New Hampshire officials said that the dad of Harmony Montgomery, a young girl who disappeared back in 2019, was arrested on Monday, October 24, for her murder.
New Hampshire Attorney General John Formella announced at a news conference on Monday that Adam Montgomery has been charged with tampering with a witness, falsifying evidence and abuse of a corpse, and second-degree murder.
Prosecutors allege that the 32-year-old repeatedly hit his daughter in the head on or about December 7, 2019, according to ABC News. Prosecutors said that the tampering with a witness charge is for the suspect allegedly pressuring his wife to give false information.
Police chief emotional when talking about Harmony
Authorities announced back in August they had determined that Harmony had been murdered in Manchester in early December 2019. The little girl's remains have not been found. Harmony would be eight years old if alive today.
Manchester Police Chief Allen Aldenberg became choked up at Monday's news conference when talking about the young victim, according to CNN. The chief said that in honor of Harmony, who was an innocent and defenseless child, he wanted to encourage people to do something nice for a kid today.
He urged people to give them a hug and offer some special words of encouragement. Formella called the father's arrest a major step, but he made it clear that more work must be done.
According to a state report that was released back in February, Harmony's case dates back to the year 2019, when a Massachusetts court ordered the girl be sent to live with her dad and stepmom in New Hampshire.
Harmony's mom, Crystal Sorey, said the last time she saw her daughter was via FaceTime in spring 2019. An anonymous call was made to New Hampshire's Division for Children, Youth and Families back in July 2019.
Anonymous caller alleged that Harmony had a black eye
The caller alleged that in a visit a week earlier, he or she saw that Harmony had a black eye that her father Adam Montgomery admitted to causing. The report said that on the same day as the anonymous call, a case worker visited their home and did not see a black eye on Harmony.
That same case worker noted a red mark and faded bruising one week later under Harmony's eyelid. According to the report, both Harmony and her father told the worker that the mark was from being hit by a toy while she was playing.
The report said that the children appeared happy and healthy in following visits to the home. In the case workers' last visit in October 2019, they found the abuse allegations unfounded. They added, however, that the situation was scored high risk for future child welfare involvement, according to the report.
Adam Montgomery told the child protective services worker in January 2020 that his daughter Harmony had been living in Massachusetts with her mother since Thanksgiving 2019, WMUR reported. The worker left a voicemail with Sorey to confirm that she lived there, but never heard back from her.
