THE stepmother of a murdered little girl has broken down in tears as she described how the 5-year-old's remains were stuffed in a tote bag and carried around town.
Harmony Montgomery, 5, died in December 2019 after her father allegedly beat her to death over having an accident in his car.
Adam Montgomery is on trial for Harmony's murder and his estranged wife, Kayla Montgomery, has testified against him.
On Monday, she endured six hours of grueling questioning and detailed how she carried Harmony's body around in a hospital maternity ward tote in the stroller with her two other children.
"It was a double stroller. I had one kid in the front and there was a basket underneath," Kayla said on the stand.
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"I put the CMC [Catholic Medical Center] bag in the basket, and then the other kid was on the other side."
She told the jury that Adam had given her orders to deliver the bag to where he worked, at a restaurant named Portland Pie, so he could hide the bag in the walk-in freezer, ABC affiliate WMUR reported.
The stepmother has held strong to her claim that Adam murdered the 5-year-old girl.
She also told the jury on Monday that Adam was out of control in the months following Harmony's death and accused Kayla of working with the police.
Kayla claimed to have suffered physical and emotional abuse at the hands of Adam but said in court that she still has feelings for him.
"I still care about him because he's the father of my children," Kayla said when asked if she still loved Adam.
"He was my best friend. It's been hard for me to just let go," Kayla said in tears.
Kayla also said that at one point after Harmony's death, Adam wanted to kill himself.
She was able to stop him by saying that both she and their children needed him.
GUTWRENCHING DETAILS
Prosecutors have accused Adam of fatally beating his daughter after she wet herself in the car they were living in at the time.
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After Harmony died in the backseat of the family's Chrysler Sebring, Kayla testified that she saw Adam take his daughter's lifeless body, "fold her in half, and squished" her inside the Catholic Medical Center hospital bag.
Adam is charged with second-degree murder, tampering with witnesses and informants, falsifying physical evidence, and abuse of a corpse.
Harmony's body was hidden for months, the odor making it hard for the family to ignore while they lived in their car.
Kayla said that Harmony's body was also placed in the trunk of a car, a cooler in an apartment building, the ceiling vent of a homeless shelter, and a freezer.
Prosecutors allege that Adam eventually disposed of Harmony's body in March 2020.
Kayla's testimony on Monday was the latest disturbing evidence given at trial.
Last week, prosecutors accused Adam of stopping for Burger King and doing drugs as his daughter was dying in the back of the car.
"At no time did anyone stop or get Harmony medical attention as the result of this assault," police wrote in an affidavit.
“She went from [being] a girl who radiated happiness, to a scared girl, and from there she went to be the dead girl rotting in the bag,” prosecutor Christopher Knowles said in court.
“And then she went to be the dead girl rotting in the ceiling, a ceiling the defendant slept under for months.”
Adam has denied any involvement in Harmony's murder.
However, during the first day of trial, Adam told Judge Amy Messer that he plans to admit to two charges, abuse of a corpse, and falsifying physical evidence.
His trial resumes on Tuesday.
Police are still searching for Harmony's body and have asked anyone with information to call the dedicated tip line at (603) 932-8997.
