NEW EVIDENCE REVEALS WHAT HAPPENED BEFORE 4 CHILDREN WERE KILLED: Police say Sarah Myers, 44, and Amy Steadman, 64, spent weeks planning the murders, exchanging text messages, buying medications, and leaving behind handwritten letters explaining why they believed there was no other way. But investigators say many of their claims—including allegations of abuse—remain unverified

On the evening of June 23, 2026, officers from the Mechanicville Police Department in upstate New York responded to a welfare check at an apartment on Harris Avenue. A neighbor had grown concerned after not seeing the family for nearly two weeks and noticing flies gathering around the windows. Inside the residence of 64-year-old Amy Steadman, police discovered six bodies in advanced stages of decomposition: Steadman herself; 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.

The remains were so badly decomposed that officers could not immediately identify the victims. Investigators later determined the family had been dead for approximately 13 days. What began as a tragic discovery quickly evolved into one of the most disturbing murder-suicide cases in recent New York history.

At a news conference on August 4, 2026, Mechanicville Police Chief William Rabbitt released a detailed update based on weeks of forensic work, digital evidence recovery, and analysis of physical items found at the scene. According to police, Sarah Myers and her mother, Amy Steadman, had jointly planned and carried out the murders of the four children on June 10 before taking their own lives. The pair spent days preparing, exchanging text messages about logistics, purchasing medications, and ultimately leaving handwritten letters in which they attempted to justify their actions as a form of protection.