The ongoing tragedy of Harmony Montgomery's short life has led to another legal chapter as her mother, Crystal Sorey, files a wrongful death lawsuit against the girl's father, Adam Montgomery. According to Boston.com, Sorey, who had reached a previous $2.25 million settlement with New Hampshire's child welfare agencies, is now seeking to hold Adam Montgomery civilly liable for the abuse and ultimate death of their daughter.
Filed in Hillsborough County Superior Court, Sorey's lawsuit alleges that Adam Montgomery is responsible for not just Harmony's death, but the "prolonged pain" she endured. Speaking at a vigil last year, Sorey told NBC10 Boston, "breached his parental responsibilities by abusing Harmony and causing her death." The details of Harmony's death paint a harrowing picture; prosecutors said he punched the 5-year-old while driving and later discovered her dead, only to subsequently hide her body in various locations.
Adam Montgomery was sentenced in May 2024 to a minimum of 56 years in prison after being convicted of second-degree murder and other charges related to the concealment of Harmony's corpse, which has never been found despite extensive searches. The case shined a distressing light on the failures of child protective services, as Harmony was only reported missing years after her death.
The devastating timeline of Harmony's disappearance and death began with her father's frustration over her inability to "control herself" and escalated to fatal violence. At the time, the family was living in a car after being evicted, providing a chilling backdrop to the unfolding abuse. Adam, who discovered his daughter dead after a trip from a methadone clinic, was later found to have hidden her remains in a duffel bag, a shelter ceiling, and eventually a walk-in freezer at a pizza shop, according to Boston.com.
