Stepmom of Harmony Montgomery pleads not guilty to new charges; can be released if enters rehab
Jan. 24—The stepmother of missing Harmony Montgomery will be allowed to leave jail if she enters a rehab program in Nashua, despite a prosecutor's request that she stay locked up on $5,000 bail because she knows what is coming in the investigation and might flee.
Harmony, who would be 7, has been missing for two years and is the subject of a search now in its fourth week.
Kayla Montgomery, who is not Harmony's biological mother, was escorted into Hillsborough Superior Court Monday morning wearing an orange jumpsuit. She pleaded not guilty to Class A felony theft by deception and two misdemeanor welfare fraud charges.
A previous felony welfare fraud charge will be dropped, according to court documents.
Prosecutor Jesse O'Neill said the bail should remain the same because of Montgomery's flight risk in the high-profile case.
"Maybe it now looks like an innocuous theft and welfare fraud charges, but she knows what we are going to learn as the (missing child) investigation continues," O'Neill said.
Drug rehab option
Montgomery's bail will remain at $5,000 but be converted to personal recognizance "upon entry into and successful completion of Cynthia Day program," an order from Judge Amy Messer reads.
Cynthia Day Family Center for Women and Children is a rehab center in Nashua.
"The Court is mindful of the serious nature of the State's investigation regarding (Harmony). However, the issue before the Court at this time is the risk of flight of the defendant based upon the theft and welfare fraud charges," Messer wrote.
Montgomery's lawyer, Paul Garrity, said police questioned her multiple times before charging her and she did not flee.
"Her criminal history is relatively minor and mostly involves misdemeanors," he said. "There are no failures to appear that I can find on her record."
He said her whole life is rooted in Manchester, including her three children, who are in the custody of her mother.
The theft charge alleges Montgomery received an extra $1,500 in food stamps for Harmony between Nov. 30, 2019, and June 2, 2021, though Harmony was not in the household.
Montgomery acknowledged to police that she received the benefits after last seeing Harmony, according to an affidavit. She requested Harmony be removed from the account on June 2, 2021.
"This isn't a white lie. This isn't a simple lie," O'Neill said. "This is an approximate 18-months-long lie to get welfare benefits for a child who has disappeared."
Harmony not with mother
He said at least one person has reported to police that Kayla and her husband, Adam Montgomery, 32, were seen with Harmony after they both told police they hadn't seen her since the day after Thanksgiving 2019. Both said Harmony was with her mother in Massachusetts.
"We know that is not true," O'Neill said.
Harmony's mother, Crystal Sorey, has been "extremely cooperative" and has been thoroughly investigated, O'Neill said.
"There is no credible evidence that Harmony was with her after Thanksgiving 2019 or long before that," he said.
Under the conditions of the original order, Kayla Montgomery was to live at her mother's apartment on Dubuque Street. O'Neill said that may no longer be an option because her three children, who are 4, 2 and 1, are in her mother's custody.
Messer told O'Neill she felt the $5,000 bail is essentially preventive detention for Montgomery.
Garrity said the Division for Children, Youth and Families might take steps to separate Montgomery from her three biological children if Montgomery does move back in with her mother.
He said he has been in contact with the Cynthia Day program about admitting Montgomery.
After the hearing, he said he did not know whether more charges might be coming in the disappearance of Harmony. He would not comment on the missing girl case.
Under the conditions of personal recognizance, Montgomery must sign a release stating the state can monitor compliance and the program must notify the state if she leaves. She also must check in by phone daily with Manchester police. She must have no contact with Adam Montgomery and cannot travel out of state.
Adam Montgomery has been charged with assault, accused of giving the little girl a black eye in 2019. He is being held in jail without bail.
