Amidst a continued search for the girl’s body, Harmony Montgomery’s family took a day to stop and celebrate her 10th birthday with cake and balloons, according to WCVB.
In May, Adam Montgomery was sentenced to 56 years to life in prison in connection with Harmony’s murder, who was reported missing in 2020. He was accused of beating and killing Harmony on Dec. 7, 2019, while the family was living in their Chrysler Sebring. Harmony had several bathroom accidents in the car and Montgomery yelled and hit her in the head, according to prosecutors.
Adam Montgomery was found guilty on Feb. 22 of second-degree murder, second-degree assault, witness tampering, falsifying physical evidence and abuse of a corpse. Montgomery did not appear in court during his trial, nor was he present when the jury delivered the verdict.
Adam Montgomery was already serving prison time on unrelated firearm charges. On Aug. 7, 2023, he was sentenced to 15-30 years in prison on two counts of armed career criminal charges. Montgomery also received an additional sentence of 7.5-15 years for two theft charges.
Her mother, Crystal Sorey, told WCVB she is hopeful for searches planned over the summer. But she fears her daughter will be forgotten.
“This is the hardest part is like after the aftermath, you know? When everyone starts to forget about her,” she told the news station. “She had dreams … she was 5, but she had dreams.”
Manchester Police Chief Allen Aldenberg promised to continue searching for the girl’s body.
He told reporters in May that he believes Montgomery passed up the opportunity to do “one decent good thing in his life” by failing to disclose where his daughter’s body is located.
“We’ll keep working hard to do our part to locate Harmony and bring her home,” Aldenberg said. “It’s not a fun day for Manchester PD. We’re not going to go back and be all smiles.”
For her mother, it won’t matter how much time has passed. She’ll always be her 5-year-old baby.
“I still think she’s five. In my heart … I think … [she’s] my 5-year-old baby,” Sorey told the news station. “The fact that it’s been five years … it doesn’t even feel like it’s been five days.”
