On June 25, 2026, in the quiet upstate New York city of Mechanicville, neighbors called in a welfare check for a family they had not seen for days. When authorities arrived, they discovered six members of the same family—including four children— dead inside an apartment. Investigators now believe the deaths were the result of an apparent murder-suicide, with evidence pointing to the children’s grandmother as the primary suspect.
Police went to the home on Harris St, Mechanicville on Thursday June 25 at around 6.20pm. When they entered the premises, they found the bodies of:
Amy Steadman (64)
Sarah Myers (44)
Harper Harmon (13)
Hudson Harmon (11)
And twins Gavin and Gracelynn Harmon (10)
Amy was the mother of Sarah and grandmother to the children. She lived in one apartment in the John S. Moore Housing Complex and Sarah was said to live in another apartment in the same complex.
The father of the children is a man named Brady Harmon.
Police released a statement at the time that said they were treating this case as a criminal investigation while awaiting the results of the autopsies. They also said that based on currently available information, there was no evidence indicating anyone else was involved and that there was no known threat to the public.
Rumors started to come out online. Many people speculated that Sarah was the perpetrator. This is one comment we found online:
‘At one point during the school year, this ‘mom’ loaded her kids with medicine and sent them to school where they proceeded to overdose. So she pulled them out and home schooled them. I know this because I live in this city and my kids go to school here and a note was sent home about the school being in a hold in place so they could get them medical attention. ‘
The police chief did confirm that the children were being home schooled at the time of their deaths.
Others asked if something like a gas leak could have occurred.
According to some media reports, a GFM was established this year for Sarah.
Although the fundraiser is no longer publicly available, local reports said the GoFundMe was created by a friend earlier this month and described Sarah as a survivor of domestic violence who urgently needed help covering legal fees and travel costs for a court battle in Utah.
According to local outlets, Sarah put aside her pride to ask for assistance, saying her children were “more important” than anything else as she fought for their future.
Local news very quickly broke that indicated that Amy was likely the primary suspect in the case.
Police Chief William Rabbitt held a press conference and announced that Amy was likely involved in the murders.
One of the children suffered a fatal “sharp injury,” and the others appeared to have been poisoned, he said. Police found evidence of prescription and over-the-counter drugs in the apartment.
Detectives found a handwritten note but have not yet elaborated on the contents. “Other circumstantial evidence strongly suggests that Amy Steadman was involved in the deaths,” Rabbitt said. “However, final determinations regarding responsibility will be made only after all investigative findings, toxicology results and medical reviews have been completed.”
Chief Rabbitt said that the bodies were so decomposed that immediate identification was not possible. He added police could not yet say how long the family had been dead for.
“Mechanicville is a close-knit city. Many residents knew the family involved, have children and grandchildren of their own,” Rabbit said. “Or simply cannot comprehend the loss of six lives under such heartbreaking circumstances.”
John Bauman, Amy’s ex-husband, has spoken to the media. They have been separated for almost 20 years but he said he kept in touch with the family.
“To me, I would say she did have nothing even close to having anything to do with their deaths,” he said. “You know, at all. Because they were her world. She did everything for them kids. I mean, everything.”
“Sarah, she would try to help anybody,” he said. “She was a very kind person… mighty fine kids, you know, and pretty much taking after their mom.”
Neighbors of the family have also spoken about their disbelief. “I just don’t understand how any of this went down and how it could even possibly happen,” said Megan Reed, a resident of the apartment complex who said she knew Amy as “the most loving and caring person.”
One resident told WNYT: “A lot of people were outside acting like they cared, everybody was mourning as if they knew the people but nobody ever talked to them. I’ve never even seen the people, honestly.”
Neighbor Stephanie Sweeney was the person who made the call for a welfare check.
“Amy was one of my best friends,” she said. “Her grandchildren called me ‘Nana,’ so that’s hitting even harder.”
“I noticed the smell of death,” said Stephanie. “And then I noticed when I turned that the air conditioner and the windows was all full of flies and I knew immediately, so I just called, I had to. I thought I just did something wrong, and they [the family] weren’t talking to me.”
She said the oldest child, Harper, was, “smart as a whip,” and Hudson was always trying to make people laugh. The twins, Gavin and Gracelynn were also great; she said Gavin followed her everywhere and Gracelynn always greeted her with a big hug.
Now, she’s asking people to be respectful.
“Enough with the slander. If you don’t know, then please just keep your mouth shut. They were great people, they don’t deserve that.”
Brady, the children’s father, has been speaking constantly to the media. He said that he and Sarah had reached a custody arrangement where he would have soon seen the kids for the first time in six years. They were due to travel with him to Salt Lake City, Utah to spend 60 days from July 1- September 1 together.
“I was supposed to be flying out on the 30th, gathering my kids and flying them home, then having them there for 60 days,” he said.
“They were going to be here from July 1 to Sept. 1 and just come and be with Dad and connect with family they have not seen, connect with additional family members they have never met.”
Brady said he last spoke to his children on FaceTime on June 7 for 15 minutes.
“They seemed like happy little kids,” he told The Post.
“Harper and Grace would show me their drawings, Hudson would show me their cat and Gavin would show me something he built,” he said.
He also spoke about finding out that his children had been murdered.
“There is no prepping for that whatsoever. Let alone that you’re supposed to be there the following week to pick up your kids for your first parenting time in six and a half years.”
Brady said that he and Sarah had been separated since 2019. He also said they were meant to video call on June 10 and Sarah cancelled that because she said the children were sick.
“Then two weeks later, two days after Father’s Day, I find out my kids are gone,” he said.
“They say time heals all wounds, but this is a gaping hole that will never heal … it will never go away,” he told the media.
“It’s my speculation they did that together,”
Brady said that he wants his children to be buried in Utah, away from their mother.
“I don’t believe anyone who can’t protect them should be anywhere close to them. If she had anything to do with it, that’s just another reason why,” he said of his ex-wife – adding that the arrangements are part of his “responsibility and duty as a parent.”
“I wish there was something else I could have done legally,” he said.
“But I went through everything I could. Everything that my lawyers could do, everything. I just never thought that someone would go and do this. You talk about the feeling of, how do you prepare for this? You get down to almost the finish line — just absolutely cut your legs out from underneath you and the only thing left to do is crawl across the finish line to bring the remains home,” he said.
Brady also spoke about Amy. “She was never really a cordial, warm person to be around … it was very arm’s distance, I guess.’
Still, she appeared to have a close bond with the children.
“She was just a doting grandma, you know, she’d spoil the kids – the grandkids,” he added.
The most recent update is that we have found out some confirmed information about the custody arrangement between Sarah and Brady.
According to court paperwork, the custody agreement stated that Sarah was awarded custody during the school year, while the father, Brady was awarded uninterrupted time during the summer months from July to September.
He was also awarded video phone calls with the children on a regular basis, as well as holidays and the children’s birthdays. The documents also state that there was no alimony payment awarded.
SOURCE LIST
https://people.com/dad-was-seeking-custody-of-4-kids-allegedly-poisoned-by-grandma-12007895