MANCHESTER, N.H. (Court TV) — A retired Massachusetts judge is calling on the federal government to investigate the circumstances surrounding the murder of Harmony Montgomery.
Harmony Montgomery is seen in an undated family photo. (Crystal Sorey)
Harmony was 5 when she was brutally beaten to death by her father, Adam Montgomery. Adam was convicted of murdering his daughter and then moving her body around in a series of containers in an attempt to conceal her death.
Judge Carol Erskine, who presided over the adoption of Harmony’s brother, Jameson, met with the Federal Bureau of Investigation and submitted a petition asking for them to look into the failures that led to Harmony’s death. While the petition itself is confidential now that it’s in the hands of the FBI, Erskine offered an outline of her case in an interview with Court TV and on a website she’s created detailing her efforts.
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Testimony from Adam’s criminal trial and documents submitted as part of a civil lawsuit filed against New Hampshire and its agencies by Harmony’s mother, Crystal Sorey, revealed several warning signs missed before Harmony’s death. Harmony was under the supervision of New Hampshire’s Department of Children, Youth and Families (DCYF) while in her father’s custody. Despite 17 calls to DCYF over the course of three months before Harmony’s death, no police were ever asked to investigate the claims of abuse and few efforts were made to even check in with Harmony.
“Despite knowing Harmony was at risk as each call of abuse and neglect came in to Central Intake, DCYF allowed her to remain in the custody of a violent, raging, drug-addicted father whose abuse was escalating in both severity and cruelty,” Erskine said. “Instead of acting on multiple credible and urgent reports, DCYF staff ignored its own policies and procedures, dismissed alarming allegations and misclassified information in ways that left Harmony completely unprotected.”
Erskine said among the reports that were never investigated was one from August 2, 2019, that alleged Harmony was being sexually molested. The allegations were never passed on to law enforcement, contrary to policy and law. “Only federal investigators can determine whether these alleged failures and actions were mistakes or deliberate and knowingly unlawful, potentially warranting federal criminal charges,” Erskine said.
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Referencing Sorey’s civil lawsuit, Erskine accused New Hampshire of trying to cover up their mistakes after the state settled the litigation for $2.25 million. In the settlement, the state did not admit any wrongdoing.
Adam is serving a sentence of 56 years to life for his daughter’s murder, as well as unrelated weapons charges.
