The stepmother of a New Hampshire girl who went missing in 2019 has waived her arraignment on perjury charges after allegedly lying twice to a grand jury.
Kayla Montgomery, 31, was arrested Friday at the Manchester Police Department when she arrived for a daily check-in. The check-ins are required as part of Montgomery’s bail conditions after she was arrested on unrelated charges of receiving stolen firearms.
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Manchester Police Chief Allen Aldenberg said Montgomery was arrested on two counts of perjury for lying to a grand jury. She was scheduled to be arraigned Monday but the hearing was canceled after she agreed to waive arraignment. Bail was set at $5,000 and she is not allowed to leave the state.
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Court paperwork released Monday revealed that Montgomery lied to a grand jury about a prior work location and the time of a work shift.
Her stepdaughter, Harmony Montgomery, was last seen in 2019 at age 5, but authorities didn’t know she was missing until last year. She is still considered a missing person.
Aldenberg said the arrest is “another step in the investigation into the whereabouts of Harmony Montgomery.”
“We will continue to do everything in our power to bring this case to a resolution,” he said.
Kayla Montgomery was previously charged with theft by deception after police said she falsely claimed that her stepdaughter was living with her in order to collect welfare benefits. She has pleaded not guilty and was released on bail last month.
Adam Montgomery, Harmony’s father, has been indicted on an assault charge alleging that he struck Harmony in the face in July 2019. He’s also accused of unrelated firearms theft charges and has pleaded not guilty.
The couple, described as estranged, told police that Harmony was brought to be with her mother in Massachusetts around Thanksgiving 2019. Her mother said she last saw her daughter during a phone video conversation at around Easter that year.
Police have received hundreds of tips. They’re offering $150,000 for information that will lead them to the missing child.
