MANCHESTER, N.H. — The stepmother of a New Hampshire girl who has been missing since 2019 has been released from jail after pleading not guilty to perjury charges.
Kayla Montgomery waived her arraignment in Hillsborough County Superior Court and entered the not guilty plea in writing.
“The allegations as they’re laid out in the complaint is that she supposedly lied about work location and the time of her work shift,” Montgomery’s attorney Paul Garrity said.
Montgomery is accused of lying to a grand jury during testimony in May about where she worked and what her shifts were around the time her stepdaughter, Harmony Montgomery, went missing. She was released on personal recognizance bail with conditions, including that she check in daily with Manchester Police in person.
“She seems fairly upbeat and ready to go forward with the case and get back out on bail,” Garrity said.
All this unfolding on the eve of Harmony’s 8th birthday. She was last seen in 2019 at the age 5, but authorities didn’t know she was missing until last year.
Adam Montgomery, Harmony’s father, has been indicted on an assault charge alleging that he struck Harmony in the face in July 2019. He’s also accused of unrelated firearms theft charges and has pleaded not guilty.
The couple, described as estranged, told police that Harmony was brought to be with her mother in Massachusetts around Thanksgiving 2019. Her mother said she last saw her daughter during a phone video conversation at around Easter that year.
A $150,000 reward is being offered for information that leads investigators to Harmony.
Anyone with information about Harmony’s disappearance is asked to contact the tip line at 603-203-6060.
Attorney for Kayla Montgomery says she’s accused of committing perjury, lying to the grand jury about location and hours of work shifts around the time #HarmonyMontgomery was last seen (November and December 2019)
— Kerry Kavanaugh (@KerryKavanaugh) June 6, 2022
She has entered a not-guilty plea and waived her appearance. pic.twitter.com/mEIjF2pKvu
Material from the Associated Press contributed to this story.
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