Current:Home > ScamsOfficials ignored warning signs prior to young girl’s death at the hands of her father, lawsuit says-DB Wealth Institute B2 Expert Reviews
Officials ignored warning signs prior to young girl’s death at the hands of her father, lawsuit says
View Date:2024-12-24 02:51:19
MEREDITH, N.H. (AP) — New Hampshire social workers ignored a litany of warning signs that a 5-year-old girl was being physically abused by her father prior to the child’s death, the slain girl’s mother alleged in a negligence lawsuit filed Friday against the state.
Crystal Sorey says the state’s Division for Children, Youth and Families failed to act on numerous reports from multiple people about Harmony Montgomery’s welfare after father Adam Montgomery was awarded custody of the girl in February 2019.
Adam Montgomery was sentenced in May to a minimum of 56 years in prison after he was convicted of murdering his daughter and moving her corpse around for months before disposing of it. Police believe Harmony was killed by him nearly two years before she was reported missing in 2021. Her body was never found.
The lawsuit details concerns people raised about Harmony’s welfare under her father’s care, including claims she returned from a trip to Florida with a black eye.
According to the lawsuit, the father’s uncle Kevin Montgomery contacted the agency to tell them Harmony had a “vibrant” black eye after she was “punched clear in the eye socket with full force” and that Adam had told him he’d “bounced her off” every wall in the house.
Kevin Montgomery also told the agency he’d witnessed Harmony being made to scrub a bathroom with a toothbrush as a punishment on one occasion, and that another time she’d been made to stand in a corner for between five and eight hours, the lawsuit says.
Kevin Montgomery also reported concerns that the electricity to his nephew’s home had been shut off and he’d found what appeared to be drug paraphernalia, according to the lawsuit. The lawsuit said he became frustrated when he asked what was happening about an earlier report and was told it was confidential, and was also questioned by an agency worker about the accuracy of some of the dates he’d provided.
“This is why children die,” Kevin Montgomery told the agency worker in frustration, according to the lawsuit. He vowed to keep calling the agency every day until something was done, the lawsuit says.
The agency also received concerning reports about the household from neighbors and other people, according to the lawsuit, but failed to take appropriate action.
As a result of the negligence by the agency, the lawsuit says, “Harmony was the subject of multiple separate single incidents of serious physical and emotional abuse and neglect, including, but not limited to, corporal punishment, verbal and mental abuse, beatings that caused serious injury, and death.”
The lawsuit seeks a jury trial and unspecified monetary damages.
Michael Garrity, a spokesperson for the state’s Attorney General, said it would review the complaint and “respond as appropriate.”
Adam Montgomery did not attend his trial in February. Judge Amy Messer noted that he had an extensive criminal record that dated back to 2008.
“Your extreme indifference to the value of human life is seen in so many of your actions,” she said.
At the trial, Harmony’s stepmother Kayla Montgomery 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 at several stop lights as they drove from a methadone clinic to a fast food restaurant because he was angry that she was having bathroom accidents in the car.
The couple later discovered the girl was dead after the car broke down, Kayla Montgomery testified. She said 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.
The mother, Sorey, said the last time she saw Harmony was during a video call in April 2019. She later went to police, who announced they were looking for the missing child on New Year’s Eve 2021.
veryGood! (6)
Related
- Nicole Scherzinger receives support from 'The View' hosts after election post controversy
- Stop, Shop, & Save: Get $490 Worth of Perricone MD Skincare For Just $90
- Mega Millions winning numbers for February 9 as jackpot climbs to $394 million
- 49ers praise Brock Purdy, bemoan 'self-inflicted wounds' in Super Bowl 58 loss
- As the transition unfolds, Trump eyes one of his favorite targets: US intelligence
- New Mexico officer killed in stabbing before suspect is shot and killed by witness, police say
- Molly Ringwald breaks free from 'mom purgatory' in 'Feud: Capote vs. The Swans'
- Super Bowl 58 to be the first fully powered by renewable energy
- Diamond Sports Group will offer single-game pricing to stream NBA and NHL games starting next month
- Super Bowl 58 to be the first fully powered by renewable energy
Ranking
- Horoscopes Today, November 11, 2024
- 2024 NFL draft order: All 32 first-round selections set after Super Bowl 58
- All about Lift Every Voice and Sing, known as the Black national anthem, being sung by Andra Day at the 2024 Super Bowl
- Hailey Bieber Debuts Hair Transformation at the 2024 Super Bowl
- Texas’ 90,000 DACA recipients can sign up for Affordable Care Act coverage — for now
- Oscar nominees for films from ‘Oppenheimer’ and ‘Barbie’ to documentary shorts gather for luncheon
- The Chiefs have achieved dynasty status with their third Super Bowl title in five years
- Iceland's volcano eruption cuts off hot water supply to thousands after shooting lava 260 feet in the air
Recommendation
-
RHOBH's Kyle Richards Addresses PK Kemsley Cheating Rumors in the Best Way Possible
-
Horoscopes Today, February 11, 2024
-
Worried about your kids getting scammed by online crooks? Tech tips to protect kids online
-
'I'm just like a kid': Billy Dee Williams chronicles his 'full life' in new memoir
-
Georgia lawmaker proposes new gun safety policies after school shooting
-
Worried about your kids getting scammed by online crooks? Tech tips to protect kids online
-
Kelvin Kiptum, 24-year-old marathon world-record holder, dies in car crash
-
Iceland's volcano eruption cuts off hot water supply to thousands after shooting lava 260 feet in the air