Overview
- The New Hampshire Supreme Court issued the ruling Thursday and reversed Montgomery’s 2024 second-degree murder conviction because the trial joined the murder charge with a separate assault allegation in a way the court said could unfairly influence jurors.
- The court left in place Montgomery’s convictions for second-degree assault, falsifying physical evidence, witness tampering, and abusing his daughter’s corpse.
- Montgomery was convicted in 2024 in connection with the 2019 death of his 5-year-old daughter, Harmony, with the murder count alleging he recklessly caused her death and the assault count tied to an earlier abuse incident.
- The decision shows how appellate review can undo a conviction for procedural error even when the record supports other criminal findings and explains that joining distinct bad-act evidence can blur the line between separate allegations.
- The court remanded the case to the lower court for further proceedings, which could affect sentencing and next steps for prosecutors and the victim’s family now that the murder conviction has been vacated while other convictions remain.