Kayla Montgomery, the stepmother of murdered toddler Harmony Montgomery, intends to plead guilty to two counts of perjury, her defense attorney confirmed to Boston 25 on Wednesday.
According to the New Hampshire Attorney General’s office, Montgomery’s legal team has notified the court she intends to plead guilty and she is expected to appear in person on Friday at approximately 1:30 p.m. to formally enter her pleas.
The charges are connected to charges Montgomery lied to a grand jury regarding where and when she was working when Harmony went missing.
Kayla’s ex-husband, Adam Montgomery, waived his arraignment in October on charges including second-degree murder, falsifying physical evidence, abuse of corpse, and tampering with witnesses in his five-year-old daughter’s death,
Evidence uncovered during the course of an investigation indicated that Adam repeatedly struck Harmony, 5, in the head with a closed first, recklessly causing her death, according to Attorney General John M. Formella and Manchester Police Chief Allen D. Aldenberg. He then allegedly destroyed and disposed of Harmony’s body sometime between Dec. 7, 2019, and March 4, 2020, in an effort to hide evidence of the crime from law enforcement officials.
Harmony’s remains have yet to be found.
In August, the missing person’s case shifted to a homicide investigation when authorities said they believed Harmony was killed in Manchester in early December 2019. Police say they first became aware that Harmony might be missing when they received a call from the girl’s mother in November.
Both Kayla and Adam had previously pleaded not guilty to charges related to her well-being.
Adam was indicted in March on an assault charge alleging that he struck Harmony in the face in July 2019. He pleaded not guilty and has been behind bars since January.
Kayla Montgomery, 32, was charged with theft by deception after police said she falsely claimed that her stepdaughter was living with her in order to collect welfare benefits. She has also pleaded not guilty.
An investigation remains ongoing. Anyone with information on the death of Harmony is urged to contact Manchester Police Department 603-203-6060.
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