‘Heartless’ Adam Montgomery sentenced to 45 years to life for daughter Harmony’s murder

Adam Montgomery was sentenced to 45 years behind bars for second-degree murder after rejecting a lesser sentence in exchange for revealing where the remains of his daughter Harmony Montgomery are located.

A judge on Wednesday said that Montgomery’s “extreme indifference to human life” was evident not only in the case of his daughter’s killing, but also evident from his prior criminal history, which includes shooting a man in the face. The sentence would be served consecutively with the sentences that he’s serving for unrelated gun charges.

A New Hampshire jury found Montgomery, 34, guilty in February of second degree murder, second degree assault, falsifying physical evidence, abuse of a corpse and tampering with a witness and informants over the death of his five-year-old child.

Montgomery has maintained his innocence.

The state has asked for no less than 56 years to life for Harmony’s killing. But in court on Wednesday, prosecutors offered a reduced sentence — a minimum of 35 years to life — in exchange for Montgomery divulge “where to recover” her remains in the next seven days.

But the convicted murderer did not reply.

His silence was interpreted as a rejection. “He has just shown you again in this courtroom that he is heartless, immoral and an unapologetic murderer of his own child,” the prosecutor said.

Montgomery’s defense attorney Caroline Smith called the offer a “stunt.”

She argued that Montgomery’s silence in response to the offer cannot be equated to a lack of remorse. “Mr Montgomery does not have to express remorse here where he has maintained his innocence,” arguing it violates his constitutional right against self-incrimination.

Ms Smith said that the defendant can’t offer an “appropriate” sentence since he has maintained his innocence and argued he would be “worthy of rehabilitation.”

Before making the offer, the state had argued that the gruesome nature of the crimes — and the subsequent cover-up — should eliminate the possibility of a minimum sentencing.

“How can the minimum [sentencing] ever apply…when she died in the car while he ate his food?” The prosecutor added, “How could the minimum ever apply when he could tell investigators where her body is right now…so she can be laid to rest?”

“There is nothing minimal about the crimes that he’s being convicted for today,” the state said.

Loved ones provided emotional victim impact statements to the court.

Crystal Sorey, Harmony Montgomery’s mother, was shaking and crying as she spoke. She called Adam Montgomery a “monster,” a “coward,” and “just plain evil.” She had a life worth living “unlike your own.”

“It bothered her to your core that she was nothing like you and everything like me,” the grieving mother said.

“Did she cry for me? Did she scream? Did she beg you to stop?” Ms Sorey asked of her daughter’s brutal death. “I’ll never know.”

She promised to “look for her til the end of my days.”

Ms Sorey’s sister also gave a victim impact statement, addressing Adam Montgomery the “most vile person on the planet.” She said he was a “monster” that pretended to be a father but actually “traumatized” his daughter.

A victim impact statement for Montgomery’s estranged wife, Kayla, was read in court on her behalf by a victim advocate.

“Goodbye,” her statement began, explaining she needed “closure.”

Although Kayla began by admitting that she will “always have a place in her heart” for Adam, she later accused him of “physically and emotionally abusing” her. She revealed that after she had been arrested, she started “sleeping with a knife” out of fear of what he might do to her.

Most of her statement revolved around their romantic relationship and that she plans to fight to regain custody of their children.

Blair Miller, the adopted father of Harmony’s brother Jamison, also spoke to the court on behalf of his child.

“Jamison would constantly ask us, ‘Where’s Harmony?’” Mr Miller said. “Who took my sister away?” He said, “These are no questions for a little boy to be asking.”

Then addressing Montgomery, Blair said, “Adam, you took away his best friend. You introduced murder into his life.” He asked for the maximum sentence.

If there was a little girl with blonde hair, he would go up to the girl and ask if she was Harmony, Jonathon Bobbitt-Miller, Mr Miller’s husband and Jamison’s father, said.

“I hope I get to see her again,” seven-year-old Jamsion said, according to a statement read by Mr Bobbitt-Miller. “I love my sister. I miss her. I hope she’s eating M&Ms in heaven. I hope her glasses are safe and not broken.”

The convicted murderer had been ordered to appear in person for the sentencing on Wednesday after he refused to show up in court for the three-week-long murder trial.

The conviction came nearly five years after his daughter was killed — although her body went undiscovered for two years. Authorities believe she died in November or December 2019.

During Montgomery’s trial, his defense attorney insisted that while Montgomery “did horrible things” to hide Harmony’s body, he did not kill her.

The testimony of Kayla Montgomery, Adam’s estranged wife, directly contradicted this claim, as she revealed harrowing details about the little girl’s death.

She described how one day in the car, he became “really angry from Harmony peeing in the car, and he repetitively kept punching her on the way to Burger King.”

The attack killed her.

Kayla revealed that after realizing she was dead, her father tried to hide her remains in several places.

She testified that the five-year-old’s corpse was first stored in a cooler at Kayla’s mother’s home before being relocated to a ceiling vent at a shelter the family had lived in, before Adam Montgomery started bringing the remains to work with him daily.

The horror didn’t end there, however.

Kayla told the court began his efforts to dispose of his daughter’s body in March 2021. She said her estranged husband contemplated using a handsaw, lime and even a NutriBullet to destroy Harmony’s rotting remains.

Although it’s unclear whether he actually executed his plan to use a Nutribullet, Kayla recalled seeing him with a “large” bag of limes in the bathroom.

“He said that he wanted to get rid of the body soon because he was scared of anything that could happen to him and the kids,” she told the court.

She testified that Montgomery had asked Kayla to help him with his efforts to destroy his daughter’s remains, but she refused.

The child’s remains have never been found.

Montgomery has already been serving a 32-year-sentence on unrelated charges.

In addition to the 45 years to life for murder, a judge ordered that Montgomery serve consecutive sentences in New Hampshire state prison for the other charges.

He was ordered to serve four to eight years for second degree assault, 12 months for abuse of a corpse, as well as three-and-a-half to seven years for both falsifying physical evidence and tampering with a witness and informants over the death of his five-year-old child.