Create a free profile to get unlimited access to exclusive videos, breaking news, sweepstakes, and more!
Harmony Montgomery's Stepmother Is Arrested For Allegedly Lying To Grand Jury
Harmony Montgomery disappeared in late 2019 while in the custody of her father, Adam Montgomery.
The stepmother of missing New Hampshire girl Harmony Montgomery has been arrested for perjury in the latest string of criminal charges against her.
Michael Garrity, the director of communications for the New Hampshire Department of Justice, confirmed to Oxygen.com that Kayla Montgomery was arrested last week on two counts of perjury for lying to a grand jury.
It's not clear what Montgomery is being accused of lying about and Garrity added only that the 31-year-old is expecting to be arraigned later Monday.
Montgomery was taken into custody Friday in the lobby of the Manchester Police Department, where she is required to check in daily as part of the bail requirements in place for earlier criminal charges against her, WMUR reports.
Police told the local news outlet that the perjury charges were not directly connected to the disappearance of Harmony Montgomery, who was last seen in 2019 when she was just 5 years old.
“The arrest of Kayla Montgomery is another step in the investigation into the whereabouts of Harmony Montgomery,” Police Chief Allen Aldenberg told WMUR. “We will continue to do everything in our power to bring this case to a resolution.”
Harmony’s mom, Crystal Sorey—who reported her daughter missing in late 2021 after being unable to make contact with her for years—told the news outlet following Kayla Montgomery’s arrest last week that she was pleased there was progress being made in the case.
“Karma is real,” she said. “I knew she wouldn’t last long and I hope this only brings us closer to bringing Harmony home.”
She believes her daughter’s stepmother likely knows more than she’s been saying about Harmony’s whereabouts.
“I’m hoping we get some answers this month,” Sorey said.
Sorey added to WBTS that she’s still holding out hope that her daughter is alive.
"We need to stay positive and have hope because that's the type a little girl Harmony was or is," Sorey said. "She is hopeful and happy and kind and loving and funny and sassy. You know, and she wouldn't want anybody to give up on her. So I'm not giving up."
From the time that Harmony was two months old, she bounced between Sorey and a foster family before a judge ultimately placed the young girl in the custody of her father, Adam Montgomery, in February of 2019, according to a report released earlier this year by the New Hampshire Office of the Child Advocate.
Sorey had struggled to maintain custody of the child due to her own issues with substance abuse, authorities said.
Harmony disappeared in late 2019 while in the custody of her father, who had spent only a limited amount of time with her before being granted full custody.
Adam Montgomery was charged earlier this year with second-degree felony assault and two misdemeanor counts of endangering the welfare of a child and interference with custody as a result of allegations that he had given his daughter a black eye in the summer of 2019.
He was also later charged with two counts of theft by unauthorized taking for allegedly stealing a rifle and shotgun, two charges of receiving stolen property, two counts of felon in possession and two charges of armed career criminal earlier this year.
Kayla Montgomery was also charged in March with theft by deception after authorities alleged that she continued to claim that Harmony was a member of the household and collected more than $1,500 in benefits for the child, even though Harmony had no longer been living with the family at the time.
She’s also facing two charges of receiving stolen property after authorities accused her of receiving the shotgun and rifle even though she likely knew they were stolen.
Anyone with information about Harmony’s whereabouts is urged to contact investigators.
