On Tuesday, January 4th, 2022, the police arrested Adam, bringing a series of serious charges against him. Among them was a second-degree assault charge for an incident in July 2019, where he was accused of striking Harmony in the face. He also faced charges of “endangering the welfare of a child,” a direct result of Harmony’s mysterious disappearance around Thanksgiving 2019, and “interference with custody by concealing a child.”

The following day, January 5, 2022, Kayla Montgomery was arrested at the FIT Shelter. In the wake of her arrest, her mother took temporary custody of her children. Kayla faced a felony charge of welfare fraud.

The charge stemmed from her claiming, on official state paperwork, that Harmony was still part of her household after Thanksgiving 2019, despite knowing that Harmony was no longer there. By continuing to collect benefits on Harmony’s behalf, she obtained money that she was not entitled to. Because the amount she fraudulently received exceeded $1,500, it was classified as a felony-level offense.

A judge set Kayla’s bail at $5,000, a sum she was unable to pay. As a result, she remained in jail, awaiting her trial, the weight of her actions and their consequences pressing heavily on her as she faced an uncertain future behind bars.

Given his history and the gravity of the offense, the prosecutor did not hold back. Adam was hit with multiple charges: two counts of receiving stolen property, two counts of being a felon in possession of a firearm, and two counts under the “armed career criminal” statute. These charges reflected not only the severity of his actions but also his continued disregard for the law, painting a picture of a man with a dangerous pattern of criminal behavior. As the legal system prepared to hold him accountable, Adam’s future grew increasingly uncertain, overshadowed by the weight of his escalating criminal charges.

On May 20, 2022 Kayla Montgomery was called to testify before the grand jury of Hillsborough County. As she stood before the jury, sworn in and under oath, she was asked a series of probing questions about the final days she saw Harmony. Kayla recounted that on the morning of November 30th, 2019, Adam had driven her to work at Dunkin’ Donuts at 6:00 AM, with Harmony in the car. She claimed that after dropping her off, Adam mentioned he was taking Harmony to her mother. When Adam picked her up at 2:00 PM that afternoon, Kayla said that Harmony was no longer with him.

Following her testimony, the Manchester Police Department began to fact-check Kayla’s statements. It didn’t take long for her story to unravel. The police discovered that Kayla hadn’t worked at the Goffstown Dunkin’ Donuts location at all in 2019. Instead, she had been employed at a different Dunkin’ Donuts, 20 minutes away in Hooksett, but had been fired from that job a week prior, on November 23rd.

With her lie exposed, the pressure on Kayla began to mount. The police confronted her with the evidence, knowing they had caught her in a falsehood.

Two weeks later, on June 3rd, Kayla was charged with felony-level perjury for lying under oath during her grand jury testimony. She was arrested but released three days later, her resolve beginning to crack under the mounting pressure. The grip that Adam had on her for so long was finally loosening, and with her future looking increasingly bleak, Kayla made a pivotal decision.

Realizing that she had little to gain from continuing to protect Adam, Kayla agreed to cooperate with the state and became the star witness for the prosecution. In exchange for her cooperation, she sat down with the prosecutor and, for the first time since law enforcement began their investigation, told the truth about what happened to Harmony. This marked the beginning of what would later be known as her “first proffer interview.”

A proffer agreement is essentially a deal between the defendant and the state, where the defendant provides valuable information in exchange for some form of leniency. Although the specifics of Kayla’s proffer agreement wouldn’t be finalized and signed for several months, it became clear that her cooperation would grant her significant concessions. Ultimately, Kayla would escape any charges related to Harmony’s death or the concealment of her body. However, she would still have to plead guilty to the perjury charges, resulting in an 18-month prison sentence.

Kayla’s decision to cooperate marked a turning point in the case, bringing investigators closer to the truth about Harmony’s fate and weakening Adam’s influence over her. As the legal process moved forward, Kayla’s testimony would play a crucial role in unraveling the dark secrets surrounding Harmony’s disappearance.

In June of 2023, Adam stood trial for the weapons charges that had been looming over him. Represented by public defender Caroline Smith, he faced a courtroom determined to hold him accountable. The prosecution presented a strong case, bringing forward witnesses who testified that Adam had openly bragged about possessing the stolen guns—a damning piece of evidence that painted him as both reckless and dangerous. Among the key witnesses was Kayla, who had turned state’s witness and now testified against him.

The trial culminated in a guilty verdict, and Adam was officially designated as an “armed career criminal,” a special classification in New Hampshire that carries severe penalties for repeat offenders. The weight of his criminal past, combined with the seriousness of the charges, left little room for leniency.

On August 7, 2023, Judge Messer handed down a harsh sentence. For the armed career criminal charges, Adam received 15 to 30 years for each count, to be served consecutively—amounting to a total of 30 to 60 years. Following that, he was sentenced to an additional 7 1/2 to 15 years for the theft charges, though this sentence was to be served concurrently but only after the initial 30 to 60 years.

However, the judge allowed for the possibility of good behavior, stating that five years of these sentences could be suspended. Even with this potential reduction, Adam faced a staggering 37 1/2 to 75 years in prison. The sentence reflected the severity of his crimes and the threat he posed to society, ensuring that Adam would spend much of his life behind bars for stealing two guns and violating the law yet again.

However, when the first official day of the trial arrived—the day when attorneys presented their opening arguments and the state began calling witnesses—Adam was conspicuously absent from the courtroom. It was revealed that Adam had “waived his right to appear in court,” opting instead to let his attorney, Caroline Smith, represent him in his absence. This decision raised eyebrows, as it was unusual for a defendant in such a serious trial to choose not to be present.

In a video conference with the judge, Adam confirmed his decision and indicated that his attorney would acknowledge his guilt on two specific charges—falsifying physical evidence and abuse of a corpse. Caroline argued that while Adam admitted to helping conceal Harmony’s body, he maintained that it was Kayla who was the last person to see Harmony alive, shifting the focus and responsibility onto her.

The trial proceeded with intense scrutiny. On Days 2 and 3, Kayla Montgomery took the stand, becoming a key witness for the prosecution. Over the course of about nine hours, she answered a barrage of questions from both the prosecution and defense attorneys. Her testimony was crucial, as it provided insight into the events leading up to Harmony’s disappearance and the actions taken afterward.

Kayla’s time on the stand was emotionally charged and pivotal, as both sides sought to either bolster their case or discredit her version of events. Her words carried significant weight in a trial that sought to uncover the truth about what happened to Harmony and to hold those responsible accountable.

During her testimony, Kayla Montgomery painted a harrowing picture of Adam’s descent into rage and paranoia following Harmony’s death. She described how his anger, once focused outward, increasingly turned on her. The jury was shown a photograph of Kayla with two black eyes, a stark visual reminder of the abuse she endured. As she explained, Adam had become obsessed with the idea that their home was under surveillance, leading him to violently destroy anything he believed could be used against him. “Every time that he would freak out, it was either… I was trying to kill him… I was telling on him about Harmony… or I was cheating on him. Or all three,” Kayla recounted, her voice filled with the weight of those dark memories. She spoke about the role crack cocaine played in Adam’s unraveling, saying, “Right after he took that hit, it was over. That was it. It was like he was just gone… and, like, destroying everything.”

Kayla described the material destruction Adam left in his wake, recounting how he broke phones, televisions, and even the Christmas tablets the kids received, convinced that these devices were being used to spy on him. His paranoia spiraled out of control, and his violent outbursts became more frequent and unpredictable.

But perhaps the most chilling part of Kayla’s testimony was when she reflected on the last time she saw Harmony alive. She described the little girl curled up in the fetal position, crying, trying to protect herself from the violence around her. This image lingered in the courtroom, a haunting reminder of the young life that was lost.

Over the next five days, the prosecution called a total of 47 witnesses to the stand, each adding another piece to the puzzle of what happened to Harmony. One of these witnesses was Travis Beach, a close friend of Adam’s. Travis testified that Adam had contacted him to help rent a U-Haul van, a detail that suggested Adam was taking steps to conceal evidence. While none of the witnesses could definitively say that Adam confessed to killing Harmony, Travis’s testimony came closest, adding to the mounting evidence against Adam.

When the state rested its case, the defense chose not to call any witnesses of their own. Instead, they relied on their opening and closing arguments, as well as their cross-examinations of the state’s witnesses, to make their case. It was a risky strategy, but it seemed clear that the defense was hoping to create reasonable doubt rather than directly challenge the overwhelming evidence presented by the prosecution.

In the final moments of the trial, prosecutor Ben Agati delivered a powerful closing argument, condemning Adam Montgomery in no uncertain terms. His words left a lasting impression on the jury as they prepared to deliberate.

Deliberations began on Wednesday, February 21, 2024, and by the next day, the jury had reached a verdict. After careful consideration of the evidence and testimony, they found Adam guilty on all charges. The verdict brought some measure of justice for Harmony, a small but significant step toward holding her killer accountable for the pain and suffering he inflicted.