MANCHESTER, N.H. (Court TV) — The woman who confessed to witnessing Harmony Montgomery’s murder and hiding the child’s body for months may soon walk out of prison a free woman.
Kayla Montgomery testifies during the trial of Adam Montgomery at Hillsborough County Superior Court in Manchester, N.H, on Friday, Feb. 9, 2024. (Jeffrey Hastings/Pool Photo via AP)
Kayla Montgomery was married to Adam Montgomery when his daughter, Harmony, disappeared. She testified at his trial in February over the course of two days, describing the brutal beating that took the 5-year-old’s life. The three were living in a car at the time with the couple’s two younger children, and Kayla and Adam proceeded to hide Harmony’s body in a cooler and a ceiling vent before she was ultimately disposed of. Her body has never been found.
Kayla was never charged in Harmony’s murder because she agreed to help the prosecution in Adam’s case. She pleaded guilty to two counts of perjury for lying to the grand jury about Harmony’s whereabouts, and part of the agreement she entered into required her to testify against Adam at trial.
The plea agreement, obtained by Court TV, was filed on Nov. 16, 2022, and states that Kayla would receive a sentence of 3 1/2 – 7 years on each of the two charges. However, the agreement said that prosecutors would recommend that 18 months of the minimum term be suspended on one charge, and the entire sentence of the second charge be suspended.
WATCH: Crystal Sorey’s Thoughts on Kayla Montgomery and Her Parole Hearing
That means Kayla gets her first chance at freedom this month. On March 7, Kayla is scheduled to appear before the New Hampshire Adult Parole Board, which will determine whether she can be released.
The agreement additionally states that prosecutors will not oppose her ending parole after three years.
On the stand, Kayla told the jury that she was scared of Adam and said that was why she never reported Harmony’s murder. But Harmony’s biological mother, Crystal Sorey, told Court TV’s Vinnie Politan that she doesn’t believe that for a minute.
“She can convince the world that she was afraid. I do not believe that. I do not believe that. If you were so afraid, you would not have conceived a third child while my daughter was in the vent above your bedroom; above your bed with that man. You would not have conceived a child. And she did, and it happened to be a girl because that is how God works. And guess what? She don’t get to have her daughter either.”
What her life will look like if she is released remains to be seen. Adam, from whom she filed for divorce, remains in jail for weapons charges and awaits sentencing for murdering his daughter. When asked how she felt about her ex, Kayla told the court during his trial, “I still care about him because he’s the father of my children. He was my best friend. It’s been hard for me to just let go.”
