Crime Stories with Nancy Grace - Missing Tot Harmony Montgomery Dad Busted For Murder

Episode Date: October 25, 2022

Murder charges have been filed in the disappearance of Harmony Montgomery. New Hampshire police say that dad Adam Montgomery has been officially charged with second-degree murder. Police said that “on or about Dec. 7, 2019,” Montgomery repeatedly struck 5-year-old  Harmony “in the head with a closed fist.”   New Hampshire police say the then 5-year-old went missing sometime between Nov. 28 and Dec. 10, 2019. Her disappearance was not reported for two years.  Police say new evidence, which was not revealed,  indicated Montgomery is dead. The family of Harmony Montgomery says the New Hampshire Division For Children Youth and Families failed the little girl. According to Blair Miller, who adopted Harmony's younger brother, DCYF officials told him, Harmony had been reunited with her father. Miller had asked about the possibility of adopting Harmony as well.  According to court documents, Kevin Montgomery, Adam's Uncle, called DCYF after he noticed Harmony had a black eye. Kevin Montgomery later told police his nephew, Adam, admitted to physically abusing Harmony. Montgomery's remains have not been found.   Joining Nancy Grace Today: Blair Miller - Adoptive Father of Jamison (Victim's Biological Brother), News Anchor, Cox Media Group Washington News Bureau, Twitter/Facebook/Instagram: @BlairMillerTV Jessica Garth - Chief, Special Victims & Family Violence Unit, State's Attorney's Office, Prince George's County, MD Caryn Stark - NYC Psychologist, CarynStark.com, Twitter: @carynpsych, Facebook: "Caryn Stark" Joe Scott Morgan - Professor of Forensics: Jacksonville State University, Author, "Blood Beneath My Feet", Host: "Body Bags with Joseph Scott Morgan" Michael Ruiz - Reporter, Fox News Digital, Twitter: @MikeRreports See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This is an iHeart Podcast. Crime Stories with Nancy Grace. How does a five-year-old little girl disappear, vanish? That was the question for five-year-old Harmony Montgomery. Look as hard as they could. Police, relatives, neighbors, friends, experts, canines, drones, helicopters, divers. No one could find Harmony Montgomery. She truly just vanished. And now we know why. We no longer ask why did it take two years to report Harmony missing.

Because now we know why. Because Harmony, a five-year-old little girl, blind in one eye that always wore the biggest and the brightest smile, was murdered. And according to police, we know who did it. I'm Nancy Grace. This is Crime Stories. Thank you for being with us here at Fox Nation and Sirius XM 111. In the last hours, an arrest for murder one goes down. None other than Daddy. First of all, take a listen to this. When last seen, Harmony was about four feet tall. She has blonde hair, blue eyes, and is blind in her right eye, First of all, take a listen to this. and say, I saw her a year ago, I saw her 18 months ago, I saw her a week ago.

Let's lessen that two-year window and keep shrinking that two-year window to the present day today, and let's chase down every possible avenue with the hopes of finding harmony. You were hearing our friends at WMUR. Now let's take a listen to our Cut 13, Jackie. This is Ray Brewer. Neighbors can't believe it's taken this long to start an investigation. I mean, two years later, who waits two years to go looking for a little kid like that? Neighbors say they'd complained about living conditions at the home to city officials,

only to be told that nothing could be done. As for whether a state investigation had been launched or is underway, DCYF issued a statement saying, state and federal law requires us to protect the confidentiality of the children and families served by individuals and engaged with DCYF. Neighbors say at this point,

they just hope the little girl is found and the situation is resolved. It's kind of sad because no kid deserves that. Nobody does. Truer words were never spoken. Straight out to Jessica Garth, the chief of the Special Victims and Family Violence Unit in Prince George's County. D-FACS should be arrested right along with DADDY, Department of Family and Children Services. It's called CPS in some places. Child Protection. They do anything but protect.

They knew that Harmony was being beaten and mistreated. They had witnesses state it. Neighbors said it. An uncle said it. But they left her there. And now we have confirmation. She's dead. She's dead.

And daddy is the killer. Yes, it's hard to understand how they couldn't be held responsible in some way in this case i mean this little girl was missing for two years and we knew that she was being abused by her father we knew it you know i want to go straight out to our cut number four this is the manchester police chief alan aldenburg listen last time she was enrolled in any type of school, from my understanding, is yet to be confirmed is down in Massachusetts. But again, she's seven right now. So 2019, five years old, probably right around that kindergarten time frame. Again, we've spoken with family members and we'll continue to do so.

I know I keep coming back to that. And that's a fair question, right? Did we speak to mom? Did we speak to dad? Did we speak to this brother? We're speaking to any and all family members that come to our attention and ones that we are seeking out as well. I've never heard such a crock of BS in my life. I mean, but what else can the chief of police say? He didn't know the child was missing. Why? Because defects put the child back in the home knowing she was beaten, knowing she was being forced to clean the bathroom with her toothbrush, knowing she was getting black eyes, knowing she wasn't getting fed. They put her back in there and then they didn't follow up.

Now, did you also hear this to Michael Ruiz joining me, investigative reporter with Fox News Digital at Twitter at Mike reports, Mike R reports. Michael Ruiz, thank you for being with us. How come nobody noticed she wasn't in school? Because even if my children are late, and that includes if I take them to the orthodontist or the doctor during school hours, which I try not to do, I get an immediate email. Lucy's tardy.

I know immediately. How come nobody knew Harmony wasn't in school? Well, Nancy, it's only a couple months between the last time she was seen and the start of the coronavirus pandemic and people weren't going to school. And that could be a way to conceal the fact that a child is missing oh i'm sorry michael ruiz do you have children i don't have children ah okay then you don't know about distance learning all we went through with the zooms and the facetimes oh yes michael ruiz there

was school people were going to school They were just doing it remote. She wasn't even registered, Michael, and nobody raised a flag. Nobody. Not a soul. Guys, and then you've got the father, Adam Montgomery, now murder defendant. We had already adjudicated him as a POS. That's a technical legal term. But I want you to hear our cut 33. This is Mara Barrett at NBC. Take a listen to this. and endangering the welfare of a child. One of those instances, investigators say Adam struck Harmony in the face, causing a black eye in 2019. Kevin Montgomery, Adam's uncle,

was visiting the home around that time. I walked in the house and Harmony had a black eye like you see in a box match between two men. He bashed her around the apartment, kind of with her, with his exact words. According to court documents kevin says he and other family members made multiple reports to new hampshire's division for children youth and families and i don't know how they missed the black guy that i saw police say they found adam

sleeping in his car with his new girlfriend on new year's eve he told police he'd given harmony back to her biological mother around Thanksgiving back in 2019. Her mother, Crystal Sori, disputes this, according to the court documents. Police say he made some contradictory statements and, quote, did not exhibit much emotion or reaction to the fact that Harmony hadn't been seen in two years. Oh, blah, blah, blah with the mother. The mother whining that she was kept away from her daughter. You know what? I swear I would take a bullet if someone tried to take me away from my children.

Crime Stories with Nancy Grace. Two special guests joining us today, Blair Miller, the adoptive father of Jameson, that's Harmony's bio brother, also news anchor with Cox Media Group and the Washington News Bureau. And you can find him on Twitter, Facebook, and Insta at BlairMillerTV. also news anchor with Cox Media Group in the Washington News Bureau. And you can find him on Twitter, Facebook, and Insta at Blair Miller TV. Blair, I am so sorry that Jameson, your son, is going to grow up. And when people say, tell me about your family,

you'll say, oh, well, my sister Harmony was murdered. I mean, that's how that's going to kick off. And I'm just wondering how, now that we know Harmony is in fact dead, how do you tell that? How do you explain that to Jameson? Yeah, I mean, we struggle with the same thing. This is now part of his story. Now, you you know harmony and jameson had the same mom but different dads and um you know we struggle with that and we struggle you know what what are we

going to tell him and you know we've told him some bits and pieces i mean he talks about harmony weekly he was just talking about her yesterday and brings her up on his own. But this is a little boy who yearns to see her, has been wanting to see her again, has wanted to hug her, has wanted to celebrate her. And here recently we had to tell him that she's now in heaven and an angel looking down on him. And that was very difficult for him. It's still very difficult for him and brings up a lot of questions, innocent questions that he asks. And, you know, it is unfortunately part of his story. And as his dad, you know, my husband and I have to protect him the best we can

and be there for him and help him get through this journey. You know, the other side of this, Blair, is thank God in heaven, literally thank God in heaven that you have Jameson, that Jameson was not in that house of horrors. And he very well could have ended up there because, yes, they shared the mom, not the dad, but he could have very easily ended up there if there was nowhere else for him to go. And he could have met the same fate as Harmony. And you tried to get her too, didn't you? We certainly wanted custody of her.

Her case had already been handled by the time we met Jameson, but we knew he had a sister, and we were very interested in figuring out what happened to her. And if they needed to come together, we would do that. Listen, it haunts us now. Yes, we are so blessed and so thankful to have Jameson and add him to our family. But we also wish we had that opportunity with Harmony and wish that we had a little girl in our family as well and wish she was here with us now. You know, Blair, I know you can hear my voice cracking and making mistakes

because I'm so upset and so angry. You know, when I look at my children, John, David, and Lucy, they have such an incredible bond with each other. There's nothing like it. And I'm not jealous of it. I'm amazed by it. I love what they have. And that's what Jameson would have had with Harmony. But oh no, they couldn't let her come with you. That was completely out of the question. And now she's dead. You know what, Blair? Here's a big question for me. When I'm asked a direct question by the twins, I give a direct answer as gently as possible. If they don't ask me, very often I don't tell them bad things because they're going to have a whole lifetime of hearing bad news. I just, I wish that he, I wish Jameson didn't have to know right now that Harmony's in heaven.

But if he keeps asking directly, I guess you have to tell him. You know, when we had that conversation with him and told him, you know, that she is in heaven. And Jameson has always had a sixth sense to him as far as, you know, knowing things and having a really unique connection, connection with his sister and asking things about her on just important days when things are going on that he has no idea what's happening. But that day we had a conversation with him. The first thing he asked us was, did someone hurt her? And that just broke our heart because, um, we kind of come from the same school of, um, you know, we're, we're not going to offer same school of, you know, we're not going to offer out bad information.

There's plenty of time in life for that. But we just held on to him and sat with him for a good hour, and he was just, you know, sitting there trying to understand what happened to his sister. And he's going to spend the rest of his life trying to understand that too, as we are, as us as well. And you're going to be there helping to his sister. And he's going to spend the rest of his life trying to understand that too, as we are, as us as well. And you're going to be there helping him. Because it's hard enough for grownups to understand.

What happens after you die? Why do you have to die? Why do good people get killed and evil, horrible people just wander the earth? Like her father, Adam Montgomery. And, of course, in Hampshire, there's no death penalty. We will feed him and clothe him for the rest of his life until he dies of old age. But Michael Ruiz joined me, Fox News digital investigative reporter.

Michael, I want you to hear our cut 39. I know I'm skipping ahead, Jack. This is from WMUR. Take a listen. These are the criminal complaints filed late this afternoon against 32-year-old Kayla Montgomery. Alleging between November 30, 2019 and June 2, 2021, Kayla fraudulently represented to DHHS that Harmony Montgomery was a member of her household.

The purpose, prosecutors say, was to receive undeserved food stamp benefits in excess of $1,500. The police affidavit provides a timeline of Harmony's life in New Hampshire. On February 25th, 2019, Kayla allegedly filed a report with DHHS. There you hear Michael Ruiz that the new Mrs. Montgomery, I guess Adam Montgomery's second or third wife, was filing for government benefits on a dead child? Yeah, so that's one of the things she's accused of among others in connection with Harmony's case.

Okay, we've got the stepmother who is fraudulently getting food stamps and other government benefits for Harmony, even though Harmony doesn't live there. And you've got the dad. You know, when I think about what has happened, Michael Ruiz, could you please detail for our listeners and viewers what Harmony, what we know, according to witnesses, she lived through before her murder? You know, images from the house are pretty disturbing. Family members have talked about how filthy the home was. I mean, there are stories that they were powering the house off of the generator for a period of time. And we know that the mother and father both have drug-related histories and substance abuse problems. So is that a home where children can be raised healthily and happily?

It doesn't really sound like it. Also, as I recall, Joseph Scott Morgan joining me, Professor of Forensics, Jacksonville State University, author of Blood Beneath My Feet on Amazon and star of a new hit series, and I mean a hit, Body Bags with Joseph Scott Morgan. Joseph Scott, thank you for being with us. You know, when I come to you, Joe Scott, I'm looking for forensic evidence. This child, this little girl has been dead a long time. She was dead when we started looking for her and she was reported missing after two years of not being seen. But do you recall eyewitness testimony about how the father, Adam Montgomery, would beat her and would

give her black eyes and would make her take her toothbrush that she will have to use again and clean the floor and around the commode in the bathroom. Yes, yes, I do, Nancy. I certainly do. You know, it just about makes me sick, Joe Scott. I mean, it's just very upsetting. Yeah, it is. And here's something that came out to me when I began to read yesterday, and I've been following this case for a long time now.

And going back to actually what Michael said, you know, this place was absolutely a pig pen. It was filthy. But, you know, therein lies a bit of saving grace when it comes to the evidence that was generated. According to what they're saying, there apparently is or was a tremendous amount of biological evidence. And this leads us back to this idea of blood. And she suffered, Nancy. Make no mistake about it, because she was struck not with an open hand. We think about a slap.

And you know, when you slap somebody, that energy disperses. Now, she was struck in the head multiple times. And we have evidence of this with the previous mentioned black eye. She was struck multiple times, according to the police, in the head, not in her stomach, but in the head over and over and over again with a closed fist. That's directed energy, Nancy. That means that that punch transferred the energy from that fist to this precious little angel's face, maybe to the top of her head, and maybe her head slammed into the ground beneath it if he's on top

of her in an asymmetrical position punching down on her she would have bled probably copiously that means a lot a lot of blood and they probably made a half-hearted attempt to clean this up and they couldn't eradicate that and you know not to wax biblical here but you know what her blood was screaming out from the ground because that blood is going to bear witness against her in court, against this guy in court. The hearing brings out evidence, as Jessica Morgan has just stated, and I'm quoting, causing the death of his daughter by repeatedly striking her with a closed fist. Okay, I told you about the stepmom, which truly encompasses the phrase, the description, evil stepmother. But what about mommy, bio mom, the one person in the world that's supposed to protect you with her life, no matter what? Let's take a listen to our cut 20 for our friends from News Nation. What did she seem like when you

saw her on FaceTime? Terrified. She I would say hey you know what's going on? What did you eat for lunch? What did you do today? Are you going to school yet? How are your brothers and sisters? You got any friends? Little questions

like I'm her mom. I want to know these things. I want to know if she's happy. And every time I asked these things he would pause it and he'd tell whatever he'd say to her. I can't hear him. He's muted. And she'd be like, don't tell her. And she'd be like, like, you know, and I'm watching her. So he'd unmute it. And I'm like, what's going on? Like, why are you muting it every time I ask her a question? Why are you letting her talk to me? Why are you answering for her? Like, you're acting weird, Adam.

I'm like, what's going on? Like, we're co-parenting. Like, you're letting me have visits. Like, what's going on? He's like, I have sole custody, sole decision making. You don't get to ask me shit. And he hangs up and blocks me. Oh, okay.

Yeah, he's the bad guy. Well, yeah, he is the bad guy. He's the killer according to an exhausted, exhaustive investigation. But here you have the bio mom, Crystal Sori. What does she think? A disembodied face every other week is being a mom? It's not. It's not being a mom. Yes, I know she had a drug problem, but she was given free counseling, free drug treatment by the state so she could get her child back. And I've got the name of the judge that hands the baby over to the dad, the dad that is beating her, Judge Mark Newman, who quietly stepped down from the bench after all this came to light, as he should have. I mean, you know, Karen Stark joining me. We're now New York psychologists joining us from Manhattan. She's at karenstark.com. That's Karen with a C. Karen, isn't there another choice than giving her to the drug addicted mother, Crystal Story, or the abusive father that beats

her, that makes her use her toothbrush going from the commode to her mouth? Isn't there a different alternative? Possibly something like Blair Miller, who has her bio brother, who is raising him and loving and caring home. I mean, there's not just two choices. Karen Stark. It's really hard to understand why they didn't come up with another choice. Why this judge did that, Nancy, because it's typical in situations like this a suicide where there's a father that kills a child or a mother where there's a past history of violence violence against the family and particularly in this little girl family members were reporting that something was going on that she was being injured. And I have no idea what was going on in his mind, because I don't understand the law or what a judge would be thinking.

But she should have, without a doubt, been placed in foster care or up for adoption or with another family member. Well, I mean, there's Blair Miller right there wanting her, wanting to reunite Harmony with her biological brother, Jameson. And you don't see that a lot in this world. A couple willing to take in children that are from drug addict parents, abusive parents. But they're willing. But oh, no, no, no. That couldn't happen. They had to give Harmony

back to Adam Montgomery. Take a listen to Our Cut 40. This is John from Mellon, the AG in New Hampshire. Back in January, we announced that five-year-old Harmony likely disappeared sometime between November 28th and December 10th of 2019. In August of this year, after almost eight months of investigative work undertaken by the Manchester Police Department, the Attorney General's Office, the U.S. Marshal Service, the FBI, and other law enforcement partners, we announced that we had concluded that five-year-old Harmony was murdered in Manchester in early December of 2019. This conclusion was based on multiple sources of investigative information, including biological

evidence. And more. Take a listen. Earlier this morning, Adam Montgomery was arrested for the murder of Harmony Montgomery in 2019 and other related charges. Specifically, Mr. Montgomery has been charged with the following four crimes. Second degree murder for recklessly causing the death of Harmony Montgomery, a person under 13 years of age,

under circumstances manifesting an extreme indifference to the value of human life, by repeatedly striking Harmony in the head with a closed fist in Manchester on or about December 7, 2019. Okay, before the state of New Hampshire starts taking a whole lot of credit for this arrest. Hold on. They had to bring in the FBI. An investigation led by the FBI ensued, and it led police to arrest Adam Montgomery. He's now charged with murder, too. I think in that jurisdiction, it will carry the same penalty as murder one. Michael Ruiz, joining me, Fox News

digital investigative reporter. Michael Ruiz, what do you believe is the biological evidence? Because they're going to need it. They're going to need it at court. What do you think it is? I don't know what it is, but I have to assume that there's blood evidence, like Joe mentioned before, that they didn't clean the house. Who knows what they found? And when they searched the house I don't know what it is, but I have to assume that there's blood evidence, like Joe mentioned before. They didn't clean the house. Who knows what they found? And when they searched the house earlier this year, they took out a lot of evidence, including an entire refrigerator. So there's probably some kind of blood, some kind of DNA at the very least in that mix. Crime Stories with Nancy Grace.

Guys, I'm trying to figure out what they have as far as biological evidence and how this case is going to be proved at trial. Joining me, Jessica Garth, who is the chief of the Special Victims and Family Violence Unit in Prince George's County. Jessica Garth, the reason I'm so concerned is this. You and I know what a speedy trial demand is. That means that once you formally charge, indict someone with a felony or really with any criminal charge, it can even be a misdemeanor, the defendant, Adam Montgomery, the abusive dad, has the right under the Constitution to demand a speedy trial,

not languish behind bars for years and years before his case is brought to a jury. What that means in practical terms is that the state has to try this case within the term the grand jury indicted and the next term. That can be up to, you know, three to six months, depending on the grand jury term. So you better have your ducks in a row. You better have your evidence nailed down before you indict, because if you get slapped by the defense with a speedy trial demand, you got to strike a jury in the next couple of weeks. That's right. And, you know, I think they did a good job in this case. I't know for sure but it sounds like what they did was they charged him initially with the abuse and that allowed them you know to hold him and to investigate him for

the murder without starting that speedy trial clock on the murder charges. I suspect that's what they did by charging him with that you, that black eye and abuse charge early on, and then doing a further investigation on this. I'm just wondering, to Michael Ruiz, are there any charges against Adam Montgomery trying to get his wife to lie? Yes, there are. Explain. That's some of the charges that they announced yesterday, is that he was witness tampering, pressuring her to go along with his story, allegedly. And that's in the new indictment that should be coming out at some point today. Now, are we talking about his then wife, Kayla Montgomery? We're talking about Kayla, who is now his estranged wife.

Oh, I bet she is, because remember, she's charged with faking the government benefits in order to get money, pretending that Harmony's still alive. That's killing Montgomery, right? That is the same one. Oh, I can tell you right now, they're going to plead her down to maybe misdemeanor or even less, give her time served in exchange for her testimony against Adam Montgomery. That's the way it goes. Would you agree or disagree, Jessica Garth?

I would agree 100%, and I suspect that that is how they've been able to determine how Harmony died in this case. But, you know, let's think about this for a moment. If she's only willing to talk about what really happened to Harmony, how she was bludgeoned by her own dad, this little five-year-old girl that's blind in one eye, wears corrective glasses, and a big, beautiful smile at all times. Never seen a picture of her without just this audacious smile. He beat a five-year-old little girl, half-blind little girl, dead.

And I bet you anything, the devil's minion, Kayla Montgomery, saw the whole thing. Yet, it's going to take a deal with the devil to get her to say what happened. I mean, Blair Miller, this is Harmony's brother, Jameson's adoptive dad, to think she's known all this time what happened to Harmony. You know, it's just so much of this is left us speechless. And to know that an adult did not play a role in helping a child is just unbelievable. And it's just unfathomable. And I think for us, it's just really hard for us to put into words for a way for this to make sense to us as adults, but let alone how we ever explain this to a child. And I don't know that that will ever make sense. And I don't think a trial will help explain that.

It just doesn't make sense to us you know blair when my daughter lucy gets upset about something and she cries i feel like my whole world is just getting torn in half it just hurts me so much and she is 14 now to hear her cry or be upset or sad? Or can I tell you, Blair, my son, John David, is trying out for basketball this week, and he has practiced and practiced and practiced all summer for this moment. I think I'm going to be more hurt than him if he doesn't make it, God forbid, because he's trying so hard. And I think about just their feelings, how I hate for their feelings to be hurt. And then I think about this woman standing by and watching as Harmony is beaten dead. I mean, did she ever say stop it or jump in and try to save the little girl?

I mean, ever? And then she sat on the evidence, what she knows, all this time. So what, she can work a deal on stealing from the government? I mean, it just, and the mother. I mean, I know you're not going to say anything about the bio mom because Jameson shares the bio mom, but I'll tell you what I think. I can just see the three of them around a fire, like three witches just conjuring up pure evil.

Nobody did a thing to help this little girl. That's what I'm saying, Blair. Well, I think that's our frustration now is that, you know, Harmony Montgomery was never a priority for anyone. And, you know, it's been a year since we've been talking, almost a year since we've been talking about this publicly. And no one has changed anything. And there could be another Harmony Montgomery tomorrow.

And nothing has changed to stop this from happening again. And I think that's one of our biggest frustrations right now. She's still, and people say, oh, we failed her. Oh, we care about her. But no one's making her priority still. And that really bothers us.

You know, that's why when I'm discussing a case with Jackie, my executive producer who's right here with me, and I say, okay, let's talk about the very latest. And the first thing she always says, God in heaven, help her. There's a candlelight vigil. You know, you can light, and I appreciate the sentiment. You can light all the candles you want to, but until you make real change, it doesn't matter. It doesn't matter. And, I mean, Blair, of course, Adam Montgomery is who the state says murdered this little half-blind five-year-old girl, completely defenseless.

But DFACS, Department of Family and Children Services, was in that home. They knew what was going on. The uncle called and made a 911 report about how Harmony was being beaten and abused and mistreated. And they let her stay in the home. Unless there was radical change, you're right, Blair, this is going to happen again. Probably it's happening right now while we're talking, Blair. I think that's what concerns us, that that radical change hasn't happened. You know,

when we adopted each one of our boys, we went through extensive background checks. We had social workers come into our house every month to make sure we were doing the right things, making sure we were going to pediatrician appointments, making sure we had kids in school, making sure we were doing the right things. Harmony Montgomery needed, you know, such care, such great special care with her special needs. And who was making sure she was going to get that? There should have been many checks in place to make sure that she was in a good situation, let alone for red flags to go off. And none of that happened. And it would still happen today. And that bothers us. You know, for all of these chief of police, the attorney general to get up and talk about, oh, we've arrested somebody for murder. You need to do a whole lot more than that. And yes, I appreciate that.

But the child care system is completely broken. And Harmony represents that. There are other charges. Take a listen to our cut 42, Jackie. More from the Attorney General. Falsifying physical evidence for purposely altering, destroying, concealing, or removing the corpse of Harmony Montgomery, or any part thereof, in Manchester between approximately December 7, 2019 and March 4, 2020, and tampering with witnesses or informants, for purposely attempting to induce or otherwise cause Kayla Montgomery to testify or inform falsely.

Okay, to Michael Ruiz joining us, investigative reporter with Fox News Digital. Explain the additional charges in addition to murder. What is Adam Montgomery facing? Well, he's accused of covering up the crime, hiding the body, disposing of the body without notifying anyone she's been dead. And two years went by before it even came to light. So he has a big head start. These are serious felonies in New Hampshire, and he's facing a long time in prison.

Just got Morgan. What do you make of this tampering with the body, destroying a body, hiding a body? I mean, do you think it's connected to that moment when the FBI hauls the family refrigerator out? Yes, yes, yes, and again, I say yes, that this is going to be key, and it's not just that refrigerator, Nancy. What also happened, and I remember sitting there watching this on the news, those teams went down in the

sewers, Nancy, adjacent to that home in that specific area what were they searching for well anything that might be flushable and i'm thinking i'm thinking that when they're beginning to talk about destruction of human remains i think that this could be something so ghastly that we can't even begin to fathom it because he was making an attempt to remove all the physical evidence they talk about that in one charge and then this destruction of human remains disposable disposal of human remains and that refrigerator and you know i'm i was contemplating this some time ago was there an attempt to eradicate her body take take it apart perhaps, store it in the refrigerator, and either flush it or dispose of it at a later time.

Joe Scott, just say it. You think Adam Montgomery dismembered his five-year-old daughter, put parts of her in the fridge, tried to flush some of her bodily remains down the commode. Is that what you're trying to say? Yes. I mean, just say it. Yeah, yeah.

That's what I'm trying to say. It's certainly not off the table with this monster. Okay. Jessica Garth joining us, Special Victim Family Violence Unit Chief. I just keep thinking of witches around a cauldron. I can't imagine anything more evil than what I'm hearing happen to this little girl. I mean, for Pete's sake, I can't say it enough. She's five years old and she's half blind.

Have you seen her? She's beautiful. And she's wearing her little corrective glasses and she's got this big smile, and I just want to hold her and take her and make her happy and make her laugh. But do you ever feel like you just can't put one foot in front of the other because of people like Adam Montgomery? It's very hard, Nancy. I mean, she is a beautiful little girl, and to know that she smiled like that, you know, despite the rough life.

You know, she lived in her five years on this earth. It's very, very hard. And I, you know, none of the adults in this case did her any kind of justice. You know, we're doing justice on the back end, but there's absolutely no reason that she shouldn't be alive and thriving and having, you know, the time of her life living. The time of her life. Guys, take a listen to our cut 49 WMUR. Now think about it. If your baby was missing and police were asking you questions trying to find her, what would you say? Think about it. And now listen to Adam Montgomery.

So where's your daughter so we can check on her and make sure that she's okay? I have nothing to say. That's not what I'm, I'm just asking where she is. I have nothing to say. The interaction lasts about 45 minutes before Montgomery is sent on his way. Police track Montgomery down again later that day, serving him with a court order to produce Harmony.

Some detectives want to speak with you. Just be entertained at this point. Five days later, Montgomery is arrested on charges including second-degree assault for allegedly abusing harmony to karen stark i have nothing to say to you that is not what you would expect from a dad when you're trying to find his baby girl nancy it's something you would expect from a psychopath though it's something you would expect from a person who sees a child as an object, who can't tolerate any stress, who's living on drugs and has a history of abusing children,

that's what you would expect, that he has nothing to say. He doesn't think twice about cutting up that body. I promise you, this man has no conscience. Michael Ruiz, what happens next? He waves his arraignment and next is discovery, and we'll see when the trial is scheduled. We wait as justice unfolds. Nancy Grace Crimes Story signing off.

Goodbye, friend. This is an iHeart Podcast.