The Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court has ruled that the public is entitled to access audio recordings from the custody hearing of Harmony Montgomery, a 5-year-old girl from New Hampshire who was tragically murdered by her father after disappearing in 2019. Adam Montgomery was convicted in her death last year and is currently serving a 56-year prison sentence. Investigators believe Harmony was killed nearly two years ahead of her official disappearance report in 2021, but her remains were never found.
An independent investigation in 2022 highlighted severe shortcomings within the Massachusetts child protection system, indicating a failure to prioritize the child’s needs. According to Maria Mossaides, who leads the Massachusetts Office of the Child Advocate, Harmony’s case was marred by poor risk assessments and a disproportionate emphasis on parental rights over the child’s welfare.
The report pointed out a lack of attention to Harmony’s medical, educational, and behavioral needs during the custody proceedings, with oversight present in enforcing cross-state child placement regulations. Filmmaker Bill Lichtenstein, backed by several media firms, including some prominent ones, filed a lawsuit to obtain the closed-door hearing’s recordings. The aim is to explore how Adam Montgomery, with his substantial criminal history, secured custody over Harmony. Although family court proceedings are generally kept confidential to protect privacy, the state’s highest court agreed that publicizing the hearings could shed light on Harmony’s tragic circumstances and identify areas for child welfare system improvements.
The court noted that in the recordings set to be released, all mentions of Adam Montgomery’s other children would be omitted. Lichtenstein expressed relief and optimism regarding the court’s decision, hoping it would bring greater transparency to the pressing issues within Massachusetts’ foster and juvenile court mechanisms. “An absolute confidentiality has obstructed child protection efforts,” he remarked in a public statement.
The attorney general’s office did not comment on the verdict, based on statements from a spokesperson. Attempts to reach the Massachusetts Department of Children and Families for a response have not yet garnered a reply. In related testimony, Kayla Montgomery, Adam’s estranged wife, recounted the tumultuous living conditions they experienced, revealing that the family endured homelessness around Thanksgiving 2019, residing in a car. She described instances where Adam physically assaulted Harmony during car trips, enraged by the child’s bathroom mishaps.
She further testified that she handed food to the children in the vehicle without verifying Harmony’s condition, a neglect that coincided with their subsequent discovery of the child’s death after the car broke down. According to her testimony, Adam Montgomery then disposed of Harmony’s body in a duffel bag, and she outlined various temporary locations where the girl’s body was concealed, including a car trunk, a cooler, a ceiling vent at a shelter, and a walk-in freezer at Adam’s workplace.