See more of our coverage in your search results.
The grandmother and mom who murdered four children in an upstate New York apartment before taking their own lives carefully planned for and communicated about the killings, cops revealed Tuesday.
A handwritten confession letter left inside the Mechanicville home where Amy Steadman, 64, was found dead alongside her 44-year-old daughter, Sarah Myers, and Myers’ four children – Harper Harmon, 13; Hudson Harmon, 11, and 10-year-old twins Gavin and Gracelynn Harmon – was signed with the grandmother’s name, Mechanicville Police Chief Bill Rabbitt said during a press conference.
“In that letter, the author accepts responsibility for what occurred and states that they believed killing the children was the only way to keep them safe from alleged abuse in Utah,” Rabbitt told reporters, adding that police could not independently verify any allegations of abuse against Myers or the children.
The kids were supposed to travel to Utah to stay with their father, Brady Harmon, for two months starting just days after they were found dead on June 23.
Brady denied all abuse allegations in his interview with Mechanicville police, Rabbitt added.
Investigators also confirmed that Steadman had visited multiple pharmacies leading up to the days of the murders, when she and Myers were frequently communicating via text messages about how they were going to carry out the murders, the chief explained.
“Surveillance footage, purchase records and evidence collected through search warrants documented that [Steadman] obtained multiple doses of over-the-counter sleep aids, and multiple medications that had been prescribed to her,” Rabbit said, adding that “those purchases became even more significant when viewed alongside the electronic communications recovered during the investigation.”
Investigators recovered texts between the mom and grandma documenting “discussions regarding obtaining medications, where the murders would occur, how those medications would be administered, how the children would be brought together, what they would be told and how suspicion could be avoided,” the chief said.
“Those communications confirmed that planning had begun no later than June 5, 2026,” he said.
The murders of the children – including the stabbing death of Gavin – occurred on June 10, Rabbitt said.
Investigators also recovered Steadman’s chilling internet search history, which showed “searches about medication reactions, the effects of insulin on non-diabetics and the Utah court system,” Rabbitt said.
“Later searches included, ‘Where is the most fatal place to be stabbed’,” which produced results about a specific artery as well as the neck, the chief added.
Investigators also recovered Steadman’s chilling internet search history, which showed “searches about medication reactions, the effects of insulin on non-diabetics and the Utah court system,” Rabbitt said.