New Hampshire Supreme Court Overturns Murder Conviction
CONCORD, N.H. – The New Hampshire Supreme Court has annulled the murder conviction of a father, accused of killing his 5-year-old daughter and hiding her body for several months before disposing of it.
Although her body remains undiscovered, authorities suspect she was killed in 2019, roughly two years before Harmony Montgomery was reported missing. Adam Montgomery, her father, had been sentenced in 2024 to a minimum of 56 years in prison after being found guilty of several charges, including second-degree murder, abuse of a corpse, tampering with evidence, and assault.
The Supreme Court, however, dismissed the most severe charges against him and concurred with Montgomery that the lesser assault charges should have been treated as separate cases. The second-degree murder charge will return to a lower court, while the other convictions are on hold.
The justices reached a unanimous decision, noting that combining the charges could have compromised Montgomery’s right to a fair trial. They expressed concern that jurors might use strong evidence from the assault to unjustly infer guilt regarding the murder, based on less compelling evidence.
One justice pointed out, “There was a significant risk that the jury would draw an impermissible inference that because the defendant had previously assaulted the victim by punching him in the head, he must have been the one who fatally assaulted her by punching her in the head again in December.”
The second-degree murder conviction is the equivalent of 45 years within Montgomery’s overall 56-year sentence, which also includes an additional 32 and a half years for an unrelated gun charge.
The attorney general’s office announced that Montgomery will be retried for the second-degree murder charge.
“We remain confident in the facts of this case, the evidence presented, and the exceptional work of our prosecutors, investigators, and law enforcement partners,” said spokesman Michael Garrity. “We will continue to seek justice for Harmony Montgomery and everyone who knew and loved her.”
Montgomery’s legal representative did not reply to a request for comment.
