MECHANICSVILLE, N.Y. (TCN) — New details have emerged in connection with an apparent murder-suicide in which four children and two adult women were found dead in a home earlier this summer.
According to a press release from the Mechanicsville Police Department, officers arrived at an apartment on June 23 to conduct a welfare check after neighbors grew concerned that they had not heard from the residents in several days. Inside the home, they found 64-year-old Amy Steadman, 44-year-old Sarah Myers, 13-year-old Harper Harmon, 11-year-old Hudson Harmon, and 10-year-old twins Gavin and Gracelynn Harmon. Steadman was Myers’ mother and the grandmother of the children.
Myers and the children’s father, Brady Harmon, had recently come to a custody arrangement in which the children would live with him for the summer and that she would keep them for the school year. Brady Harmon and Myers had separated in 2019, and Harmon was supposed to pick up the children on July 1 and bring them to his home in Utah. He had reportedly not seen the children since the couple separated in 2019.
Police announced at a press conference after the bodies were found that they believed that Steadman was responsible for killing the family members before killing herself; evidence found at the scene allegedly included a handwritten note, as well as syringes and medication, both prescription and over-the-counter.
Police alleged everyone had been poisoned and one of the children had also been stabbed. Details of the contents of the handwritten note were not released at that time.
On Aug. 4, the Mechanicsville Police Department held a press conference to share several updates in the case. According to police, the medical examiner ruled the deaths of the children to be homicides and the deaths of the adults to be suicides.
Investigators learned that Steadman and Myers allegedly worked together to kill the four children before killing themselves; the handwritten note, allegedly signed by Steadman, states that the only way the children would be safe would be to die rather than go to Utah and endure abuse at the hands of their father, according to police.
Investigators also found documents allegedly by Myers in which she expressed frustration at the Utah court system and discussing abuse by Brady Harmon. In addition, investigators also found photos and other documentation of alleged abuse by Brady Harmon directed at Myers and her children.
Spectrum News 1 reports investigators have not verified any of the claims regarding Brady Harmon.
According to police, during the investigation, it was learned that Steadman allegedly went to several pharmacies to fill various prescriptions and purchase over-the-counter sleep aids. She had allegedly conducted internet searches on various medications and “most fatal location to be stabbed.”
WRGB reports Myers allegedly told Steadman to give the medication to the children on the morning of June 10; they had a scheduled FaceTime conversation with their father at 6 p.m. that day. They missed that call, and Brady Harmon reportedly requested welfare checks on June 13 and 17.
Police stated that messages obtained between Myers and Steadman allegedly said, “It’s not working. We need another option,” when Gavin Harmon did not react as anticipated to the medication. He was reportedly stabbed and had a defensive wound. In addition, another child began to complain of stomach pain and became aware of what was occurring, according to Spectrum News 1.
Of the messages, Mechanicsville Police Chief Bill Rabbit said, “Those communications are important because they document far more than planning. … They show that Steadman and Myers were communicating and coordinating while the murders were taking place.”
Brady Harmon told WRGB, “Yeah, it’s a load of crap. I mean, you don’t protect someone by harming someone.”
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