Adam Montgomery said police ‘were wasting their time’ trying to find Harmony’s remains

The latest headlines from our reporters across the US sent straight to your inbox each weekday

Your briefing on the latest headlines from across the US

Please enter a valid email address

Please enter a valid email address

SIGN UP

I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy policy

Adam Montgomery said that authorities were “wasting their time” as a multi-state search for his daughter’s remains unfolded in late 2022, according to the recording of a call played during his New Hampshire trial.

The prosecution rested its case on Tuesday in Montgomery’s ongoing trial in Manchester. Mongomery, who conceded to two lesser charges of abuse of a corpse and falsifying information earlier this month, faces one count of second-degree murder in connection with five-year-old Harmony Montgomery’s death.

According to key testimony from Montgomery’s estranged wife Kayla Montgomery, he repeatedly hit the little girl in the head on 7 December 2019 after she soiled herself. Montgomery and Kayla did not realise Harmony had stopped breathing until hours later.

Montgomery hid his daughter’s body in a cooler before relocating it to the ceiling vents at a shelter his family was staying at, and then went on to reduce the remains using power tools. He eventually disposed of the body at an unknown location in March 2020.

An investigation into Harmony’s disappearance was only launched in December 2021, after her mother alerted authorities that she had not seen or spoken to her daughter in more than two years. A year later, Montgomery was arrested and charged with murder.

On Tuesday, the prosecution called Manchester Police Detective Matthew Larochelle to the stand. During direct cross-examination, the state played the recording of a call between Montgomery and an unknown individual that took place around the time that the FBI and other law enforcement organizations were searching for Harmony’s remains near the Merrimack River.

“One dude went to the police and I was blown away,” Montgomery told the other person on the call. “This dude was like, ‘Oh, my friend ... he passed away, but he was very cool with Adam. He told me Adam gave his daughter to him to bury by the river. I can bring you to the spot.’

“They had the FBI and everybody else there digging up the river. I’m like, is this real life right now? They wasted their time.’

When the other individual said that authorities were just doing their due diligence, Montgomery said the allegations were “outlandish” and that the search was a “waste of taxpayers’ money.”

“I get it, you’re trying to prove a case, kudos to you, But, at what cost, man? Just going to chase down people that f***ing call in from Arizona?” Montgomery said.

Harmony’s remains have never been located. Montgomery’s attorneys claimed during opening arguments that Harmony died under Kayla Montgomery’s care and that he had only followed plans to conceal the little girl’s body to “protect” his and Kayla’s two infant sons.

Judge Amy Messer said that deliberations are expected to begin by the end of this week.