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21h ago

Police Say Mother and Grandmother Conspired to Kill Four Children in Mechanicville

Investigators say recovered texts, signed notes and pharmacy records show planning for the June 10 deaths while abuse claims in the writings remain unverified.

Collage of a woman and children in hooded blankets, a woman and four children with a diploma, and two people in hazmat suits.
A makeshift memorial is set up outside an apartment complex in Mechanicville after Sarah Myers, her four children and her mother, Amy Steadman, were found dead there June 23. Police Chief William Rabbitt provided an update on what is believed to be the murder of the four children and suicide by Myers and Steadman.
Photos of four children who police said were killed by their mother, Sarah Myers, and their grandmother, Amy Steadman, are on display at a vigil memorializing the children on June 27 at Tallmadge Park in Mechanicville.
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Overview

  • Police say the four children were killed on June 10 and the mother, Sarah Myers, and grandmother, Amy Steadman, died by suicide after the bodies were found on June 23 following a neighbor’s welfare request.
  • Investigators recovered detailed text exchanges, handwritten notes including one signed by Steadman, pharmacy purchase records and internet searches that they say document planning and methods for the killings.
  • Autopsy and scene findings show three children were poisoned with a mix of over‑the‑counter and prescription medicines and one child, Gavin, was fatally stabbed while defending himself.
  • The recovered writings allege the killings were meant to prevent abuse in Utah, but police say they have been unable to independently verify those claims and the children’s father, Brady Harmon, denies them.
  • The case has renewed scrutiny of earlier welfare checks that went to a different unit, ongoing CPS contacts, and how custody and interjurisdictional child‑welfare notices are handled in such disputes.