In a wrongful death lawsuit, Harmony Montgomery's mother accuses New Hampshire officials of negligence

Harmony Montgomery's mother has filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the state of New Hampshire, alleging systemic deficiencies in the state's child protection system.

Crystal Sorey's lawsuit comes nine months after Harmony's father, Adam Montgomery, was found guilty of beating his five-year-old daughter to death in 2019. Her body was never found and a judge declared Harmony dead in March.

The lawsuit seeks damages and answers from the state of New Hampshire related to Harmony's disappearance and death.

Sorey's attorney is Rus Rilee, who in May obtained a $38 million judgment against the state for David Meehan. Meehan was one of hundreds who said they were physically and sexually abused in the state's youth correctional facility.

“We will hold the State of New Hampshire accountable for Harmony's senseless and preventable death,” Rilee said in an email announcing the lawsuit. “Too many defenseless children are being hurt and killed under the watchful eye of the state. This has been happening for far too long and something must be done to stop it – enough is enough.”

That lawsuit notes that several people raised concerns about Harmony's welfare with the New Hampshire Department of Children, Youth and Families after a Massachusetts judge placed her in the custody of Adam Montgomery in 2019.

According to the lawsuit, Harmony lived with her mother in Massachusetts after her birth in 2014. A Massachusetts judge awarded custody to Adam Montgomery in February 2019 after the state's child protection agency “removed Harmony from [Sorey’s] sent home due to allegations of neglect.” Sorey said she had drug problems at the time.

Massachusetts authorities worked with New Hampshire State DCYF and placed the child with Adam Montagomery in Manchester.

Within a few months, the lawsuit says, several people reported to DCYF and expressed concern that Harmony was being abused.

In 2022, Governor Chris Sununu released a report stating that a state child welfare worker contacted Adam Montgomery in 2020 and asked where Harmony lived. Montgomery told the worker that Harmony lived with Sorey.

The state left a message for Sorey, but it was never acted on. Sorey claims in her lawsuit that the state's report on the handling of her daughter's case “contains inaccuracies and omissions in the presentation of the facts designed to downplay the negligence of the DCYF and deceive the public.”

The Massachusetts Office of the Child Advocate released its own report in 2022, acknowledging that the state's child welfare system had repeatedly failed Harmony.