EXCLUSIVE: Adam Montgomery's Murder Conviction Thrown Out After Supreme Court Rules Trial Was Unfair — Nearly 7 Years After He Was Accused of Killing His Daughter
Adam Montgomery’s conviction for the murder of his 5-year-old daughter Harmony Montgomery has been thrown out.
June 11 2026, Published 7:14 p.m. ET
Adam Montgomery’s conviction for the murder of his 5-year-old daughter Harmony has been thrown out by the New Hampshire Supreme Court, which ruled he was denied a fair trial after jurors were allowed to hear evidence of an earlier assault that may have improperly influenced their verdict, RadarOnline.com can reveal.
New court documents obtained by us exclusively state the state’s highest court reversed Montgomery's second-degree murder conviction while affirming his convictions for second-degree assault, falsifying physical evidence, witness tampering and abuse of a corpse. The case has now been remanded for further proceedings.
Reversed Second-Degree Murder Conviction
Prosecutors presented a much stronger case on the July 2019 assault, with multiple witnesses testifying.
The ruling concluded that the trial court should have severed the murder charge from a separate assault charge stemming from an incident months before Harmony’s death, finding that trying the allegations together created an unacceptable risk of prejudice.
According to the documents, prosecutors presented a much stronger case on the July 2019 assault, with multiple witnesses testifying they saw Harmony with a black eye and heard Montgomery admit to striking the child after accusing her of harming her younger sibling.
By comparison, the court found the murder case relied heavily on testimony from Montgomery's estranged wife, Kayla Montgomery, whose credibility had been challenged by the defense and whose account of Harmony's fatal injuries lacked direct corroboration.
Testimony From Montgomery’s Estranged Wife
'The evidence of the December 7, 2019 fatal attack is substantially weaker,' the courts wrote.
"The evidence of the December 7, 2019, fatal attack is substantially weaker," the ruling noted, concluding there was a significant risk jurors relied on evidence of the earlier assault to infer Montgomery must have also carried out the killing.
The ruling states that trying both charges together jeopardized Montgomery’s right to a fair trial because jurors could have improperly concluded that, since he struck Harmony once before, he was likely responsible for the fatal attack months later.
While overturning the murder conviction, the Supreme Court left untouched Montgomery’s convictions for second-degree assault, falsifying physical evidence, witness tampering and abuse of a corpse.
The Court Rejected Montgomery’s Challenge
The justices ruled that evidence alleging he prevented Harmony’s mother from contacting the child should not have been treated as intrinsic evidence tied to the murder charge.
The ruling also rejected Montgomery's challenge to the admission of video footage showing his 2021 encounter with police, finding the recording carried little risk of unfair prejudice.
However, the justices ruled that evidence alleging he prevented Harmony’s mother from contacting the child should not have been treated as intrinsic evidence tied to the murder charge, though prosecutors could seek to admit it under different legal grounds if the case is retried.
The ruling marks a significant procedural victory for Montgomery but does not exonerate him in the death of Harmony, whose disappearance sparked a nationwide search before investigators concluded she had been killed years earlier.
Montgomery Was Convicted in 2024
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The stunning ruling dramatically reshapes the legal landscape for Montgomery, who had been facing forty-five years behind bars.
Instead, the Supreme Court’s decision focuses squarely on whether Montgomery received a fair trial on the murder count, finding that the jury should not have been asked to consider evidence from the earlier assault alongside the homicide allegations.
The stunning ruling dramatically reshapes the legal landscape for Montgomery, who had been facing forty-five years behind bars after being sentenced in connection with Harmony’s death.
With his murder conviction now wiped away, the case heads back to the lower court.
