A devastated father is speaking publicly after a heartbreaking tragedy in which his four children were discovered dead at home with their mother and grandmother, in a case police believe may involve poisoning.
The six family members were found inside their apartment in Mechanicville, a small community in upstate New York, on Tuesday.
Authorities identified them as Amy Steadman, 64; her daughter, Sarah Myers, 44; and Myers’ four children: Harper, 13, Hudson, 11, and 10-year-old twins Gavin and Gracelynn.
Mechanicville Police Department Chief William Rabbitt said during a Thursday press briefing that officers found the bodies after responding to a welfare check at the residence.
According to Rabbitt, an autopsy determined that one of the children died from blunt-force trauma. He also said investigators found evidence pointing to “intentional poisoning.”
The police chief said a note was recovered at the scene, along with circumstantial evidence that “strongly suggests” Steadman had a role in what happened.
The children’s father, Brady Harmon, has since addressed the loss, saying he had been in a custody dispute with Myers and that the children were expected to spend the summer with him in Utah.
Harmon told The US Sun that he and Myers married in 2015 before separating four years later, which he said was the last time he saw his children.
Brady Harmon, the children’s father, has spoken to multiple news outlets about an ongoing custody battle with their mother after they were found dead in their apartment
Harmon revealed that he received a message from Myers on June 10 saying that the children were sick. They were planning to spend the summer with him in Utah for the first time in six years
Harmon said that he learned his children had died just before Father’s Day. He added that his lawyer had recently sent paperwork regarding an upcoming custody hearing
Harmon said he last spoke to his children on June 7, but received a text from Myers on June 10 that they were sick.
‘She messaged me, “Hey, the kids are sick, we’ll talk to you on the 11th,” he said.
That same day, Harmon said his lawyer sent her paperwork regarding an upcoming custody hearing on the 29th.
‘So, I don’t know if that pushed them over the edge because like, “Oh my gosh, he actually has a lawyer that’s going to do his job. And we don’t know way out of this, so let’s do the next best thing. He’ll never have access to these kids…” and then do what they did,’ he speculated.
After he learned his children were sick, Harmon said he called police multiple times to ask for welfare checks.
Harmon added that he consistently spoke to his children on FaceTime and tried to get them excited about their upcoming summer visit to Utah.
He described his children to the New York Post as ‘happy little kids,’ adding ‘Harper and Grace would show me their drawings, Hudson would show me their cat and Gavin would show me something he built.’
Harmon said that Steadman had lived with him and Myers at one point during their marriage.
Harper, 13, Hudson, 11, and Gavin and Gracelynn, both 10, were found dead in their upstate New York apartment alongside their mother and grandmother, on Tuesday
Myers, 44, had been living with her four children. She also died earlier this week with her mother, Amy Steadman, 64,
The Mechanicville Police Department said that evidence may suggest that Amy Steadman was involved in the deaths, citing a note found at the scene and circumstantial evidence
He described the grandmother as not being warm, but admitted that she was ‘doting’ and would spoil the children.
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Harmon speculated during an interview with Spectrum News that Myers and Steadman committed the crime together.
‘And all because they were going to spend 60 days with me. Sixty days in six and a half years. I finally get 60 days, and I get this thrown in my face,’ he added, referring to the upcoming Utah trip.
‘I have been fighting for so long to be able to have access to them, fighting so long to be part of their lives and show them there’s something different,’ he continued.
‘Almost to that finish line, have my legs cut out from me and gutted because someone decided to take my kids away from me.’
Harmon told local ABC affiliate News 10 that he discovered his kids were gone just two days before Father’s Day.
‘No mother, no sane mother, parent or anything would sit there and allow that to happen,’ he said.
‘Who could do that to a child, especially your own child or grandchild? It is so sickening to think that they did that.’
Mechanicville Police Chief William Rabbitt pointed to a handwritten note as well as bottles of prescription and over-the-counter medicines found in the home that indicated a possible poisoning
Harmon speculated that Myers and Steadman had commited the crime together. However, he recalled that she had been a ‘dotting grandmother’ when he was married to her daughter
However, Steadman’s ex-husband, John Bauman, told Spectrum News that she and her granddaughter loved the kids, adding that he did not believe they had anything to do with their deaths.
Steadman’s Facebook profile shows that in 2022, she shared a GoFundMe for her daughter to ‘help get a domestic violence lawyer.’
Harmon denied the accusations in his interview with The US Sun, calling Myers the ‘culprit’ rather than a ‘victim.’
He alleged that she stabbed him in the face with a medicine dropper during a fight in 2019. Harmon also accused his ex-wife of keeping his children away from him to maintain a sense of ‘control.’
Police have assured residents that there is no further threat to the public, but with few details released about how the tragedy unfolded, locals say they have been left stunned by the family’s deaths.
A resident in the apartment complex, Megan Reed, 38, told the Times Union that the grandmother lived in an apartment in the same building, and was ‘with [Myers] every single day to help her.’
She added: ‘Those kids don’t deserve this.’
Another neighbor said the grandmother and mother were ‘inseparable,’ calling them ‘best friends.’
Police said the news has shocked the tight night community of Mechanicville. High schoolers were seen on Wednesday kneeling near the scene in their caps and gowns
Police have recovered evidence at the scene suggesting a potential poisoning
The apartment where the family lived was blocked off earlier this week as cop cars parked near the residence
Locals said the deaths came in the last days of the Mechanicville High School year, and on Wednesday morning, several students in red caps and gowns were reportedly seen at the scene, kneeling.
Mechanicville Central School District Superintendent G Michael Apostol said the district was providing counseling to its high school students to help them cope with the tragedy.
‘Mechanicville is a close-knit city. Many residents knew the family involved, have children and grandchildren of their own, or simply cannot comprehend the loss of six lives under such heartbreaking circumstances,’ Chief Rabbitt said at a press conference.
‘Our thoughts remain with the family members, friends, neighbors, first responders and everyone affected by this tragedy.’
The Daily Mail has reached out to the Mechanicville Police Department for comment on the accusations.
