Harmony Montgomery Declared Legally Dead By Judge, Docs Show

NEW HAMPSHIRE — A judge granted a request this week from the mother of Harmony Montgomery — the New Hampshire girl who was last seen when she was 5 years old in 2019 — to declare her dead, documents show.

The petition, brought forth in January by Harmony's mother Crystal Sorey, asks that Harmony be declared legally dead because she "is presumed to have been killed as a result of some catastrophic event" but "her body could not be recovered," according to the documents.

For offers of proof, Sorey's attorney, Sheliah M. Kaufold, said Sorey would testify that she had no had contact with her daughter since 2019. She also noted that Harmony's father, Adam Montgomery, was convicted by a jury of second-degree murder in a criminal matter concerning Harmony's death, and was also convicted of falsifying physical evidence and abuse of a corpse, documents said.

Finally, Kaufold pointed to testimony by Adam Montgomery's wife, Kayla Montgomery, who said she had handled Harmony's lifeless body, according to the documents.

Together, the evidence suggests that Harmony is dead, the lawyer said, adding that Harmony should legally be considered as such.

The request was granted by a New Hampshire judge Monday.

In addition, the judge granted under some conditions Sorey's request that she be named the administrator of Harmony's estate and therefore be allowed to pursue wrongful death lawsuits, documents show.

A jury returned a guilty verdict in February for Adam Montgomery, who was on trial in connection with his daughter's killing.

He faces up to life in prison at sentencing, according to Law and Crime Network.

Harmony is believed to have been killed in Dec. 2019 but not reported missing until more than two years later.

Opening statements in Montgomery's trial began on Feb. 8, Boston25 previously reported, adding that prosecutors said Montgomery told a friend that Harmony was evil.

"She was a constant reminder of her mother, Crystal, who he hated. He hated Harmony to his core," a prosecutor added, according to Boston25.

According to an affidavit obtained by WCVB, "Adam was extremely upset that 5-year-old Harmony was not saying when she needed to go to the bathroom and was having accidents in the car," Kayla Montgomery told investigators.

Investigators believe that Montgomery fatally beat Harmony after she had an accident in his car, WCVB reported, citing the affidavit.

After Harmony's death, Montgomery is accused of putting her body in a duffle bag and moving it several times, according to the affidavit. Her remains have still not been found.

Montgomery is also accused of physically abusing and threatening Kayla, who was among the witnesses in Montgomery's trial, according to WCVB.

Meanwhile, Montgomery's defense team blames Kayla for Harmony's death, saying that "only Kayla knows the truth" and that "the whole entire story is not true," the outlet reported. The affidavit said that Kayla admitted to lying in her grand jury testimony about when she last saw Harmony, according to WCVB.