Jurors in the case against Adam Montgomery for the murder of his 5-year-old daughter deliberated for about two hours Wednesday afternoon before going home for the day.
Montgomery is charged with killing Harmony Montgomery on December 7, 2019, as CrimeOnline reported. The girl reportedly soiled herself in the car where the family was living, and her father allegedly pummeled her with a closed fist. The family toted the body from place to place for months, prosecutors said, before Adam Montgomery finally disposed of his daughter’s remains.
Those remains have not been found.
The jury heard closing arguments Wednesday morning after the defense, which insists that Adam Montgomery is innocent and the prosecution’s star witness — Harmony’s stepmother Kayla Montgomery — is the real killer, closed without calling any witnesses, WMUR reported.
“Kayla is lying. She continues to lie, and she made a few things up in front of you,” defense attorney Caroline Smith said. “Remember how you felt watching her and evaluate that, because that will also show you she’s lying, because she has something to hide still, because the truth points to her.”
Senior Assistant Attorney General Ben Agati told the jurors in his closing that Adam Montgomery disposed of his daughter’s body to cover up his crime.
“He admits what he can’t deny, and he denies what he can’t afford to admit,” Agati said.
The prosecutor told the jurors that they may find they don’t like Kayla Montgomery, but that wasn’t a reason to dismiss her testimony, especially, he said, when Adam Montgomery’s attorney’s only want them to disregard the parts of her testimony that look bad for their client.
“She actually tried to humanize this guy,” she said.
Prior to closing arguments, Judge Amy Messer denied Smith’s motion to exclude Kayla Montgomery’s testimony. The defense argued that the prosecution spoke with her attorney before her testimony, violating a sequestration order. But Messer said that Smith had the opportunity to question Kayla Montgomery about those discussions and yet made no earlier argument that she had changed her testimony because of it.
Adam Montgomery was not in the courtroom on Wednesday. He has refused to attend the trial since jury selection.
According to WMUR, the attorney general’s office said that he won’t be required to attend the reading of the verdict, but the judge could order him to attend sentencing if he is convicted.
The jury returns to resume deliberations Thursday morning.
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[Featured image: Adam Montgomery/police handout and Harmony Montgomery/Facebook]
