The Custody Visit Was Days Away. Then Police Found 6 Bodies And A Chilling Note
A mother, grandmother, and four children were found dead inside a Mechanicville, New York apartment after a welfare check. Police say evidence points to intentional poisoning, a handwritten note, and possible involvement by the grandmother, but the final cause and manner of death are still pending. The most heartbreaking detail? The children’s father says he was days away from seeing them again after years apart.
Marie NovakMarie Novak is a crime news writer for Crimehowl, covering true crime, missing persons cases, court updates, and stories that leave communities searching for answers. She focuses on writing with empathy, clarity, and a deep respect for victims and their families while encouraging readers to think critically about the cases that shape the headlines.
PUBLISHED JUL 17, 2026 · 15:40 | 6 MIN READ | FILED UNDER CURRENT CRIMES
A Family Of Six Found Dead Inside One Apartment
This is one of those cases that is almost impossible to read without your heart sinking.
In Mechanicville, New York, police say six members of the same family were found dead inside an apartment on Harris Avenue after concerned neighbors requested a welfare check. The victims were identified as Amy Steadman, 64, her daughter Sarah Myers, 44, and Myers’ four children: Harper Harmon, 13, Hudson Harmon, 11, and 10-year-old twins Gavin and Gracelynn Harmon.
The bodies were reportedly found inside Steadman’s apartment at the John S. Moore Homes complex. Police said Myers and her children lived in a separate unit in the same apartment complex, which makes the discovery even more chilling. Why were all six of them inside Steadman’s apartment? What happened in that home? And how long had they been there before anyone realized something was terribly wrong?
According to reports, neighbors had not seen members of the family for several days, and one report said a neighbor told police the family had not been seen since June 9. Police later said the bodies appeared to have been inside the apartment for an extended period of time, and the condition of the bodies made identification difficult.
Police Say Evidence Points To Intentional Poisoning
At first, authorities were careful with their wording. They said the case was being treated as a criminal investigation while they waited for autopsy results. But soon after, Police Chief Bill Rabbitt shared more disturbing details.
According to police, evidence recovered inside the apartment suggested intentional poisoning involving numerous prescription and over-the-counter medications. Authorities also said one of the children suffered fatal sharp-force injuries, while poisoning appeared to factor into the other deaths.
That detail changes the entire tone of this case. This was not simply six people found dead under unknown circumstances. Investigators are looking at the possibility that someone intentionally caused these deaths.
Police also said they recovered a handwritten note inside the apartment. The exact contents of that note have not been released publicly, but officials said the note strongly suggested that Amy Steadman was involved in the deaths. However, Chief Rabbitt also made clear that final determinations will not be made until all investigative findings, toxicology results, and medical examiner reviews are complete.
That matters because, as horrifying as the available details are, the official investigation is still ongoing. Police have not released a confirmed motive. They have not released the full note. They have not publicly confirmed every cause and manner of death. For now, the case remains a criminal investigation with one suspected direction, but not every answer.
A Chilling Note And A Grandmother Under Suspicion
What makes this case even harder to process is that the person police are focusing on was not a stranger, not an outside intruder, and not someone unknown to the family.
It was the children’s grandmother.
Police said evidence, including the handwritten note, strongly suggests Amy Steadman was involved. But because Steadman was also found dead, the case now sits in that complicated space where investigators have to piece together responsibility without being able to question the person they suspect.
Chief Rabbitt also said there was currently no evidence that any additional individuals were involved, and police have repeatedly said there is no known threat to the public.
That statement may ease fears in the community, but it does not make the case any less haunting. In some ways, it makes it worse. If no one else was involved, then the answers may be hidden entirely inside that apartment, inside the note, and inside the final toxicology reports.
The Custody Battle That Makes This Even More Heartbreaking
As more information surfaced, one of the most devastating details came from the children’s father, Brady Harmon, who lives in Utah.
Harmon told The Albany Times Union that he had not seen his children since 2019. He said he had been involved in a custody dispute with Sarah Myers and had recently reached an agreement that would allow the children to be with him from July 1 through September 1.
Court paperwork obtained by WRGB reportedly showed that Myers had custody during the school year, while Harmon was awarded uninterrupted summer parenting time from July to September, along with regular video calls, holidays, and birthdays.
That means, according to the timeline being reported, Harmon was days away from seeing his children again.
Instead of preparing for a reunion, he is now preparing to bury them.
Harmon told the Times Union, “I went from I’m seeing my kids to I’ll never see my kids again.” That sentence alone is enough to stop you in your tracks. It is the kind of grief that no parent should ever have to put into words.
The Children Were Homeschooled, And The Community Is Shattered
Police also said the four children were being homeschooled at the time of their deaths. That detail is important because it may help explain why the family could go unseen for a period of time without immediate school-related alarms being raised.
Mechanicville is a small city in Saratoga County, and Chief Rabbitt described it as a close-knit community where many people either knew the family or had children and grandchildren of their own.
This is the kind of case that does not just devastate one family. It shakes an entire town.
Neighbors saw children who used to play nearby. Emergency responders had to walk into that apartment and discover a scene no one should ever have to witness. Investigators now have to reconstruct what happened, how it happened, and whether there were missed warning signs before six lives were lost.
The Questions That Still Need Answers
Right now, there are still so many unanswered questions.
What exactly did the handwritten note say?
When did the deaths happen?
Did all six victims die around the same time, or did the deaths happen over a longer period?
What medications were found inside the apartment?
Was the custody agreement connected to the timing of the tragedy?
Were there warning signs that someone could have acted on sooner?
And perhaps the biggest question of all: if Amy Steadman was involved, what could have led a grandmother to allegedly harm her daughter and grandchildren?
Police have not confirmed a motive, and it is important not to fill in the blanks with rumors. But the timing of the custody agreement is impossible to ignore. Harmon was reportedly scheduled to have the children for the summer beginning July 1. The bodies were found on June 23. That is a detail investigators will almost certainly continue reviewing closely.
A Case That Feels Like A Warning Sign
What makes this story so disturbing is not just the number of victims. It is the feeling that something may have been building quietly behind closed doors.
There was a custody dispute. There were children who had reportedly not seen their father in years. There were neighbors who eventually became worried enough to call for help. There was a handwritten note. There were medications inside the apartment. And now, there are six people dead.
This is the kind of case that makes people ask hard questions about custody systems, welfare checks, family isolation, and whether red flags are sometimes easier to see after the tragedy than before it.
At the same time, police are still waiting for final medical examiner and toxicology findings. Until those results are certified, there are still pieces of the story that remain officially unanswered.
What Happens Next?
For now, investigators say there is no evidence that anyone outside the apartment was involved and no known threat to the public. But the investigation is not over. Autopsy and toxicology results will be crucial in confirming exactly how each victim died and whether the evidence fully supports the theory police are currently pursuing.
For Brady Harmon, though, the legal answers may never be enough. He was preparing to reunite with his children. Instead, he is grieving Harper, Hudson, Gavin, and Gracelynn.
And for the Mechanicville community, this case leaves behind a painful question that may not be answered by a toxicology report alone:
Could this have been prevented?
What do you think investigators should focus on next: the handwritten note, the custody timeline, the medications found in the apartment, or possible warning signs before the welfare check?
