Adam Montgomery’s trial hears about $400 Home Depot purchase of items to ‘destroy Harmony’s body’: Updates
Officers saw missing 5-year-old in Sept 2019’: Police chief on Harmony Montgomery case
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Adam Montgomery has remained absent from his own murder trial over the murder of his five-year-old daughter Harmony in Manchester, New Hampshire.
Mr Montgomery’s trial is under way more than four years after Harmony was last seen alive in 2019.
Authorities failed to search for the missing child – who was known to protective services – for more than two years after she went missing.
In 2022, Mr Montgomery was charged with second-degree murder, abuse of a corpse and falsifying physical evidence. [1][2]
Kayla Montgomery told police that her husband struck the little girl several times after she had a bathroom accident.[3]
The little girl’s remains were first hidden in a ceiling vent at a shelter where the family stayed after her death. Montgomery snuck the remains into his workplace freezer[4], before disposing of them in March 2020.
On Thursday, jurors heard evidence of a $400 purchase of items at a Home Depot that the prosecution alleges Montgomery used to destroy his daughter’s remains. A detective told the court that a $500 withdrawal from an account that belonged to Kayla Montgomery was made at a bank less than a mile away from the store.
Harmony’s remains have never been found.
Show latest update 1708030444
‘I saw rage’
Rose Ann Smith, who worked with Medicaid, drove the Montgomerys to the methadone clinic on 14 December 2019.
Ms Smith recalled an instance in which Kayla Montgomery had a black eye. Ms Smith said that she wanted to give her phone so she could call for help, but Adam Montgomery became aggressive and yanked the phone away from Ms Smith.
“You’re not giving that phone to my wife,” Montgomery reportedly said. “I didn’t see Adam, I saw rage.”
Andrea Blanco15 February 2024 20:54
Brendon Middleton takes the stand
Mr Middleton tells jurors that he was told by Travis Beach the van would be used to transport furniture.
“I was raised to always help my friends,” Mr Middleton said.
Andrea Blanco15 February 2024 20:19
Repairman says Adam Montgomery ‘paced’ outside bathroom as he fixed tub’s drain
Dennis Cloutier, a repairman, told the court that he fixed Adam Montgomery’s bathtub in 2020.
Mr Cloutier said that he noticed the tub was not draining and realised that the overflow drain was missing a screw.
“I snaked out the drain, he had dislodged the actual plunger that hooks to the lever so that was stuck down the drain,” Mr Cloutier said. “So, I removed that completely.”
Mr Cloutier said the job took him just 35 minutes, and that Montgomery waited outside the bathroom.
“He was doing more pacing than talking,” Mr Cloutier said.
Mr Cloutier also fixed lights at the apartment that Montgomery had removed because he thought there were cameras hidden.
Andrea Blanco15 February 2024 20:09
Britney Bedard is now on the stand
In March 2020, Ms Bedard was dating Travis Beach, who had agreed to rent a U-Haul truck that Montgomery would use to dispose of Harmony’s remains.
Mr Beach could not rent the vehicle because he didn’t have an ID, so he asked his friend Brendon Middleton to do it instead.
Mr Middleton drove the van to a gas station, where Mr Beach and his girlfriend picked it up.
Andrea Blanco15 February 2024 19:34
Court takes recess
Proceedings will resume shortly.
Andrea Blanco15 February 2024 18:06
Detective Max Rahill is now on the stand
Det Rahill helped process evidence at the Families in Transition shelter.
He also told jurors about a receipt for a $500 withdrawal at a Citizens Bank location less than a mile away from the Manchester Home Depot where the tools were purchased.
The account belonged to Kayla Montgomery, Det Rahill said.
The Manchester Police Department attempted to retrieve surveillance video from the day the transaction was made years later, but the bank no longer had it available.
Andrea Blanco15 February 2024 17:45
State alleges Adam Montgomery purchased $400 in items to destroy Harmony’s remains
A Home Depot employee testified that an unknown person purchased a 40-pound bag of limestone, a Milwaukee M18 Fuel 18V Brushless Cordless “fuel grinder,” and a 4.5 Diablo blade and M18 battery at the Manchester location.
The purchase totalled almost $400.
The defence later argued that those purchases can’t be tied to Montgomery. And that Kayla Montgomery had not testified to seeing other power tools at the Union Square apartment where Montgomery reduced Harmony’s body.
Andrea Blanco15 February 2024 17:19
Defence seeks to ban Home Depot evidence
The defence said there were no witnesses that saw Adam Montgomery buying a hand saw, and that Kayla Montgomery’s testimony was not reliable.
“I think there is enough information to allow the state to bring the evidence about the Home Depot,” Judge Messina said.
Andrea Blanco15 February 2024 16:56
Bag with Harmony’s remains placed in walk-in freezer next to condiments
Cameron Gibney, another coworker of Montgomery at Portland Pie, also testified about the bag he saw Montgomery bring to work ofte.
“Inside the actual restaurant and around the restaurant itself. Also, I’ve seen him inside a walk-in cooler that we used to have that was where the kitchen area used to be.”
“He would place it inside the walk-in cooler, on the lower left-hand side shelf inside the cooler.”
“We had mustard and other condiments there.”
Andrea Blanco15 February 2024 16:21
Montgomery’s coworkers testifies about walk-in freezer
Emily Thompson, who worked at the Portland Pie Company with Adam Montgomery, is now on the stand.
“I recall him coming in and leaving the walk-in with a bag,” Ms Thompson said.
Andrea Blanco15 February 2024 16:00
References
- ^ Mr Montgomery was charged with (www.independent.co.uk)
- ^ second-degree murder, abuse of a corpse and falsifying physical evidence. (www.independent.co.uk)
- ^ struck the little girl several times after she had a bathroom accident. (www.independent.co.uk)
- ^ snuck the remains into his workplace freezer (www.independent.co.uk)
- ^ 1708030444 (www.independent.co.uk)
- ^ 1708028341 (www.independent.co.uk)
- ^ 1708027778 (www.independent.co.uk)
- ^ 1708025641 (www.independent.co.uk)
- ^ 1708020366 (www.independent.co.uk)
- ^ 1708019100 (www.independent.co.uk)
- ^ 1708017595 (www.independent.co.uk)
- ^ 1708016194 (www.independent.co.uk)
- ^ 1708014064 (www.independent.co.uk)
- ^ 1708012851 (www.independent.co.uk)