Four Children Killed Weeks Before Father’s Court-Ordered Summer Visit
Four children were found dead alongside their mother and grandmother in a Mechanicville, New York, apartment, in a case investigators say was tied to a bitter custody dispute.
Harper Harmon, 13; Hudson Harmon, 11; and 10-year-old twins Gavin and Gracelynn Harmon were discovered with their mother, Sarah Myers, 44, and grandmother, Amy Steadman, 64, on June 23. Police believe the children were killed on June 10, nearly two weeks before their decomposing bodies were found during a welfare check.
Toxicology results reportedly showed diphenhydramine, the active ingredient in Benadryl, and kratom in the children’s blood. The findings were reported by Albany’s WNYT NewsChannel 13 and later reported nationally by the New York Post.
According to police, Myers and Steadman exchanged text messages about obtaining medication, poisoning the children, and hiding what they had done. Investigators say the messages suggest the two women were coordinating the killings as they unfolded.
One message reportedly indicated that the drugs were not working as planned and that at least one child may have understood what was happening. Investigators say Gavin was then stabbed repeatedly. Police found defensive wounds on the 10-year-old, indicating that he fought back.
Authorities also found internet searches on Steadman’s phone involving fatal stabbing locations and the carotid artery, according to ABC News.
Mechanicville Police Chief Bill Rabbitt said the evidence indicates that all four children were intentionally poisoned and that Gavin was also fatally stabbed.
“Amy Steadman and Sarah Myers consistently portrayed these murders as a way to protect the children,” Rabbitt said. “Whatever they believed to justify their actions, the murder of four children cannot be described as protection.”
The mother and grandmother reportedly left handwritten notes accusing the children’s father, Brady Harmon, of abuse. The notes claimed the killings were necessary to “protect” the children. Police said investigators have not been able to substantiate those accusations. Harmon has categorically denied abusing his children.
The children were scheduled to spend the summer with their father in Utah under a court-ordered custody agreement. Harmon reportedly had not seen them in person for more than six years. He was scheduled to have them from July 1 through September 1.
Court records reviewed by CBS6 Albany showed that Myers had custody during the school year, while Harmon was entitled to uninterrupted summer parenting time, video calls, holidays, and birthdays.
Myers was also scheduled to appear in a Utah court on June 29 over allegations that she had interfered with Harmon’s communication with the children and withheld information. Investigators say that instead of following the custody order, Myers and Steadman killed the four children and then took their own lives.