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.

Related Stories:

Police say Harmony Montgomery’s father hid and moved her body for months after murder

NH man accused of killing daughter, 5, convicted of unrelated gun charges

Police search Massachusetts marsh for missing child Harmony Montgomery

Father of missing NH girl faces new gun charges

Harmony Montgomery’s father arrested on murder charge

Harmony Montgomery’s father arrested on murder charge

Bail revoked for Harmony Montgomery’s stepmom

Officials: Missing NH girl, Harmony Montgomery, was murdered

Missing New Hampshire girl’s stepmother indicted on gun charges

Lawyers for Harmony Montgomery’s dad ask for bodycam footage

Former home of Harmony Montgomery’s dad, stepmom searched

Missing NH girl’s stepmom pleads not guilty to perjury charges

Stepmother of missing girl arrested on perjury charges

Stepmother of missing Harmony Montgomery released on bail

Advocate: Massachusetts system ‘failed’ missing NH girl Harmony Montgomery

Not guilty plea to gun charges from Harmony Montgomery’s dad

Harmony Montgomery’s dad faces unrelated gun theft charges

Father, stepmother of missing NH girl formally indicted

States seek to improve communication in child welfare cases

Review: Claim that missing NH girl had black eye unfounded

Mass. chief justice orders review in Harmony Montgomery case

NH missing girl’s disappearance narrowed to 13-day window; stepmother appears in court

NH to conduct internal review over missing girl’s custody

Sununu questions Massachusetts’ handling of missing child case

Reward increases for missing New Hampshire girl

New charges filed against missing NH girl’s stepmother

Search finished at Harmony Montgomery’s last-known residence

Father arrested in connection to missing 7-year-old Harmony Montgomery, search continues

Missing NH girl’s dad accused of assault; search continues

Police tip line, rewards set up for NH girl last seen in 2019

Missing girl hasn’t been seen in 2 years, New Hampshire police say

NH police investigate disappearance of girl last seen in 2019

(Copyright 2023 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.)