Harmony Montgomery's mom plans to launch wrongful death lawsuit against state of New Hampshire for 'failing' to protect little girl against her 'monstrous' drug-dealing father who beat her to death

The mother of Harmony Montgomery, a five-year-old girl who was brutally murdered in December 2019, is planning to launch a wrongful death lawsuit against the state of New Hampshire.

Crystal Sorey asked a judge to declare her daughter legally dead, and to be appointed administrator of her estate. Harmony's body has never been found.

This comes more than two weeks after Harmony's father, Adam Montgomery, who is already in prison for separate firearms charges, was convicted of fatally beating her and other crimes.

Now, Sorey is preparing to file civil litigation against the people that failed to protect little Harmony against her father - including New Hampshire's child welfare system.

Sorey's lawyer told Judge Beth Kissinger that Adam Montgomery's second-degree murder conviction, in addition to his admission of guilt to lesser charges that he moved her body around for months afterward and falsified physical evidence, amounted to a legal death declaration.

Crystal Sorey, Hannah Montgomery's mother, asked the state of New Hampshire to declare her daughter legally dead

Crystal Sorey (right) - Harmony's biological mother - lost custody of the young girl in 2018 because of her drug addiction. As Kayla testified on Friday, she reportedly wept from the witness box 

Kissinger did not rule immediately, asking for court paperwork, including the jury's verdict and a probate surety bond from Sorey, which would guarantee she would fulfill her duties under the law as administrator. 

'I'm her warrior, basically,' Sorey told WMUR-TV afterward. 'Everything I do is for her.' 

Prior to the murder, Sorey had lost custody of her daughter in 2018 because of her crippling drug addiction.

A Webex connection was set up at the men's state prison in Concord for Adam Montgomery to participate in the hearing, but he refused to attend, a prison official said. Montgomery also had declined to show up at his two-week trial.

According to prosecutors, Adam, Hannah Montgomery's father, fatally punched his half-blind daughter with a 'closed fist' in December 2019 after the five-year-old girl wet herself in the car in which they were living. They had recently been evicted from their home.

According to Hannah's stepmother, Kayla, who was also in the car, after Adam punched his daughter, he said: 'I think I really hurt her. I felt something.'

But rather than helping her or seeking out medical attention, Adam, Kayla, and Kayla's two infant sons, who were in the car as well, went to get Burger King.

On the way to the restaurant, Kayla said that he 'kept punching her,' stopping at several stop lights so that he could reach behind him and strike her again. 

Harmony vanished in December 2019, however her disappearance was only realized by authorities in November 2021 

Montgomery was convicted of second-degree murder, assault, witness tampering, falsifying physical evidence, and abuse of a corpse. Earlier in the trial, his attorney acknowledged his guilt on the lesser charges of falsifying physical evidence and abuse of a corpse, but denies murdering Harmony 

 Adam Montgomery's defense argued that his estranged wife Kayla (pictured) was responsible for Harmony's death. She became a key witness for the prosecution 

After delivering the fatal punch, Hannah's step-mother claimed that Adam covered the girl with a blanket, which did little to muffle the moans of the five-year-old.

After getting Burger King, the couple proceeded to purchase heroin and crack, and then their car broke down, and it was at this point that Adam realized he had killed his daughter.

According to his now-estranged wife, Adam hurriedly stuffed Hannah in a duffel bag and stashed the bag in a snow bank near a dumpster, before eventually coming back and moving her body again. 

Adam's legal defense was centered around the argument that while he was indeed guilty of moving his daughter's corpse, he was not responsible for her death.

Last month, there was much back-and-forth in the courtroom between Adam and Kayla, who is currently serving an 18-month sentence for lying to a grand jury about her whereabouts on the day of Hannah's disappearance. 

The legal strategies of Adam and Kayla Montgomery revolved around trying to pin Hannah's murder on each other

Prosecutors claimed Adam fatally beat Harmony to death after she had a bathroom accident in a car they were living in after their eviction 

Harmony's remains have never been found 

Sorey had lost custody of Hannah in 2018 because of her drug addiction

Each has attempted to pin the murder on the other, and Kayla tried to present herself as a victim of domestic abuse.

She testified against Adam in February as part of a plea deal for a reduced sentence. 

Her ex-husband's lawyers tried to cast doubt on her testimony, and had questioned her reliability as witness, citing the fact that she perjured herself. In spite of their energetic efforts, Adam was still convicted of second-degree murder in February.

On March seventh, Kayla was granted parole and will be released from jail in May.

Hannah's body has never been found. Her disappearance wasn't discovered until November 21, when her mother reported to authorities that she hadn't seen Hannah in two years.