Authorities say Sarah Myers, 44, and her mother, Amy Steadman, 64, killed Myers' four children on June 10 in Mechanicville, N.Y., then died by suicide; the deaths were discovered on June 23. The victims are Harper (13), Hudson (11), and 10-year-old twins Gavin and Gracelynn. The children's father, Brady Harmon, had finally secured legal permission to take them to Utah for a summer visit and was preparing his home when police delivered the news. Notes left by the suspects claimed they were protecting the children from alleged abuse, but police say those allegations have not been verified.
Utah Father Says Ex-Wife And Grandmother Killed His Four Children Ahead Of Planned Reunion
4 kids perish in murder-suicide as father prepared to reconnect
A Utah father says he had been working for years to rebuild a relationship with his four children, only to learn that his ex-wife and her mother killed the children in upstate New York in what police describe as a murder-suicide.
What happened: Authorities in Mechanicville, N.Y., say 44-year-old Sarah Myers and her 64-year-old mother, Amy Steadman, killed Myers' four children on June 10 and then took their own lives. The deaths were not discovered until June 23, days before the children's father, Brady Harmon, was scheduled to pick them up for a summer visit to Utah.
"I never thought that she would go this far. I figured she'd maybe run off to Canada or something, but never to the extent of this," Harmon told the program Katie Pavlich Tonight.
Harmon said he had been estranged from his children in person since 2019, attributing the separation to what he described as delay tactics and false allegations by Myers in family court that effectively kept him from seeing the children. He said legal arrangements had finally been completed to allow the planned visit.
Preparing his Utah home for the children's arrival, Harmon said he instead received a visit from three police officers who asked to sit down. "And that's when they sat there and told me that Gavin, Gracelynn, Harper, and Hudson are gone," he recalled. "I'm like, 'What do you mean, gone?' … (they) said, 'They're dead.'"
The victims: The children were identified as Harper, 13; Hudson, 11; and 10-year-old twins Gavin and Gracelynn.
Police say notes left by Myers and Steadman claimed they were protecting the children from alleged abuse by Harmon. Investigators reported they have not been able to verify those claims. Officials said the children were poisoned with a combination of prescription and over-the-counter medications, and that one child also suffered stab wounds.
Harmon told reporters he had not been in contact with Steadman since 2019 and said he did not suspect Myers was capable of harming the children. He described coping in small steps: "I'm taking it day by day … I just have good days, bad days, good moments, bad moments."
Police and investigators continue to probe the circumstances and motives behind the killings as the family and community grieve. Authorities have released limited details while forensic testing and interviews proceed.
Note: This is a developing story. Updates will be provided as investigators release more information.
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