Harmony Montgomery’s mother files wrongful death lawsuit against state of NH

The mother of Harmony Montgomery filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the state of New Hampshire Friday.

Crystal Sorey’s lawsuit against the state aims to hold the Division of Children, Youth, and Families accountable for Harmony’s “senseless and preventable death.”

Investigators believe Harmony was slain in December 2019, though she wasn’t reported missing for almost two years.

According to the suit, Harmony lived with Sorey in Massachusetts from her birth in 2014 until February 2019, when the Massachusetts Department of Children and Families removed her from her mother over allegations of neglect. Harmony was then placed into the care of her father Adam Montgomery in New Hampshire. Montgomery was convicted of second-degree murder in February after a trial in which Montgomery acknowledged he “purposely and unlawfully removed, concealed or destroyed” her corpse and falsified physical evidence but claimed he did not kill her.

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Missing Girl New Hampshire Defense attorney Caroline Smith displays a photograph of Kayla Montgomery, Adam Montgomery's estranged wife, to the jury during closing arguments in Adam Montgomery's trial, Wednesday, Feb. 21, 2024, in Manchester, N.H. Adam Montgomery is accused of killing his 5-year-old daughter Harmony Montgomery. (Jim Davis/The Boston Globe via AP, Pool) (Jim Davis/AP)

The suit details that Harmony’s family reported concerns to DCYF after she was found with a black eye but were met with little response. Other reports included details about unsafe living conditions, how electricity and hot water in the home had been turned off, drug paraphernalia, and “how Harmony’s father punished her by forcing her to stand in the corner for hours or stay in her bedroom from when she woke up until the late afternoon.:

The suit also notes that the family reported Harmony wasn’t receiving care from a doctor and she wasn’t enrolled in school.

A 2022 report from the Office of the Child Advocate, an independent agency that ensures Massachusetts state agencies provide children with quality services, found that Mass. DCF failed to argue effectively on behalf of Harmony.

This is a developing story. Check back for updates as more information becomes available.

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