The New Hampshire Supreme Court has overturned Adam Montgomery's second-degree murder conviction in the 2019 killing of his five-year-old daughter, Harmony Montgomery.
The court ruled that Montgomery was denied a fair trial due to the combination of assault and murder charges, which justices deemed should not have been tried together.
Despite the ruling, Montgomery is currently serving a separate 32.5-year sentence on unrelated gun charges.
The state had argued that combining the charges was harmless, but justices disagreed, writing that the misjoinder of offenses was not harmless as to the homicide charge.
Former Assistant Attorney General Jesse O'Neill explained the issue, stating that the jurors could have improperly relied on the strength of the assault charge to bolster their view of Montgomery's guilt in the murder charge.
Montgomery's attorney, Pamela Phelan, argued that the assault charge should not have been tried together with the murder charge, and the defense also argued that the court should not have allowed evidence of other alleged 'bad acts.'
