CONCORD, N.H. (Court TV) — It’s official: Kayla Montgomery, who testified to witnessing her stepdaughter’s murder, has been released from prison on parole.
Kayla Montgomery reacts to a question from the parole board at the New Hampshire Correctional Facility for Women in Concord, N.H., on Thursday, March 7, 2024. Kayla Montgomery, the estranged wife of Adam Montgomery, convicted of killing his 5-year-old daughter and moving the body around for months, has been granted parole more than a year after she was sentenced to prison for lying about where she was when the child was last seen. (David Lane/Union Leader via AP, Pool)
Kayla was married to Adam Montgomery when he fatally beat his daughter, Harmony, in Dec. 2019. A jury convicted Adam of murder after Kayla testified at his trial last month. Her testimony was part of a plea agreement she reached with prosecutors, which left her with a sentence of 3 1/2 – 7 years, with 18 months suspended.
Upon release, Kayla is expected to immediately report to her assigned probation parole officer in the Newport District Office. Throughout the duration of parole, she will remain under New Hampshire Department of Corrections supervision until Nov. 3, 2028. Violating any of these conditions could result in Kayla returning to prison.
At her May 7 parole board hearing, Kayla sat at a wooden desk to face the panel’s questions. The first question was about why she was in prison and what she understood about the perjury charges she had pleaded guilty to.
“What didn’t happen was I didn’t tell the truth about where I was during that time and not being able to cooperate with the detectives I got all caught up in the situation and if I just was honest from the beginning they could have done their job sooner. “
The “situation” was the death of her 5-year-old stepdaughter, whose body was concealed in a cooler, duffel bag and ceiling vent for months before her father ultimately disposed of it.
At trial, Adam’s public defender admitted his client helped cover up Harmony’s death but pointed the finger at Kayla for murder.
A judge ordered Adam Montgomery to be present in court as she sentenced him to prison for 56 years to life, noting that he took a human life “in the most callous and heartless of ways.” At the May 9 sentencing, a victim advocate read a statement by Kayla Montgomery where she said goodbye to Adam and recounted the horrific details of Harmony’s death.
