Mother of 5-year-old girl killed by father takes first steps in planned wrongful death lawsuit

CONCORD, N.H. (AP) — The mother of a 5-year-old girl who was killed in 2019 and whose body has not been found, asked a New Hampshire probate judge on Monday to declare the girl legally dead and to be appointed as administrator of her estate.

Crystal Sorey took the first steps in preparation of a planned wrongful death lawsuit against the state regarding her daughter, Harmony Montgomery, more than two weeks after Harmony’s father, Adam Montgomery, was convicted of fatally beating her and other crimes.

Sorey’s lawyer told Judge Beth Kissinger in Nashua that Adam Montgomery’s second-degree murder conviction, plus his admission of guilt to lesser charges that he moved her body around for months afterward and falsified physical evidence, was enough to result in a legal death declaration.

Kissinger did not rule immediately, asking for court paperwork, including the jury’s verdict and a probate surety bond from Sorey, which would guarantee she would fulfill her duties under the law as administrator.

“I’m her warrior, basically,” Sorey said afterward of her daughter, WMUR-TV reported. “Everything I do is for her.”

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