Harmony Montgomery’s mother reacts as father Adam is convicted of her murder

Montgomery began discussing ways to dispose of Harmony’s body in March 2020, after he and Kayla Montgomery moved to an apartment on Union Street with their children.

“He discussed using a saw to cut her up. He discussed using lime to further decompose her so she couldn’t be found,” the prosecution said during opening statements. “Remember, he believed that if there was no body there could be no evidence and he could get away with this.”

The state said that he compressed the sealed bag with Harmony’s remains and added quicklime to the bag.

“Thinking that it would eat away anything left of her,” the prosecution said. “He spent most of the day in that bathroom compressing Harmony.”

According to the prosecution, Montgomery took Harmony’s frozen remains and put them in the tub, running hot water to further manipulate what was left of the body. Kayla Montgomery then walked inside the bathroom and allegedly saw Montgomery.

She saw that Harmony was largely skin, bones and fluid – and that Mr Montgomery was trying to dispose of her remains down the drain, the prosecution said.

Harmony Montgomery, five, was last seen in the fall of 2019, but authorities only started searching for her two years later. Now, her father Adam Montgomery is finally standing trial for her murder.

The Independent’s Rachel Sharp and Andrea Blanco report:

The girl’s remains have never been found.

The Gilford Street property was the focus of much of the search, with investigators seen in the home and the backyard for multiple days.

However, Manchester Police said the search concluded there. It is not clear if anything of interest was uncovered and no other locations for searches have been identified.

During the trial, attorney Caroline Smith brought up a tip made by an unknown individual.

“During the course of the trial, apparently somebody contacted the tipline and was interviewed, gave information,” Ms Smith told Judge Amy Messer. “The state has given us a recording of the interview. I have not [gone through it.] We certainly have somebody trying to go through it. I don’t know, and I don’t need to name this person. I don’t know if we’ll be seeking to call this person [to testify].”

Senior assistant attorney general Ben Agati later explained that the call was placed by a woman on Tuesday after she had spent several days watching the trial. Manchester Police only notified the prosecution the following day.

“She came into the station to be interviewed and provided a statement,” Mr Agati said.

Mr Agati said that a written report and the taped interview were sent to his office and then forwarded to the defence. Judge Messer asked Ms Smith to expeditiously file a motion seeking to have the mystery called on her witness list if the defence wished to call her to the stand.

The judge also asked the prosecution to advise the individual against watching the remainder of the trial.

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On Thursday, Harmony’s 34-year-old father was found guilty of second-degree murder and other charges in connection to her December 2019 killing.

Ms Sorey and other family members attended the verdict, while Montgomery did not. He has failed to show up at the trial at all, other than on the first day of jury selection.

Speaking to reporters outside the courtroom moments after jurors convicted Montgomery on all charges, Ms Sorey remarked on Montgomery’s absence: “He’s a coward.”

Asked if she had a message for him, she said, “I hope that what he did plays over in his mind every single waking moment that he lives on this earth. And I hope he never falls asleep without seeing her beautiful face.”

A five-year-old girl slipped through the cracks, was killed by a parent, and then was left undiscovered for two years.

The Independent’s Kelly Rissman and Andrea Blanco report on everything that led to the little girl’s death:

Kayla alleged that Montgomery discussed using a handsaw and a NutriBullet to destroy Harmony’s rotting remains. Montgomery spent hours inside the bathroom “dethawing” Harmony’s frozen remains, cutting the clothes off the body, and running hot water onto what remained of the little girl, she said.

“He wanted to use a handsaw and a NutriBullet,” Kayla told the court. “He said that’d be good to use to help get rid of her ... I saw Harmony folded together the same way she was when we took her out of the car. She looked like she had barely any skin, just skin and bones and was very bruised. He had the hot water running ... in the tub.”

It is unclear whether Montgomery actually used a NutriBullet. According to the prosecution, Montgomery did purchase lime, a metal-cutting blade and a grinder at a Home Depot.

Under cross-examination, Kayla Montogmery admitted that Harmony often had dried blood on her face from being beaten by her father.

“And you didn’t clean her face?” defence attorney Caroline Smith asked.

“No, we just kept her under the blanket,” an emotionless Kayla answered.

Kayla Montgomery said that after Montgomery hit Harmony to death, the family drove to a Burger King. She fed her two young sons and placed a sandwich on Harmony’s lap without realising she was dead.

“After the defendant repeatedly struck Harmony. After he put the blanket over her. After she moaned. After the strange crying moaning stopped. After you did drugs and after the car died, you thought she was sleeping under that blanket,” the prosecutor said.

“Why did you think that she may be sleeping after Adam repeatedly struck her?”

“Because she would usually just go to sleep after,” Kayla Montgomery answered.