Truly Understand the News.
Published loading...Updated

A 5-year-old was murdered by her father. Her fateful custody hearing will be made public

  • Adam Montgomery, a 34-year-old man with a violent criminal history, was convicted and sentenced in 2024 for the murder of his five-year-old daughter, Harmony Montgomery, in Massachusetts.
  • Harmony was placed in her father's custody after a closed-door 2019 Essex Juvenile Court hearing, despite concerns about his criminal record and risks to the child’s wellbeing.
  • A 2022 independent review determined that the Massachusetts child welfare system did not adequately address Harmony’s needs, with custody rulings emphasizing parental rights over her safety amid persistent confidentiality in juvenile court proceedings.
  • The Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court ruled that audio recordings from the 2019 custody hearing can be released for use in Bill Lichtenstein’s documentary exposing secrecy in the child welfare and juvenile court systems.
  • This ruling may increase public understanding of systemic failures that led to Harmony’s death and could influence reforms to prevent similar tragedies in child protection services.
Insights by Ground AI
Does this summary seem wrong?

33 Articles

All
Left
17
Center
10
Right
Associated Press NewsAssociated Press News
+22 Reposted by 22 other sources
Lean Left

A 5-year-old was murdered by her father. Her fateful custody hearing will be made public

The highest court in Massachusetts has ruled audio recordings from the custody hearing of a 5-year-old New Hampshire girl who was murdered by her father and vanished in 2019 after being placed in his care.

·United States
Read Full Article
Think freely.Subscribe and get full access to Ground NewsSubscriptions start at $9.99/yearSubscribe

Bias Distribution

  • 63% of the sources lean Left
63% Left
Factuality

To view factuality data please Upgrade to Premium

Ownership

To view ownership data please Upgrade to Vantage

Gloucestershire Live broke the news in Gloucester, United Kingdom on Tuesday, April 22, 2025.
Sources are mostly out of (0)

Similar News Topics