Mother of Harmony Montgomery asks court to declare her daughter legally dead

NASHUA, N.H. — The biological mother of Harmony Montgomery, who police believe was killed nearly two years before she was reported missing in 2021 and whose body was never found, asked a judge on Monday to officially declare her daughter dead.

A hearing on the estate of Harmony was held in probate court in Nashua, where Crystal Sorey petitioned the court to declare Harmony legally dead and to be appointed as administrator of her estate.

Sorey believes Harmony should be considered dead because the little girl’s father, Adam Montgomery, was convicted of second-degree murder in her death and admitted to abusing her corpse.

Sorey informed the court that she wants her daughter declared legally dead because she plans to pursue a wrongful death lawsuit on Harmony’s behalf.

Sorey hopes a wrongful death lawsuit will help bring justice for Harmony.

“I’m just Harmony’s voice. I’m her warrior, basically,” Sorey said outside court. “I can’t let people forget and I can’t only let those two people be held accountable. It’s not fair, it’s not true. The truth needs to be out there and it will eventually.”

The judge didn’t issue an immediate ruling on Sorey’s request, calling on her attorney to submit additional paperwork, including the jury’s certified guilty verdict from Adam’s trial and a surety bond.

“It’s hard to come and have to say that she’s legally deceased. It’s hard to come to terms with it,” Sorey said of the legal death declaration request. “Justice is only halfway there and we’re still focused on looking for her.”

Adam refused to participate in the hearing from the New Hampshire prison where he’s incarcerated. He also refused to appear in court during his murder trial.

“He didn’t show up to anything. So, it’s only right he shows up to find out how long he’s getting,” Sorey told reporters after the hearing. “You think he would do one good thing for Harmony.”

A new bill introduced by New Hampshire lawmakers aims at requiring Adam, and other offenders like him, to be in the courtroom for sentencing to face a judge and the victim’s loved ones.

Crystal Sorey (Crystal Sorey appears in probate court in New Hampshire)

Adam and Sorey were not in a relationship when their daughter was born in 2014. Adam was later awarded custody of Harmony in 2019. During Adam’s trial, Sorey testified that she last saw Harmony during a Facetime call around Easter of that year.

According to court testimony from his murder trial, Adam Montgomery fatally beat his daughter Harmony in the backseat of a car as he was driving the family to a Burger King restaurant in Manchester

Sorey said Adam likely dumped Harmony in “one of the biggest, most difficult places to look” and that she’s reached out to Adventures With Purpose for help in the search for her daughter’s remains in the Rumney Marsh Reservation in Revere.

Prosecutor Benjamin Agati said after Adam’s conviction that the search for Harmony’s remains would continue.

Agati revealed that after analyzing the mileage Adam Montgomery took with the rental truck into Massachusetts, there are about 26 miles that he could have covered where her remains might be.

Kayla Montgomery, Harmony’s stepmother, was granted parole from her New Hampshire State Prison sentence last week after she reached a plea agreement with prosecutors in 2022 to testify against her estranged husband.

In August 2022, investigators announced that they believed Harmony was dead and that her case was being treated as a homicide.

In probate court in Nashua where #HarmonyMontgomery’s biological mother, Crystal is seeking to have Harmony officially declared dead. #AdamMontgomery has refused to participate from NH prison where he is incarcerated. @boston25
— Bob Ward Boston 25 (@Bward3) March 11, 2024