By DAMIEN FISHER, InDepthNH.org
MANCHESTER — New charges allege Kayla Montgomery, the stepmother of missing Harmony Montgomery who was last seen at age 5, lied to a grand jury about her employment.
Kayla Montgomery is charged with two class B felony perjury counts after she allegedly lied during testimony last month, according to the complaints filed in court.
Kayla Montgomery was before the grand jury convened in the Hillsborough County Superior Court — North in Manchester when she lied about the location of her employment, and the timing of a particular shift, according to the complaints.
It is not known why Montgomery was testifying before the grand jury, and if her testimony is related to the disappearance of Harmony Montgomery.
Michael Garrity, director of communications for the New Hampshire Department of Justice, declined to say if Kayla Montgomery’s perjury charges are related to her current welfare fraud case, or if they are connected to the missing child.
Kayla Montgomery is also charged in a firearms case connected to the child’s father, Adam Montgomery.
Harmony has been missing since 2019 when she was 5 years old, and so far, no one in her family is saying what happened to the girl.
Both Kayla Montgomery and Adam Montgomery have been held on charges related to the investigation, but no one has been charged in Harmony’s disappearance. Adam Montgomery is charged in the gun case, and for charges of child endangerment, custody interference and second-degree assault for giving Harmony a black eye in 2019.
Kayla Montgomery is currently being held on $5,000 bail, meaning she could be out if she posts $500 for a bond, but she remains jailed for lack of funds.
According to police, Kayla Montgomery told police that Harmony’s father, Adam Montgomery, 31, had taken her to live with her mother in Massachusetts around Thanksgiving that year. Adam and Kayla Montgomery, together with two common children and Harmony were evicted from 77 Gilford St. in Manchester on Nov. 27, 2019.
The abuse allegation against Adam Montgomery was investigated by a caseworker with the New Hampshire Division for Children, Youth and Families, who ruled it “unfounded.”
Multiple people have reported seeing Harmony with Adam and Kayla in the following days, however, by about Dec. 6 to 10, 2019, Adam and Kayla apparently had only their two common children, and Harmony was no longer with them.
Witnesses told police that during that time, Adam, Kayla, and the children were homeless and living out of cars, possibly in the North End of Manchester. One of the cars was a silver 2010 Chrysler Sebring, and the other was a dark blue 2006 Audi S4.
A recent report out of the Massachusetts Office of the Child Advocate found that Adam Montgomery was given custody of Harmony in 2019, despite numerous red flags. The report faults the Massachusetts Department of Children and Families, as well as the Massachusetts family court system for failing to protect the child.
“The key and central finding in this investigation and report are that Harmony’s individual needs, wellbeing, and safety were not prioritized or considered on an equal footing with the assertion of her parents’ rights to care for her in any aspect of the decision making by any state entity,” the report states.
Harmony’s birth mother, Crystal Sorey, reported to authorities in late 2021 that her child had not been seen in more than two years.
The reward for the location of Harmony is now at $150,000 Anyone with information about Harmony should call or text the dedicated tip line, monitored 24/7, at 603-203-6060.