New Hampshire Supreme Court Overturns Adam Montgomery's Murder Conviction in Daughter Harmony's Death
The New Hampshire Supreme Court overturned Adam Montgomery's second-degree murder conviction in the 2019 death of his 5-year-old daughter, Harmony Montgomery, ruling that trying the murder and assault charges together violated his right to a fair trial. The court found that evidence for the murder charge—largely based on testimony from Montgomery's wife—was substantially weaker than evidence of a July 2019 assault, creating a risk jurors would improperly rely on the stronger assault evidence to convict on murder. Montgomery remains imprisoned on other convictions and gun charges, and prosecutors plan to pursue a retrial on the murder charge.
The New Hampshire Supreme Court unanimously overturned Adam Montgomery's second-degree murder conviction in the December 2019 death of his 5-year-old daughter, Harmony Montgomery, on Thursday. The court ruled that prosecuting the murder and assault charges together violated Montgomery's right to a fair trial, as the substantially stronger evidence of a July 2019 assault could have improperly influenced jurors' verdict on the weaker murder charge. The court specifically criticized the reliance on testimony from Montgomery's wife, Kayla Montgomery, as the primary evidence for the murder, noting that while her testimony about post-death actions (body disposal) showed consciousness of guilt, it did not corroborate her account of how Harmony died. Montgomery, who was sentenced to 56 years to life in 2024, will not be released as he continues serving a 32½-year sentence for unrelated gun crimes and retains convictions for assault, abuse of a corpse, falsifying evidence, and witness tampering. The New Hampshire Department of Justice stated it plans to pursue a retrial on the murder charge, while Harmony's remains have never been found.
How coverage differed
NBC News and The Independent (both left-leaning) provided more extensive detail on the court's reasoning and the weakness of evidence, while AP News (center) presented the core facts more concisely. The Independent additionally included context about the $2.25 million settlement paid to Harmony's mother and details about the defense strategy, which the other sources did not emphasize.
What different sources said
- Boston.comCenter
N.H. Supreme Court overturns Adam Montgomery’s murder conviction
- The IndependentLeft
Harmony Montgomery’s father has murder conviction overturned by court
- NBC NewsLeft
Father of Harmony Montgomery has conviction for her murder overturned
- AP NewsCenter
New Hampshire court reverses father’s murder conviction in case of missing 5-year-old girl
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