By The Daily Caller (U.S.) | Created at 2026-08-04 19:16:44 | Updated at 2026-08-05 22:56:11
1 day ago
A mother and grandmother who killed themselves and four children in a June 10 murder-suicide discussed their plans for the killings via text messages, according to authorities in New York.
Mechanicville Police Chief Bill Rabbitt said Amy Steadman and her daughter, Sarah Myers, exchanged text messages in which they allegedly planned the murders of Myers’ four children, Harper, Hudson, Gavin, and Gracelynn, according to a press conference Tuesday. Steadman and Myers began planning the alleged killings June 5, Rabbitt said.
The series of June 10 text messages contained “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,” according to police.
“In one exchange, Sarah Myers instructed Amy Steadman that the medications should be administered between 10:30 a.m. and noon so they could be finished before a scheduled telephone call at 6 p.m. with the children’s father,” police added.
Additional text messages recovered by police indicate Gracelynn experienced pain in her stomach, writing, “Why would you do that? You both won’t let me puke,” while another message from Steadman read, “Gracie is aware.”
Besides the text messages, police found letters in the apartment where the bodies of Steadman, Meyers, and the four children were discovered June 23. In her letter, Steadman allegedly took responsibility for the killings, claiming she felt it was the only way to protect her grandchildren from alleged abuse in Utah. The children were set to travel to Utah on June 23 to see their father, Brady Harmon, according to the New York Post. (RELATED: Video Shows Good Samaritan Try To Take Out Shooter Who Allegedly Killed 3, Wounded 7 At Fast Food Restaurant)
Steadman claimed her daughter had done all she could and that the alleged killings had not unfolded as planned, according to the same note. Notes believed to have been written by Myers reiterate accusations of alleged abuse and anger toward the Utah family court system, police said.
The police also discovered internet searches about medication reactions, the effects of insulin on non-diabetics and the Utah court system, as well as, “Where is the most fatal place to be stabbed,” according to Rabbitt. Gavin was the only child to be stabbed repeatedly and sustained defensive wounds during the incident, police said.
Police discovered the bodies June 23 following previous welfare checks June 13 and 17. Police did not enter the residence during the first two welfare checks, Rabbitt said.
Harmon reacted to the deaths of his four children, according to WNYT.
“I wish there was something else I could have done legally,” Harmon told the outlet. “But I went through every, every thing I could, every thing that my lawyers could do, everything, you know. I just never thought that someone would go and do this.”
Harmon denied the abuse allegations, police said. He last saw the children in person in November 2019, according to WNYT.
