Adam Montgomery seeks to skip sentencing

Mar. 28—Adam Montgomery asked a judge Thursday to allow him to skip his sentencing hearing after being found guilty last month of murdering his 5-year-old daughter, Harmony.

His sentencing is scheduled for May 9.

Montgomery maintains his innocence on charges of second-degree murder, tampering with a witness and second-degree assault, according to a filing by public defender Caroline Smith Thursday.

"(Montgomery) respectfully asks this court to exercise the discretion afforded to it under the statute and excuse his appearance at the sentencing hearing," Smith said.

On Thursday, the New Hampshire House of Representatives approved on a voice vote an amended bill that in the future would compel anyone convicted of a Class A felony to have to appear in court at the time of sentencing unless a judge excused the defendant "for cause."

A move to table the bill (HB 1713) failed, 256-112.

A House committee had originally endorsed, 15-0, the original bill from Rep. Steve Shurtleff, D-Penacook, that would have compelled offenders to attend their entire trial unless they were excused.

House Criminal Justice and Public Safety Committee Chairman Terry Roy, R-Deerfield, and Rep. Linda Harriott-Gathright, D-Nashua, co-authored the amendment that limited the attendance mandate to only the sentencing phase of the trial.

"A defendant's refusal to face and hear their victim, is revictimizing them by robbing them of their voice," Roy said.

The bill, if passed, would take effect immediately, but some legal observers have said it would likely not apply to the Montgomery case since that trial took place before the legislation was adopted.

Last week, prosecutors Benjamin Agati and Christopher Knowles asked Judge Amy Messer to ensure Montgomery would be present at sentencing after he refused to attend the entirety of the trial, which spanned three weeks.

The prosecution cited state law stating "the defendant shall personally appear in court when the victim or victim's next of kin addresses the judge," unless excused by the court, according to a notice submitted on March 20. The law does not provide circumstances regarding an excused absence.

Nicole Schultz-Price, the former first assistant Hillsborough County attorney who now works for Devine, Millimet & Branch, PA in Manchester, has not experienced a defendant not showing up for sentencing.

"I am struggling with the defendant's argument for not appearing considering many convicted defendants maintain their innocence, but are still present for sentencing," Schultz-Price said.

Schultz-Price, who is not involved in the case, agreed with prosecutors that Montgomery should be present.

"Their voices should be heard," she said of the victims.

How or whether Messer would compel Montgomery to appear is unknown.

"They can shackle him. They can force him, I guess, into a van to bring him to the courthouse," Schultz-Price said. "I don't know what they could do other than physically forcing him to do that. I don't know if a court would actually do that."

In January, Dale E. Holloway Jr., convicted of shooting two people during a wedding at a Pelham church in October 2019, refused transport from prison to the court for sentencing. He was sentenced in absentia to 40 years to life on the charge of attempted murder.

On Feb. 22, a jury of 10 women and two men found Montgomery, 34, guilty of all five charges he faced.

His estranged wife, Kayla, testified that he repeatedly struck the little girl after a bathroom accident in the car they were living in on Dec. 7, 2019. Prosecutors presented evidence of the great lengths Montgomery went to hide his daughter's body.

On the first day of the trial, Montgomery admitted to charges of abuse of a corpse and falsifying evidence.

Multiple victims, including Harmony's mother, Crystal Sorey, are expected to offer statements at the sentencing.

Providing such statements can provide closure for victims.

"That is something the victims could be robbed of," Schultz-Price said, if Adam Montgomery is not compelled to attend.