Harmony Montgomery’s mom sues dad who beat her toddler to death after years of ‘breath-taking abuse’
Harmony Montgomery’s mother has filed a lawsuit against the slain child’s father, Adam Montgomery, who was convicted last year of beating their daughter to death in 2019.
Crystal Sorey filed the new complaint Monday in Hillsborough County Superior Court, on behalf of her daughter’s estate, arguing that the child “endured breath-taking abuse and neglect by her father.”
The suit alleges that Montgomery is civilly liable for the pain and suffering Harmony endured prior to her death, as well as the loss of a lifetime of earnings.
“Five-year-old Harmony Montgomery was beaten to death by her father, Adam Montgomery, in December 2019,” the complaint states, according to WCVB. “From the time Harmony was placed with her father in February 2019 until the date of her death in December 2019, Harmony endured breath-taking abuse and neglect by her father, leading ultimately to Harmony’s homicide.”
Earlier this year, Sorey reached a $2.25 million settlement in a wrongful death lawsuit against the New Hampshire Division of Children, Youth, and Families.
That case alleged state agencies failed to protect Harmony, who was last seen in late 2019 but not reported missing until nearly two years later.
Adam Montgomery was convicted in 2023 of second-degree murder, falsifying evidence, and abuse of a corpse.
In March 2025, he was sentenced to a minimum of 56 years in prison and is currently behind bars in Virginia. He was separately sentenced to an additional 11 years for charges including tampering with a witness and second-degree assault.
The case gained national attention in late 2021 when Sorey, who had lost custody of her daughter in 2018 while struggling with substance use issues, contacted police to report that she hadn’t seen Harmony in years.
At the time of Harmony’s death, she had been living with her father, his then-wife Kayla Montgomery, and their two sons in a car after the family was evicted from their home.
Prosecutors said Adam Montgomery became angry with Harmony for soiling herself in the car and punched her repeatedly while driving from a methadone clinic to a fast food restaurant.
Later that day, after the car broke down, he discovered she had died. He then concealed her body for months, hiding it in various locations including a cooler, a shelter ceiling, a walk-in freezer at a pizza shop, and a refrigerator.
In March 2020, Montgomery rented a van to dispose of Harmony’s remains. Records showed the van traveled to Boston, but her body has never been recovered. Montgomery has refused to disclose the location of her remains.
During Montgomery’s trial, Kayla Montgomery testified in graphic detail about the day Harmony died.
She told the court that she saw her husband violently beat the girl in the back of their car on December 7, 2019, shortly before they discovered her lifeless body.
She also confirmed that he stored Harmony’s body in a duffel bag and moved it repeatedly to avoid detection.
