in Harmony Montgomery records case

The Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court is scheduled to hear arguments Monday in a case about whether records from the custody hearings for Harmony Montgomery should be made public. Investigators believe Harmony, who was just 5 years old at the time, was slain in December 2019, though she...

www.nbcboston.com

The Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court is scheduled to hear arguments Monday in a case about whether records from the custody hearings for Harmony Montgomery should be made public.

The SJC is scheduled to hear the case at 9 a.m. You can watch a livestream of the proceedings here. A ruling isn't expected to be made for at least several weeks.

Most of the information in the case has been impounded, but filmmaker Bill Lichtenstein appealed to the high court seeking access to the records. He is seeking the information for a film he is producing on the Massachusetts child protection and juvenile court systems.

 

[PommyMommy]

JAN 6, 2025

‘What went terribly wrong here?’: Mass. SJC weighs privacy rights in Harmony Montgomery records

Should records of a hearing where a judge placed Harmony Montgomery in her father's custody be made public? Massachusetts' highest court is weighing it.

www.masslive.com

Associate Justice Delila Argaez Wendlandt told Braithwaite, “This is one of those extreme cases where maybe the veil of privacy should be pierced.”

“I can’t imagine a case that calls for piercing that more than this one,” she added.

It is not clear when justices will reach a ruling in the case, as they often take months to publish decisions.

 

[PommyMommy]

JAN 6, 2025

Massachusetts high court weighs whether to release recordings of Harmony Montgomery custody hearing

The highest court in Massachusetts on Monday weighed whether recordings of a hearing that granted custody of Harmony Montgomery to her father should be released.

www.wmur.com

"The intimate nature of the details that exist in care and protection cases warrant confidentiality," said Kristin Braithwaite, assistant general counsel for DCF.

"If this case doesn't rise to the level where the public has the right to know, I'm just not sure what case would," said Justice Scott Kafker.

"The actual procedural safeguards that are supposed to exist failed this child miserably," she said. "So, if this is not a case to open up the juvenile courtroom and let people see what actually goes on there, I can't imagine what which one would be." - Jennifer Lamanna, attorney for LCMedia Productions, Inc

 

[PommyMommy]

JAN 6, 2025

Harmony Montgomery Hearing: Attorneys Argue Whether to Release Audio​

 

[PommyMommy]

FEB 14, 2025

New Hampshire seeks to dismiss claim that DCYF had legal care of Harmony Montgomery

The state of New Hampshire is seeking to dismiss part of a lawsuit filed by Harmony Montgomery's biological mother.

www.wmur.com

The state of New Hampshire is seeking to dismiss part of a lawsuit filed by Harmony Montgomery's biological mother.

That lawsuit says that the Division of Children, Youth and Families was legally responsible for the girl when she was murdered by her father, Adam Montgomery, but the state says that isn't true.

A judge will review the motion, and O'Neill said Sorey and her attorney will have a chance to respond. He said the motion is just one claim, and the lawsuit will continue to move forward.

 

[PommyMommy]

FEB 18, 2025

NH fights to dismiss Harmony Montgomery lawsuit amid new allegations

In an amended lawsuit, Crystal Sorey alleges that DCYF failed to respond to nearly 20 reports of abuse involving Harmony Montgomery.

www.courttv.com

The calls, placed by a number of different sources, including Adam’s uncle, Kevin Montgomery, and a Manchester police officer who had contact with the family, paint an alarming picture of the home. A note from one of Kevin’s calls notes that he said, “This is why children die … this child was punched clear in the eye socket with full force.” Other reports alleged that Harmony was being molested, being made to clean a toilet with a toothbrush, standing in the corner for five to eight hours at a time and witnessing drug abuse.

In its motion to dismiss, DCYF acknowledges the alarming nature of the accusations but maintains that it had no fiduciary duty to Harmony at the time of her death.

 

[PommyMommy]

FEB 27, 2025

Search for Harmony Montgomery presses on a year after father’s conviction

A detective who has spent years investigating Harmony Montgomery's disappearance said he still thinks about the case every day.

www.masslive.com

As Sgt. Jack Dunleavy patrols the streets of Manchester, New Hampshire, each night he can’t help but think of Harmony Montgomery.

It’s been more than five years since anyone saw the 5-year-old girl alive, and one year since her father, Adam Montgomery, was convicted of killing her. Harmony’s remains have yet to be found.

 

[PommyMommy]

MAR 4, 2025

Adam Montgomery files appeal claiming inconsistencies in testimony

In his appeal, Adam Montgomery claims he deserves a new trial and points to inconsistencies in his ex's testimony.

www.courttv.com

The appeal argues Adam is owed a new trial because of three issues:

1. The Court erred in joining charges for a July 2019 assault on Harmony with the murder charges.
2. The Court erred in admitting prior bad act evidence.
3. The Court erred in admitting bodyworn camera video from an encounter Adam had with police on Dec. 31, 2021.

Adam Montgomery Files 101-Page Appeal of Conviction in Daughter’s Murder

A New Hampshire convicted of his 5-year-old daughter’s murder a year ago has filed a 101-page appeal of his conviction in the state’s Supreme Court. Adam Montgomery’s lawyers argued in the document that their client should have had a separate trial on assault charges — which he claims did not...

www.crimeonline.com

Adam Montgomery’s lawyers argued in the document that their client should have had a separate trial on assault charges — which he claims did not kill the girl — and that his estranged wife, Harmony Montgomery’s stepmother, shouldn’t have been allowed to testify at his trial that she saw him beat her for soiling herself in the back of the car where they were living before she was found dead, Boston 25 reported.

 

[Seattle1]

Adam Montgomery files appeal claiming inconsistencies in testimony

In his appeal, Adam Montgomery claims he deserves a new trial and points to inconsistencies in his ex's testimony.

www.courttv.com

3/4/25

The appeal argues Adam is owed a new trial because of three issues:

1. The Court erred in joining charges for a July 2019 assault on Harmony with the murder charges.
2. The Court erred in admitting prior bad act evidence.
3. The Court erred in admitting bodyworn camera video from an encounter Adam had with police on Dec. 31, 2021.

 

[Izzylizzy]

Curious why N.H. Gov Chris Sununu in his letter to the chief justice Kimberly Budd refrains from mentioning the judge's name who gave AM custody of HM.

His name is Judge Mark Newman, Chris, not "a judge" "your judge" "the Massachusetts judge".

letter

NH Gov. Places Blame for Harmony Montgomery's Disappearance on Mass. Court System

New Hampshire Gov. Chris Sununu placed the blame for the disappearance of 7-year-old Harmony Montgomery squarely at the feet of the Massachusetts court system in a letter released Tuesday. In the letter, which was sent to Kimberly Budd, chief justice of the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court...

www.nbcboston.com

 

[PommyMommy]

APR 23, 2025

SJC orders release of Harmony Montgomery custody hearing recording to journalist - The Boston Globe

Harmony Montgomery was killed by her father after a judge awarded him custody.

www.bostonglobe.com

A Massachusetts juvenile court must provide a journalist with a recording of a crucial closed-door hearing in the case of Harmony Montgomery, the young girl who was killed by her father after a judge awarded him custody, the state’s highest court ruled Wednesday.

In a unanimous decision, Supreme Judicial Court Associate Justice Dalila Argaez Wendlandt wrote that “good cause” existed to turn over the material to a journalist making a documentary. While state law shields most juvenile proceedings from public view, the questions that continue to surround the death of the 5-year-old girl have placed intense scrutiny on this hearing.

“The extent of community interest in this case could not be overstated,” Wendlandt wrote. “The child has died at the hands of the father, to whom custody was given at the February 2019 hearings.”

Audio from murdered 5-year-old girl’s custody hearing can be released, court rules

The public has a right to hear audio recordings from the custody hearing of Harmony Montgomery, the highest court in Massachusetts ruled Wednesday.

wgme.com

Filmmaker Bill Lichtenstein, with the support of several media outlets including The Associated Press, sued to gain access to recordings of the closed-door custody hearing to better understand how Adam Montgomery got custody of his daughter, despite having a long criminal record.

Normally, family court hearings are sealed due to privacy concerns. Lichtenstein says he wants the audio for a documentary about secrecy in Massachusetts’ child protection and juvenile court systems.

 

[PommyMommy]

APR 23, 2025

Custody hearing for Harmony Montgomery, killed by her father, will be made public

The public has a right to hear audio recordings from the custody hearing of Harmony Montgomery, a 5-year-old New Hampshire girl who was murdered by her father and vanished in 2019 after being placed in his care, the highest court in Massachusetts ruled Wednesday. The father, Adam Montgomery, was...

www.nbcboston.com

The state Supreme Judicial Court agreed that releasing the audio, “may help to better inform the public both about what happened to this child specifically and whether there are steps the child welfare system generally can take to minimize the possibility of repeating this tragedy.”

The court said names of Adam Montgomery’s other children would be redacted from the recordings.

Justices rule audio from 2019 Harmony Montgomery custody hearing can be released

Audio recordings from the custody hearing of Harmony Montgomery will become public after a ruling Wednesday from the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court.

www.wmur.com

It will still be a few months before those recordings are released.

"It's really for this very specific purpose of educating the public, with the goal in mind of Mr. Lichtenstein's documentary, which is to expose flaws in the system and educate people about how to change them," Jennifer Lamanna, of Lamanna Law, LLC, said.

 

[PommyMommy]

MAY 20, 2025

Mass. DCF seeks to block names of lawyers, others in Harmony Montgomery custody hearing

A Massachusetts agency aimed at keeping children safe from abuse and neglect has asked for a “minor amendment” in the decision by that state’s highest court to allow a documentary

www.unionleader.com

A Massachusetts agency aimed at keeping children safe from abuse and neglect has asked for a “minor amendment” in the decision by that state’s highest court to allow a documentary filmmaker access to audio recordings of a hearing after which Harmony Montgomery ended up in the custody of her father.

The requested amendment is to require the redaction of all names, including those of lawyers, social workers and court personnel, “due to safety concerns,” according to court documents obtained by the Union Leader. Several documents have been impounded.

 

[PommyMommy]

MAY 23, 2025

NH reaches $2.25M legal settlement with Harmony Montgomery's mother

The settlement resolved a wrongful death lawsuit filed by Crystal Sorey, the mother of the 5-year-old Harmony Montgomery, who was murdered by her father, Adam.

www.wmtw.com

Crystal Sorey, Harmony's mother, filed a wrongful death lawsuit in September 2024 against the state of New Hampshire and the Division of Children, Youth and Families.

WMTW's sister station in New Hampshire, WMUR, has learned that under the terms of the agreement, 50% of the settlement goes to Sorey while the other 50% will be placed in third-party trusts for Harmony's four siblings.

New Hampshire settles lawsuit filed by mother of Harmony Montgomery for $2.2M

The state of New Hampshire has reached a $2.25 million settlement agreement with the mother of Harmony Montgomery.

www.wmur.com

New Hampshire Attorney General John Formella released the following statement:

"The state agreed to these settlements to avoid prolonged litigation and support closure for the families. We recognize their profound loss and hope this brings some measure of peace."

Settlement Agreement.pdf

 

[Izzylizzy]

"In July, the state agreed to pay $5.75 million to the mother of a Laconia boy the state placed with a grandmother who is now charged with his 2019 death.

In December, it settled with the father of a 5-year-old Merrimack boy killed by his mother in 2021."

New Hampshire to pay mother of Harmony Montgomery $2.25M after 5-year-old killed by father

New Hampshire has agreed to pay $2.25 million to the mother of Harmony Montgomery, a 5-year-old girl whose father was convicted of murdering her.

www.cbsnews.com

 

[txsleuth70]

Let's hope she donates all of that to her son that she also is not raising.