New Hampshire Mother Settles Wrongful Death Lawsuit with State

Ryan J. Farrick — May 25, 2025

Photo by Sora Shimazaki from Pexels

“On returning to New Hampshire from Florida on July 22, 2019, the reporter had observed that five-year-old Harmony had a ‘shiner,’” the lawsuit alleged. “According to the report, Adam had said that he left Harmony alone with baby D.M. while he went to the bathroom. While there, D.M. began to cry and Harmony put her hand over D.M.’s mouth. In response, Adam had ‘beaten the dog shit out of her.’”

A New Hampshire mother has settled her wrongful death lawsuit against the state for $2.25 million.

According to New Hampshire Public Radio, the lawsuit was filed last September on behalf of plaintiff Crystal Sorey, the mother of the late Harmony Montgomery. In court filings, attorneys for Sorey say that the state Division of Children, Youth and Families failed to protect the 5-year-old girl from foreseeable abuse when it placed her with her father, Adam Montgomery, in 2019.

The lawsuit claimed that, after being transferred to Adam Montgomery by a Massachusetts-based family court, the New Hampshire DCYF received multiple reports concerning Harmony’s welfare. One of the examples cited in the lawsuit cites a complaint alleging that Harmony returned home from a trip to Florida with a black eye and other visible signs of abuse.

“On returning to New Hampshire from Florida on July 22, 2019, the reporter had observed that five-year-old Harmony had a ‘shiner,’” the lawsuit alleged. “According to the report, Adam had said that he left Harmony alone with baby D.M. while he went to the bathroom. While there, D.M. began to cry and Harmony put her hand over D.M.’s mouth. In response, Adam had ‘beaten the dog shit out of her.’”

Scales of Justice. Image via Flickr/user:mikecogh. (CCA-BY-2.0).

The same reporter also told the Division of Children, Youth and Families that the Montgomery home was borderline uninhabitable, its premises purportedly covered in filth and without any permanent source of electricity.

“Too many vulnerable children are being injured and killed under the watchful eye of the State,” Rilee said in a 2024 statement. “It has been happening for way too long, and something needs to be done to stop it—enough is enough.”

Adam Montgomery was sentenced to a minimum of 56 years in prison in May of 2024; he was found guilty of murdering his daughter and concealing her corpse for months before attempting o dispose of it.

Under the terms of the settlement, the state is not required to admit wrongdoing.

In exchange for withdrawing her lawsuit, Sorey will receive payment of $2.25 million.

In an earlier report, New Hampshire Public Radio noted that Sorey’s lawsuit is not unprecedented. Over the course of the past several years, hundreds of residents have come forward alleging abuse in state-run juvenile detention centers; and, on Friday, the state attorney general’s office announced two other settlements in child-homicide- and abuse-related claims.

“The state agreed to these settlements to avoid prolonged litigation and support closure for the families,” New Hampshire Attorney General John Formella said in a statement. “We recognize their profound loss and hope this brings some measure of peace.”