June 7th, 2014: Harmony Montgomery was born Crystal Sorey, who was 24 years old, and her father, Adam Montgomery, who was 25 and incarcerated at the time. From the very beginning, Harmony faced significant challenges. She was diagnosed with a rare brain condition called holoprosencephaly (HPE) shortly after birth. Doctors informed Crystal that Harmony was blind in both eyes and had less than a year to live, a prognosis that cast a shadow over her early days. Almost immediately after Harmony’s birth, the Haverhill, Massachusetts Department of Children and Families (DCF) became involved.

June 2014: DCF received three reports alleging neglect of the newborn due to Crystal’s substance use. DCF gave Crystal a chance to overcome her addiction.

August 2014: DCF Haverhill Area Office received two additional reports alleging neglect of Harmony, who was two months old, Harmony was removed from the care and custody of Crystal Sorey and placed in foster care by the Massachusetts Department of Children and Families (DCF). Although DCF initially gave Crystal a chance to overcome her addiction, by August, they took legal action in juvenile court and removed Harmony from her care. She was placed with a foster family, with the initial goal of reuniting her with her mother.

Despite her health challenges, Harmony’s foster mom noticed something remarkable—Harmony was tracking the spoon with one of her eyes during feeding. Concerned, she brought this to the attention of the medical team, leading to a revised diagnosis. Harmony’s condition was changed to septo-optic dysplasia (SOD), which, while still serious, was not fatal. The main impact was that Harmony remained legally blind in one eye.

September 2014: DCF began trying to contact Harmony’s father, Adam, who was still in prison. It wasn’t until December that they finally reached him. Adam requested to see his daughter.

January 2015: when Harmony was six months old, Adam met her for the first time in the visitation room of his prison.

April 2015 Harmony was removed by the DCF Haverhill Area Office from Crystal Sorey’s care due to Sorey’s substance use. Harmony was placed back in her previous foster home for the second time. Harmony was 10 months old. 

June 2015: Foster Care Review, Crystal Sorey had not fully participated in her action plan tasks. She was inconsistent with individual therapy and substance use disorder treatment and was not regularly attending supervised visits with Harmony.

July 2015: As Harmony’s first year of life came to a close, DCF held a significant meeting in July 2015 called a “Permanency Planning Conference.” Due to the length of time Harmony had spent in foster care—seven out of her twelve months—DCF decided that reunification with her mother was no longer the primary goal. Instead, they shifted the focus to finding a permanent adoptive family for Harmony.

For the remainder of 2015, Harmony continued to live with her foster family, the Rafterys. In September, Adam was released from prison and moved to New Hampshire. A month later, he began dating his future wife, Kayla Rivera.

June 2016: Harmony had turned two years old. She had spent 19 out of her 24 months of life—about 80%—with her foster family. DCF held another “Foster Care Review” meeting that month, reaffirming that Harmony’s permanency goal remained adoption.

September 2016: Adam Montgomery initiated telephone contact with the DCF case management team.

October 2016: after more than a year of silence, Adam contacted DCF, expressing interest in seeing his daughter. Over the next five months, from October 2016 to February 2017, Adam saw Harmony at least once a month.

December 2016: The Foster Care Review panel determined Ms. Sorey was making efforts to stabilize and improve her situation. She was participating in a parenting class and visiting consistently with Harmony at the DCF Haverhill Area Office.

January 2017: The family’s case was transferred from the DCF Haverhill Area Office to the Jackson Square Area Office (Boston) because Crystal Sorey relocated. Adam Montgomery continued to reside in New Hampshire.

February 2017: Harmony’s case was transferred to a different DCF office because Crystal had moved. The new team, with fresh eyes, noticed that Crystal seemed more stable, was participating in her services, and was consistently visiting Harmony. This led to an internal decision to change Harmony’s permanency goal back to reunification with her mother. At the time, Harmony was two-and-a-half years old and had spent 85% of her life with her foster family.

March 2017: after approximately two years in foster care, the DCF case management team returned Harmony to the care of Crystal Sorey

April 2017: Sorey was warned by DCF she cant do that after she informed the DCF case management team that Adam Montgomery contacted her, and she permitted him to speak with Harmony on the telephone.

May 2017: Sorey informed the DCF case management team of her ongoing communication with Montgomery.

July 2017: Montgomery reported having weekend overnight visits with Harmony for the past four weeks, picking her up from Sorey on Fridays and returning her on Sundays. Crystal Sorey broke the rules again.

September 2017: A report of neglect was filed with the DCF Jackson Square Area Office, alleging that Crystal Sorey neglected Harmony by allowing Adam Montgomery to have unauthorized visitation with her. The DCF case management team spoke with Adam Montgomery. He expressed frustration with both his assigned tasks and the need for supervised visits with Harmony. Adam Montgomery provided documentation of sobriety and compliance with his substance use disorder treatment in New Hampshire. Adam Montgomery also signed releases for the DCF case management team to verify his housing and agreed to provide pay stubs to prove stable employment.

October 2017: Another report of neglect were filed with the DCF Jackson Square Area Office alleging neglect of Harmony by both Crystal Sorey and Adam Montgomery. The concerns were related to the unsupervised visits Adam Montgomery had with Harmony while she was in Crystal Sorey’s care. When the DCF case management team confronted Sorey about allowing overnight visits between Harmony and Adam Montgomery, Crystal Sorey stated that Montgomery threatened her with seeking sole custody of Harmony if she did not provide him with visitation.

January 2018: When Harmony was about three-and-a-half, new reports of neglect surfaced, hinting that Crystal had relapsed. DCF intervened once again, removing Harmony from her mother’s care and placing her back with the Rafterys for the third time. The foster family, deeply concerned, expressed their frustration to DCF. They believed that the repeated removals and reunification were causing Harmony trauma. Her behavioral issues were escalating, and her needs were growing more complex. After three months, the Rafterys made the difficult decision to return Harmony to DCF.

April 2018: Sorey sought a Review and Re-determination hearing seeking to have Harmony placed in her care. Sorey’s Review and Re-determination hearing was scheduled for February 2019. 

June 2018: on Harmony’s fourth birthday, DCF held another Foster Care Review meeting. Despite Crystal’s consistent visits and participation in her action plan, Adam’s involvement remained minimal. The permanency goal was still reunification with Crystal.

August 2018: Adam resumed supervised visits with Harmony, seeing her one to two times per month for five months. During this time, Adam also took legal action, requesting a “review and re-determination hearing” in juvenile court. The hearing was scheduled for February 2019, coinciding with one that Crystal had also requested.

As Harmony’s young life unfolded, marked by uncertainty and shifting goals, she remained caught in a web of decisions and circumstances beyond her control. Her story is one of resilience amidst constant upheaval, a little girl navigating a world that seemed to change as frequently as the seasons. Read More

October 2018: Adam Montgomery sought a Review and Re-determination hearing seeking to have Harmony placed in his care. His Review and Re-determination hearing was also scheduled for the same date as Sorey’s hearing in February 2019. 

December 2018: The Foster Care Review panel determined Sorey was now unstable in her sobriety and inconsistent with visits with Harmony.

February 2019: Mr. Montgomery’s Review and Re-determination hearing took place in Juvenile Court. Crystal Sorey’s Review and Re-determination hearing did not take place that day because she was not present in court. Crystal Sorey was not present for the hearing regarding Harmony because of a scheduling conflict. Sorey was in a different court on a Care and Protection case involving Harmony’s half-sibling adoption. Montgomery’s court hearing proceeded without her. The Judge then awarded Mr. Montgomery, who was living in New Hampshire, full custody of Harmony and determined that the ICPC did not apply.

• Harmony had only lived with Crystal Sorey for approximately six months in her life : Harmony was in foster care for nearly all the four and a half years DCF was involved with Harmony, beginning when she was two months old. Harmony was repeatedly returned to and removed from Crystal Sorey’s care. Sorey was unable to provide Harmony with a safe environment due to her substance use disorder and this resulted in Harmony’s removal from Sorey in 2014, only to be placed back with her twice, and removed twice more before January 2018.
• Harmony spent approximately a total of 40 hours in supervised visits with her father from her birth to age four and a half. Montgomery was in and out of Harmony’s life since birth, not consistently visiting with her for more than four to six months at a time, with long periods of no-contact. In August 2018 Mr. Montgomery visited with Harmony for the first time since September 2017, 11 months prior. Between August 2018 and when he received custody in February 2019, Mr. Montgomery visited with Harmony approximately 11 times at a DCF area office for two-hour visits supervised by the DCF case management team.

April 21, 2019: Crystal Sorey had her last contact with Harmony via FaceTime around Easter. During the video call, Crystal noticed that Adam was visible in the background, and she recalls that Harmony seemed frightened.

June 5, 2019: Crystal began dating a man referred to as JE.

June 2019: Adam, along with Harmony, Kayla, and their other children, visited Adam’s aunt, Kendra, and stayed at her home during the summer.

July 2019: Adam allegedly admitted to his uncle, Kevin Montgomery, that he had inflicted a black eye on Harmony. Kevin Montgomery is Adam’s uncle, while Michael Montgomery Sr. is Adam’s father.

• An anonymous call was made to NH DCYF Intake regarding Harmony Montgomery alleging potential abuse. The reporter alleged that when they visited the home a week prior, on July 22, 2019, Harmony Montgomery had a black eye that Adam Montgomery admitted to causing. The report was screened in and a CPSW as assigned.
• The CPSW visited the home, and observed the children, including Harmony Montgomery, the same day as the report, July 29, 2019. On that date the CPSW sent an email to Manchester Police Department advising that they did not observe an injury on the child consistent with a black eye. This assessment was conducted as Adam Montgomery and Harmony were entering their vehicle and departing.

July 7, 2019: Kayla called the police on a friend named Alex Call, who was high and refused to leave their house.

July 10, 2019: The police were called to the house due to a domestic violence incident.

August 5, 2019: The police were called for a welfare check at 77 Gilford St. after a neighbor expressed concern about a young child living there. The neighbor believed the family was squatting and had no electricity.

August 7, 2019: CPSW interviewed Harmony Montgomery, Adam Montgomery, and Kayla Montgomery, and noted a red mark in her eye and faded bruising under her eyelid. When interviewed, Harmony Montgomery and Adam Montgomery said that the mark was caused by horseplay with another sibling when a toy light saber struck Harmony Montgomery near her eye. Kayla Montgomery reports that she did not observe the injury when it happened, but that she was contemporaneously told the same story.

August 16, 2019: The Millers met Crystal and offered to adopt Harmony if the opportunity or need arose.

August 22, 2019: The house at 77 Gilford St., where Adam, Kayla, Harmony, and three other children were staying, was sold at a public foreclosure auction. Despite the sale, the family continued squatting in the home. Adam’s brother, Michael Montgomery, mentioned that the only electricity in the house came from a generator and that there was no central heating. Concerned family members in Florida had contacted the police and DCYF for wellness checks.

September 2019: The property Adam was living in went into foreclosure. It had been owned by Helen Montgomery, 78, and Christina Digirolamo from 2016 until it was sold at auction in 2019.

September 11, 2019: A domestic incident occurred between Kevin and Adam at 12:42 PM.

September 23, 2019: Tabby Scott, a friend of Kayla and Adam who is considered somewhat of a step-sibling to Adam, posted a picture with Harmony in September 2019. She also posted separate selfies with Harmony, Kayla, and Adam, captioned with “No matter what, I love you guys to death.” Friends of the family noted that Tabby’s father had dated Adam’s mother for some time, and they had lived together as kids, maintaining a close relationship since.

October 2019: Kevin Montgomery, Adam’s uncle, called the police to request an escort for him and his mother to enter the 77 Gilford St. home to retrieve some belongings and check on the children. He requested the escort to avoid any confrontation. During this visit, Kevin saw Harmony briefly and described her as looking “timid.”

October 1, 2019: The CPSW wiht the Police made a final visit to the home and saw Adam Montgomery, Kayla Montgomery, Harmony Montgomery, and the other children in the household. The assessment was determined to be unfounded, however the situation was scored high risk for future child welfare involvement pursuant to the Risk Assessment tool citing the history of substance use, prior family history with child protection, and economic challenges. Police physically saw Harmony during a “Call for Service” at a Manchester home. Law enforcement considers this the last confirmed sighting of Harmony.

October 17, 2019 A closing letter was sent to Adam Montgomery and Kayla Montgomery on advising the family of the finding and recommended additional services to assist with housing.

Thanksgiving 2019: Christina Lubin, Kayla Montgomery’s mother, claimed that she saw Harmony during Thanksgiving. It was the only time Christina saw her, and she noted that Harmony “looked clean, didn’t have any bruises, was extremely polite, and very cute.” The visit was brief, and Christina mentioned that Kayla had told her that Harmony had gone to live with her biological mother.

December 7, 2019: Harmony Montgomery was killed by her father Adam Montgomery.

January 8, 2020: a referral was received by NH DCYF regarding the Montgomery household, but did not reference Harmony Montgomery. When the CPSW asked about Harmony Montgomery, Adam Montgomery advised that she was again residing with her mother, Crystal Sorey, in Massachusetts and had been there since approximately Thanksgiving 2019.

January 21, 2020: The CPSW called and left a voicemail with Crystal Sorey to confirm Harmony’s residence. Crystal Sorey never returned the call.

January 13, 2021 Referrals were received by NH DCYF regarding the Montgomery household, unrelated to Harmony Montgomery. When the CPSW inquired about Harmony Montgomery, Adam Montgomery stated again that she was still living with her mother, Crystal Sorey, and that he had not seen her in a year.

September 2021: Blare family known to be a close contact of Ms. Sorey contacted NH DCYF and raised concerns that Ms. Sorey has not seen Harmony since 2019 and has not been able to contact Montgomery to visit with Harmony.

September 14, 2021: The matter was assigned to the Manchester DCYF District Office. DCYF District Office attempted to locate the family but was unsuccessful.

November 18, 2021: the Manchester Police Department joined the effort to locate the family, visiting multiple addresses where the family had previously resided. The CPSW attempted additional calls to Adam Montgomery and Kayla Montgomery and spoke to other family members who did not know where the family was living. The CPSW reached out to Maine and Massachusetts child protection agencies who had no recent involvement with the family. New Hampshire police began investigating Harmony’s disappearance

December 31, 2021: Manchester Police Department spoke with Kayla Montgomery who stated that the last time she had seen Harmony was in November or December 2019. She said that Montgomery stated that he was driving Harmony back to her mother. Kayla Montgomery further stated that it was on the day after Thanksgiving in 2019 that Montgomery stated he was taking Harmony to her mother. Kayla Montgomery admitted to Manchester Police that she had been receiving the additional food stamp assistance for Harmony They also interviewed Adam Montgomery who provided contradictory and unconvincing explanations of Harmony’s whereabouts, including saying that Ms. Sorey picked Harmony up while he told Kayla Montgomery that he was driving Harmony to Massachusetts to her mother.

January 4, 2022: Adam Montgomery was arrested, by the Manchester Police Department, on one misdemeanor charge of interference with custody, two misdemeanor charges of endangering the welfare of a child and one felony charge of second degree assault.

January 6, 2022: Manchester Police arrested Kayla Montgomery on one felony charge of welfare fraud contrary to RSA 167:17-b.

January 11, 2022: prosecutors dropped the felony welfare fraud charge against Mrs. Montgomery and added a new felony charge of theft.

January 22, 2022: Police determined that Harmony was murdered

April 5, 2022: Adam Montgomery was additionally charged with two counts each of being an armed career criminal, felon in possession of a firearm, and theft by unauthorized taking or transfer and receiving stolen property. Also, according to media reports

April 7, 2022: Adam Montgomery was additionally charged with two counts of receiving stolen property related to a gun theft that took place in September or October 2019.

February 8, 2024: The trial for Harmony’s murder began

February 22, 2024: Adam Montgomery was found guilty of second-degree murder

May 9, 2024: Adam Montgomery was sentenced to 45 years to life in prison

March 12, 2024: Harmony was legally declared dead