BEDFORD, N.H. — A former Massachusetts judge has filed a formal complaint requesting that the Federal Bureau of Investigation launch an investigation into the death of Harmony Montgomery, a 5-year-old New Hampshire girl who was murdered by her father and vanished in 2019 after being placed in his care.
Adam Montgomery was found guilty in his daughter’s death in 2024 and sentenced to 56 years in prison on murder and other charges.
Carol Erskine, a long-time juvenile court judge and child advocate from Worcester, wants the FBI to initiate a criminal civil rights investigation into the conduct of New Hampshire’s Division of Children, Youth and Families and those involved in Harmony’s case.
The complaint, which Erskine filed with the FBI’s Bedford office, alleges that DCYF, through “deliberate failures and possible falsification of records,” deprived Harmony, a child with a disability, of her constitutional rights, contributing to the abuse, neglect, and death.
The now-retired judge is hopeful that the FBI will review the facts of the case and determine whether federal civil rights laws were violated.
“In terms of the federal argument, it’s a question of whether she was denied due process, a due process right to a fair investigation that never happened,” Erskine explained.
Erskine, the author of “A Cruel Injustice,” a book examining systemic failures in Harmony’s case in Massachusetts, explained her reasons for requesting the federal probe in the Granite State in a three-part series released in early June.
An independent review in 2022 found the Massachusetts child protection system failed to prioritize Harmony’s needs. In a report, the Massachusetts Office of the Child Advocate said Harmony wasn’t made a priority in her own legal case, as neither the judge nor the attorneys put her medical, behavioral, and eucational needs or safety at the forefront of custody discussions.
“So 17 reports of abuse and many of them were never even investigated,” Erskine told Boston 25 News. “They sent a letter on October 17th saying it’s unfounded. here’s no physical abuse. A lot of the reports were ignored. And then seven weeks later she was dead when he beat her to death in the backseat of a car.”
Police believe Harmony was killed nearly two years before she was reported missing in 2021.
Harmony’s body has not been found.
“One of the reasons for the state investigation is the state just bought its way out of accountability and transparency. I mean the fact that they paid $2.5 million dollars in a judgment that in a settlement agreement says they have no liability in Harmony’s death. From my perspective the price of secrecy is $2.5 million dollars,” Erskine said.
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