New Hampshire man sentenced to minimum 56 years on murder, other charges in young daughter's death

CONCORD, N.H. (AP) — A New Hampshire man convicted of killing his 5-year-old daughter and moving her corpse around for months before disposing of it was sentenced Thursday to a minimum of 56 years in prison on murder and other charges as relatives of the child called him a monster.

That sentence will be added on to the minimum 32 1/2-year sentence Adam Montgomery, 34, began last year on unrelated gun charges, effectively amounting to a life sentence following his actions in the death of Harmony Montgomery. Police believe she was killed nearly two years before she was reported missing in 2021. Her body was never found.

A prosecutor offered to lessen the sentence for the second-degree murder conviction and other charges if Montgomery “tells us right now” the location of his daughter’s remains. Montgomery, who has maintained his innocence in the death of his daughter, did not speak in the Manchester courtroom. His attorney later called the offer a “stunt” and said Montgomery's silence should not be interpreted as a lack of remorse.

People who knew Harmony Montgomery spoke about the happy, kind child they once knew.

“She had a life worth living, unlike your own," Crystal Sorey, Harmony's mother, read from a statement addressing Adam Montgomery, her hands shaking. “And it bothered you to your core that she was nothing like you and everything like me.”

Sorey added, “I will forever look for her until the end of my days. But I hope that every day and every night here on this earth, you hear nothing but my baby's giggle.”

The parents who adopted Harmony's brother, now 7, spoke on his behalf. “I'm really sad she's an angel. I miss her," they quoted him as saying.

Montgomery did not attend his trial in February. He was ordered by the judge to be in court Thursday after his lawyer asked for him to be excused. Montgomery also had pleaded not guilty to charges of second-degree assault and witness tampering. He had admitted to abuse of a corpse and falsifying evidence.

Judge Amy Messer noted that Montgomery had an extensive criminal record that dates back to 2008 and that he had extensive opportunities to change his life.

“Your extreme indifference to the value of human life is seen in so many of your actions,” she said.

Messer said the only way to keep Montgomery from hurting others is to keep him off the streets. “To the extent you seek to rehabilitate yourself, that will have to happen behind the prison walls," she said.

An email seeking comment on the sentence and asking about a possible appeal was sent to Montgomery's lawyer, Caroline Smith.

His estranged wife, Kayla Montgomery, had testified that her family, including her two young sons with Adam Montgomery, had been evicted right before Thanksgiving in 2019 and were living in a car. She said on Dec. 7, Adam Montgomery punched Harmony Montgomery at several stop lights as they drove from a methadone clinic to a fast food restaurant because he was angry that the child was having bathroom accidents in the car.

After that, she said she handed food to the children in the car without checking on Harmony and that the couple later discovered she was dead after the car broke down. She testified that her husband put the body in a duffel bag. She described various places where the girl’s body was hidden, including the trunk of a car, a cooler, a homeless center ceiling vent and the walk-in freezer at her husband’s workplace.

During Adam Montgomery’s trial, his lawyers suggested that Kayla continued to lie to protect herself. They said their client did not kill Harmony, and that Kayla Montgomery was the last person to see the child alive.

Kayla Montgomery testified that she didn’t come forward about the child’s death because she was afraid of her husband. She said Adam Montgomery suspected that she might go to the police, so he began punching her, giving her black eyes, she said. She eventually ran away from him in March 2021.

Kayla Montgomery was recently granted parole. She is expected to be released from prison soon after serving an 18-month sentence. She pleaded guilty to perjury charges related to the investigation into the child’s disappearance and agreed to cooperate with prosecutors.

“I will forever have a place in my heart for you,” Kayla Montgomery said in a statement read in court on her behalf. But she talked about how their relationship spiraled out of control after Harmony died. “The last couple of nights after you got arrested for the first time, I was sleeping with a knife because I did not know what you were going to do to me,” she wrote, adding, “I'm so angry and hurt by you.”

Adam Montgomery had custody of the girl. Her mother, who was no longer in a relationship with him, said the last time she saw Harmony was during a video call in April 2019. She eventually went to police, who announced they were looking for the missing child on New Year’s Eve 2021. Adam and Kayla Montgomery told police that Adam had taken his daughter to live with Sorey in Massachusetts.

Harmony Montgomery’s case has exposed weaknesses in child protection systems and provoked calls to prioritize the well-being of children over parents in custody matters. Harmony was moved between the homes of her mother and her foster parents multiple times before Adam Montgomery received custody in 2019 and moved to New Hampshire.

Authorities plan to keep searching for the girl's remains, believed to be along a route Adam Montgomery drove in a rental truck into Massachusetts in March 2020. Prosecutor Benjamin Agati said Thursday that police last went out for a search a couple of weeks ago, but they were not successful.

Blair, right, and Johnathon Bobbitt-Miller, adoptive parents of Harmony Montgomery's biological brother Jamison, address the court during the Adam Montgomery sentencing hearing at Hillsborough Superior Court, Thursday, May 9, 2024, in Manchester N.H. Montgomery was found guilty of second-degree murder earlier in the year in the death of his 5-year-old daughter, Harmony, who police believe was killed nearly two years before she was reported missing in 2021 and whose body was never found. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa)

Superior Court Judge Amy Messer addresses Adam Montgomery and his defense attorneys during a sentencing hearing at Hillsborough Superior Court, Thursday, May 9, 2024, in Manchester N.H. Montgomery was found guilty of second-degree murder earlier in the year in the death of his 5-year-old daughter, Harmony, who police believe was killed nearly two years before she was reported missing in 2021 and whose body was never found. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa, Pool)

Adam Montgomery, center, stands with his attorneys Caroline Smith, left, and James Brooks during his sentencing hearing at Hillsborough Superior Court, Thursday, May 9, 2024, in Manchester N.H. Montgomery was found guilty of second-degree murder earlier in the year in the death of his 5-year-old daughter, Harmony, who police believe was killed nearly two years before she was reported missing in 2021 and whose body was never found. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa, Pool)

Adam Montgomery listens during his sentencing hearing at Hillsborough Superior Court, Thursday, May 9, 2024, in Manchester N.H. Montgomery was found guilty of second-degree murder earlier in the year in the death of his 5-year-old daughter, Harmony, who police believe was killed nearly two years before she was reported missing in 2021 and whose body was never found. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa, Pool)

Adam Montgomery arrives for his sentencing hearing at Hillsborough Superior Court, Thursday, May 9, 2024, in Manchester N.H. Montgomery was found guilty of second-degree murder earlier in the year in the death of his 5-year-old daughter, Harmony, who police believe was killed nearly two years before she was reported missing in 2021 and whose body was never found. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa, Pool)

Crystal Sorey, mother of Harmony Montgomery, addresses the court during Adam Montgomery's sentencing hearing at Hillsborough Superior Court, Thursday, May 9, 2024, in Manchester N.H. Montgomery was found guilty of second-degree murder earlier in the year in the death of his 5-year-old daughter, Harmony, who police believe was killed nearly two years before she was reported missing in 2021 and whose body was never found. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa, Pool)

Crystal Sorey, mother of Harmony Montgomery, embraces a member of the gallery after addressing the court during Adam Montgomery's sentencing hearing at Hillsborough Superior Court, Thursday, May 9, 2024, in Manchester N.H. Montgomery was found guilty of second-degree murder earlier in the year in the death of his 5-year-old daughter, Harmony, who police believe was killed nearly two years before she was reported missing in 2021 and whose body was never found. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa, Pool)

Adam Montgomery arrives for his sentencing hearing at Hillsborough Superior Court, Thursday, May 9, 2024, in Manchester N.H. Montgomery was found guilty of second-degree murder earlier in the year in the death of his 5-year-old daughter, Harmony, who police believe was killed nearly two years before she was reported missing in 2021 and whose body was never found. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa, Pool)

JERUSALEM (AP) — The chief prosecutor of the International Criminal Court said Monday he is seeking arrest warrants for leaders of Israel and Hamas, including Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, over actions taken during their seven-month war.

While Netanyahu and his defense minister, Yoav Gallant, do not face imminent arrest, the announcement by ICC Chief Prosecutor Karim Khan was a symbolic blow that deepened Israel’s isolation over the war in Gaza.

Khan accused Netanyahu, Gallant, and three Hamas leaders — Yehia Sinwar, Mohammed Deif and Ismail Haniyeh — of war crimes and crimes against humanity in the Gaza Strip and Israel.

A panel of three judges will consider the prosecutor's evidence and determine whether to issue the arrest warrants and allow a case to proceed. The judges typically take two months to make such decisions.

Israel is not a member of the court, so even if the arrest warrants are issued, Netanyahu and Gallant do not face any immediate risk of prosecution. But Khan's announcement deepens Israel's isolation as it presses ahead in Gaza, and the threat of arrest could make it difficult for the Israeli leaders to travel abroad.

Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz said the chief prosecutor's decision against its leaders is “a historic disgrace that will be remembered forever.” He said he would work with world leaders to ensure that any such warrants are not enforced on Israel's leaders.

Hamas, which is considered a terrorist group by the West, also denounced the ICC prosecutor’s request to arrests its leaders.

Benny Gantz, a former military chief and member of Israel’s War Cabinet with Netanyahu and Gallant, harshly criticized Khan’s announcement, saying Israel fights with “one of the strictest” moral codes, respects international law and has a robust judiciary capable of investigating itself.

“The State of Israel is waging one of the just wars fought in modern history following a reprehensible massacre perpetrated by terrorist Hamas on the 7th of October,” he said.

Still, Netanyahu has come under heavy pressure at home to end the war sooner than later. Thousands of Israelis have joined weekly demonstrations calling on the government to reach a deal to bring home Israeli hostages in Hamas captivity.

In recent days, the two other members of his war Cabinet, Gallant and Benny Gantz, have threatened to resign if Netanyahu does not spell out a clear postwar vision for Gaza.

But on Monday, Netanyahu received wall-to-wall support as politicians across the spectrum condemned the ICC prosecutor’s move, including opposition leader Yair Lapid.

In a statement, Hamas accused the prosecutor of trying to “equate the victim with the executioner.” It said it has the right to resist Israeli occupation, including “armed resistance.”

It also criticized the court for seeking the arrests of only two Israeli leaders and said it should seek warrants for other Israeli leaders.

Both Sinwar and Deif are believed to be hiding in Gaza as Israel tries to hunt them down. But Haniyeh, the supreme leader of the Islamic militant group, is based in Qatar and frequently travels across the region.

The latest war between Israel and Hamas began on Oct. 7, when militants from Gaza crossed into Israel and killed some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and took 250 others hostage.

Since then, Israel has waged a brutal campaign to dismantle Hamas in Gaza. More than 35,000 Palestinians have been killed in the fighting, at least half of them women and children, according to the latest estimates by Gaza health officials.

The war has triggered a humanitarian crisis in Gaza, displacing roughly 80% of the population and leaving hundreds of thousands of people on the brink of starvation, according to U.N. officials.

Speaking of the Israeli actions, Khan said in a statement that “the effects of the use of starvation as a method of warfare, together with other attacks and collective punishment against the civilian population of Gaza are acute, visible and widely known. ... They include malnutrition, dehydration, profound suffering and an increasing number of deaths among the Palestinian population, including babies, other children, and women.”

The United Nations and other aid agencies have repeatedly accused Israel of hindering aid deliveries throughout the war. Israel denies this, saying there are no restrictions on aid entering Gaza and accusing the U.N. of failing to distribute aid.

The U.N. says aid workers have repeatedly come under Israeli fire, and also says ongoing fighting and a security vacuum have impeded deliveries.

Of the Hamas actions on Oct. 7, Khan, who visited the region in December, said that he saw for himself "the devastating scenes of these attacks and the profound impact of the unconscionable crimes charged in the applications filed today. Speaking with survivors, I heard how the love within a family, the deepest bonds between a parent and a child, were contorted to inflict unfathomable pain through calculated cruelty and extreme callousness. These acts demand accountability.”

After a brief period of international support, Israel has faced increasing criticism as the war has dragged on and the death toll has climbed.

Israel is also facing a South African case in the International Court of Justice, the U.N.'s top court, accusing Israel of genocide. Israel denies those charges.

The ICC was established in 2002 as the permanent court of last resort to prosecute individuals responsible for the world’s most heinous atrocities — war crimes, crimes against humanity, genocide and the crime of aggression.

The U.N. General Assembly endorsed the ICC, but the court is independent.

Dozens of countries don’t accept the court’s jurisdiction over war crimes, genocide and other crimes. They include Israel, the United States, Russia and China.

The ICC becomes involved when nations are unable or unwilling to prosecute crimes on their territory. Israel argues it has a functioning court system.

The ICC accepted “The State of Palestine” as a member in 2015, a year after the Palestinians accepted the court’s jurisdiction.

The court’s chief prosecutor at the time announced in 2021 she was opening an investigation into possible crimes on Palestinian territory. Israel often levies accusations of bias at U.N. and international bodies, and Netanyahu condemned the decision as hypocritical and antisemitic.

In 2020, then U.S. President Donald Trump authorized economic and travel sanctions on the ICC prosecutor and another senior prosecutor. The ICC staff were looking into U.S. and allies’ troops for possible war crimes in Afghanistan.

U.S. President Joe Biden lifted the sanctions in 2021.

Last year, the court issued a warrant for Russian President Vladimir Putin on charges of responsibility for the abductions of children from Ukraine. Russia responded by issuing its own arrest warrants for Khan and ICC judges.

Other high-profile leaders charged by the court include ousted Sudanese strongman Omar al-Bashir on allegations that include genocide in his country’s Darfur region. Former Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi was captured and killed by rebels shortly after the ICC issued a warrant for his arrest on charges linked to the brutal suppression of anti-government protests in 2011.

Molly Quell in Delft, Netherlands, and Mike Corder in Ede, Netherlands, contributed.

Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant pauses while making a brief statement to the media with U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, not pictured, at The Kirya, Israel's Ministry of Defense, Monday, Oct. 16, 2023, in Tel Aviv. The chief prosecutor of the International Criminal Court said Monday, May 20, 2024, he is seeking arrest warrants for Israeli and Hamas leaders, including Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, in connection with their actions during the seven-month war between Israel and Hamas. Netanyahu, his defense minister Gallant, and three Hamas leaders, are believed to be responsible for war crimes and crimes against humanity in the Gaza Strip and Israel. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin, Pool, File)

Hamas chief Ismail Haniyeh speaks during a press briefing after his meeting with Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian in Tehran, Iran, Tuesday, March 26, 2024. The chief prosecutor of the International Criminal Court said Monday he is seeking arrest warrants for Israeli and Hamas leaders, including Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, in connection with their actions during the seven-month war between Israel and Hamas. Haniyeh is one of the three Hamas leaders believed to be responsible for war crimes and crimes against humanity in the Gaza Strip and Israel. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi, File)

Yehia Sinwar, head of Hamas in Gaza, greets his supporters during a meeting with leaders of Palestinian factions at his office in Gaza City, Wednesday, April 13, 2022. The chief prosecutor of the International Criminal Court said Monday he is seeking arrest warrants for Israeli and Hamas leaders, including Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, in connection with their actions during the seven-month war between Israel and Hamas. Yehia Sinwar is one of the three Hamas leaders believed to be responsible for war crimes and crimes against humanity in the Gaza Strip and Israel. (AP Photo/Adel Hana)

FILE - Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu chairs a cabinet meeting at the Kirya military base, which houses the Israeli Ministry of Defense, in Tel Aviv, Israel, on Dec. 24, 2023. The chief prosecutor of the International Criminal Court said Monday, May 20, 2024 he is seeking arrest warrants for Israeli and Hamas leaders, including Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, in connection with their actions during the seven-month war between Israel and Hamas. (AP Photo/Ohad Zwigenberg, Pool, File)