Adam Montgomery said he ‘hated Harmony because she reminded him of her mother’

‘He said he hated her, right to his core,’ a witness told jurors in Adam Montgomery’s murder trial on Tuesday

A former friend of accused child murderer Adam Montgomery has revealed the reason why he allegedly hated his five-year-old daughter Harmony.

Rebecca Maines took the stand at Montgomery’s ongoing trial in Manchester, New Hampshire, on Tuesday.

Montgomery is facing a charge of second-degree murder and has conceded two lesser charges of abuse of a corpse and falsifying information in Harmony’s death.

According to the prosecution, Montgomery beat his daughter to death after she soiled herself inside the family car in December 2019. He hid and moved her remains around for two months, before disposing of them in an unknown location in March 2020.

On Tuesday, Ms Maines testified that she and Montgomery met in 2021 when they were both recovering addicts. Ms Maines called Montgomery “her best friend” and told the court that they had spent a lot of time travelling together before Montgomery’s arrest in late 2022.

During her testimmony, Ms Maines, a former nurse, recalled an instance in which Montgomery reportedly admitted to her that he hated Harmony.

“Did he tell you how that made him feel?” prosecutor Ben Agati asked.

“He said he hated her, right to his core,” Ms Maines answered. “It reminded him of her mother.”

Rebecca Maines testifies during the trial of the Adam Montgomery at Hillsborough County Superior Court (Copyright 2024 The Associated Press. All rights reserved)

Montgomery reportedly told Ms Maines that Harmony lived with her mother in Massachusetts. Montgomery also discussed Harmony’s bathroom accidents and said he would put her in the corner whenever she soiled herself, Ms Maines told jurors.

“He told me that he dropped [Harmony] off at her mother’s,” Ms Maines recalled. “He said that her mother would not allow him to see her and that he had been trying for some time.”

When asked about the reason Montgomery gave for returning Harmony to her mother, Ms Maines said: “Because she continuously s*** her pants, [he said.] ...He said it was on purpose.”

According to testimony from Montgomery’s estranged wife Kayla Montgomery last week, he repeatedly beat Harmony in the head on 7 December 2019, killing her.

He then only realised Harmony had died hours later, after driving to a fast food restaurant and buying drugs from a friend.

Kayla also told jurors about the rampant abuse that Harmony endured at the hands of her father.

She said Harmony was often kept under a blanket to hide her severely bruised body and bloody face from strangers.

On Tuesday, the prosecution rested its case following testimony from more than two dozen witnesses, including Harmomy’s biological mother and her foster parents. Judge Amy Messina told jurors that deliberations could begin by the end of the week.