New Hampshire
Father of missing girl Harmony Montgomery insists he didn’t kill his daughter
/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/gray/K3OZS2ELEJCQRCWAQ2KKSDS67A.png "Father of missing girl Harmony Montgomery insists he didn’t kill his daughter")
A New Hampshire father proclaimed his innocence in the murder of Harmony Montgomery, his 5-year-old daughter who vanished in 2019 after he was awarded custody and is presumed dead.
Adam Montgomery, 33, spoke before being sentenced Monday on unrelated gun charges.
Harmony was reported missing in November 2021, nearly two years after investigators say her father killed her. The body has not been found, but Harmony’s stepmother has agreed to cooperate with prosecutors.
Dressed in an orange prisoner jumpsuit, Montgomery acknowledged that a jury had found him guilty of possessing weapons despite his previous felony convictions. But he asked the judge not to consider his daughter’s murder case when sentencing him.
“I did not kill my daughter Harmony and I look forward to my upcoming trial to refute those offensive claims,” he said, acknowledging that he was an addict and would use his time in prison to “change things about myself.”
“I could have had a meaningful life but I blew that opportunity through drugs,” he continued. “I loved my daughter unconditionally and I did not kill her.”
Authorities allege that Montgomery killed his daughter by repeatedly striking her in the head with his fist. He’s scheduled for trial in that case in November. He pleaded not guilty last October to second-degree murder, falsifying physical evidence and abuse of a corpse charges.
After hearing from both sides, Hillsborough Superior Court Judge Amy Messer sentenced Montgomery to at least 30 years in prison and up to 60 years on the charges of being an armed career criminal. He was also sentenced to an additional 7 1/2 to 15 years for receiving stolen property and theft. On each of those sentences, five years can be suspended for good behavior.
Messer said the sentence was appropriate given Montgomery’s history of violent behavior, the role that guns played in his crimes, and the “brazen nature of his conduct.”
“These guns were stolen. There was a child in the house,” she said. “The guns were sold to and bought back from a convicted sex offender, and ultimately one of the guns was discovered in the hands of an individual who is apparently trafficking in both guns and drugs.”
Montgomery’s attorney attempted to persuade the judge that her client’s drug history – and the fact that the sale did not involve a violent crime – should result in a lesser sentence.
“We don’t have physical harm to anybody. We don’t have an assault of somebody,” Caroline Smith said. “It was a crime of opportunity. Also, the evidence is that Mr. Montgomery was – he was an addict. He was a drug addict. The purpose surrounding this crime, the evidence is that it was either for drugs or money to get drugs.”
The prosecution’s witnesses included Kayla Montgomery, Adam Montgomery’s estranged wife, who testified he told her he took the guns. Kayla Montgomery is serving an 18-month prison sentence. She had pleaded guilty to charges that she lied to a grand jury about where she was working the day she last saw Harmony.
Lawyers for Adam Montgomery said the prosecution’s case relied on lies from other witnesses and that police reached the wrong conclusion.
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New Hampshire
Transportation officials warn N.H. customers of ‘smishing’ scam imitating E-ZPass invoice – The Boston Globe
Jennifer Lane received a text message Tuesday afternoon purportedly alerting her to an outstanding “toll invoice” in New Hampshire. If she didn’t pay her $4.15 balance promptly, then a $35 late fee would be added, the message claimed.
Lane knew right away it was a scam. She’s the chief communications officer for the New Hampshire Department of Transportation, which manages the state’s E-ZPass electronic toll collection system, and her team had just sent out an alert a few hours earlier to warn customers about the con.
So she did exactly what the DOT’s heads-up had told the public to do if they receive such a message.
“I immediately reported it to my mobile carrier. I did not click on any links,” she said, adding that she would never give out personal or banking information when receiving a request via text message, email, or phone call.
If you know even the basics of cyber security, then you know “phishing” refers to the use of deceptive tactics online to trick someone into divulging sensitive information, such as by clicking a link in an untrustworthy email. When fraudsters use those tactics via texting — i.e., short message service, or SMS — that’s called a “smishing” scam.
The New Hampshire Department of Transportation said it was advised that an unknown number of Granite Staters are being targeted by an apparent smishing scam. It resembles cases that have been reported in other states in recent months, but the local messages are tailored to New Hampshire residents.
“It looks realistic, however the typos are obvious,” Lane said.
In this case, it seems the scammers are targeting phone numbers with 603 area codes, without any apparent insight into whether a number is affiliated with any of the state’s roughly 588,000 E-ZPass accounts, she said.
“Another employee in the office that does not have an E-ZPass received (a smishing message) as well,” she added.
New Hampshire’s E-ZPass will never send text messages requesting payment for tolls with late fees, according to the DOT’s message. Account holders should instead use the official NH Turnpike E-ZPass website or the NH E-ZPass mobile app.
If you receive a smishing text, you can alert your phone carrier by forwarding the suspicious message to 7726 (SPAM) and you can file a complaint with the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center, the DOT noted.
This story first appeared in Globe NH | Morning Report, our free newsletter focused on the news you need to know about New Hampshire, including great coverage from the Boston Globe and links to interesting articles from other places. If you’d like to receive it via e-mail Monday through Friday, you can sign up here.
Steven Porter can be reached at steven.porter@globe.com. Follow him @reporterporter.
Police are asking witnesses to come forward following a deadly crash on Wednesday night.
Troopers responding to a crash on I-93 near mile marker 32.4 in Bow around 5:41 p.m. for a report of a two-car crash found a white sedan and a blue SUV on fire in the woods off to the right side of the road, according to New Hampshire State Police.
An adult male who was driving the sedan was pronounced dead at the scene. His identity is not being released at this time pending next of kin notifications.
The driver of the SUV, an adult female, sustained serious injuries that aren’t believed to be life-threatening. She was transported to an area hospital.
Authorities closed Two lanes of I-93 southbound near the crash scene and they say drivers should seek alternate routes.
Investigators say there were multiple vehicles traveling at a high rate of speed prior to the crash. Anyone with information about what happened is asked to contact the Troop D barracks.
Members of the New Hampshire State Police Collision Analysis and Reconstruction (C.A.R.) Unit and the New Hampshire State Fire Marshal’s Office are investigating the cause of the crash. The Bow Fire Department and Concord Fire Department assisted at the scene.
The Office of the Chief Medical Examiner will conduct an autopsy on the deceased victim Thursday.
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New Hampshire
Man, woman found dead inside home after fire in New Hampshire, state fire marshal says
Two people were found dead inside a duplex following a house fire in New Hampshire on Wednesday morning, the state fire marshal said.
There were no working smoke alarms inside the home when investigators arrived, officials said.
Shortly before 11 a.m. Wednesday, Weare Fire received a 911 call reporting a building fire on High Rock Road, State Fire Marshal Sean Toomey said Wednesday.
When firefighters arrived, they found a man and woman dead inside the home, said Toomey, whose office was called to the scene to investigate.
The victims were not identified on Wednesday. Autopsies will be conducted on Thursday to determine the cause and manner of their deaths, Toomey said.
The fire was isolated to one side of the home, in the living room area, Toomey said.
The cause of the fire remains under investigation.
Weare is a small town northwest of Manchester. The town’s population was 9,092 at the 2020 census.
This is a developing story. Check back for updates as more information becomes available.
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