Three months after four children were found dead inside an apartment in upstate New York, their father is speaking publicly about the final days of their lives and the toxicology findings that investigators say confirmed how the children died.

Brady Harmon, the father of Harper, Hudson, Gavin and Gracelynn Harmon, said the official findings have made an already devastating loss even harder to process.

The children — Harper, 13, Hudson, 11, and 10-year-old twins Gavin and Gracelynn — were found dead alongside their mother, Sarah Myers, 44, and grandmother, Amy Steadman, 64, inside Steadman’s Mechanicville apartment on June 23.

Police have determined that the four children were homicide victims and that Myers and Steadman died by suicide. Investigators say the adults had planned and coordinated the killings before taking their own lives.

The case has since expanded beyond the criminal investigation. Harmon has announced plans to pursue a $400 million claim against several local government and educational entities, alleging that authorities failed to adequately respond to warning signs involving his children.

Those allegations have not been established in court.

The toxicology results
The latest major development came in September, when Mechanicville police released toxicology findings from all six deaths.

Police Chief William Rabbitt said diphenhydramine, an antihistamine commonly found in medications such as Benadryl, was present at fatal or lethal levels in all six individuals.

Mitragynine, the primary chemical compound found in kratom, was detected in four of the six people.

Police said the results were consistent with the evidence gathered during the investigation and did not alter the previously announced classifications: the deaths of the four children were ruled homicides, while the deaths of Myers and Steadman were ruled suicides.

Investigators have said the children were intentionally poisoned.

The toxicology findings provided another significant piece of evidence in a case that initially left many questions unanswered.

A family trip that never happened
According to reporting from local news organizations, Harmon had been preparing to reunite with his children in Utah.

He said the planned visit would have been his first extended parenting time with them in more than six years.

The children were killed on June 10, according to investigators.

Their bodies were not discovered until June 23, when police conducted a welfare check at Steadman’s apartment after concerns were raised about the family.

That 13-day gap became one of the most troubling elements of the investigation.

Harmon has said he had been looking forward to seeing his children and bringing them to Utah.

Instead, he traveled to New York after learning that all four were dead.

What investigators say happened
Mechanicville police have said Myers and Steadman communicated with one another while planning the deaths.

According to police, the planning began days before the children died.

Investigators reviewed messages between the mother and grandmother and said those communications showed coordination surrounding the children’s deaths.

Police also said the two women made purchases involving medications in the days before the killings.

Authorities have said the evidence indicates that the children were given substances intentionally.

One of the children, Gavin, also suffered fatal sharp-force injuries, according to investigators. Police previously said evidence suggested he had attempted to resist what was happening.

The police investigation has therefore described the deaths as a coordinated act rather than an isolated incident.

Notes left behind
Investigators also discovered handwritten material inside the apartment.

Early in the investigation, police said a handwritten note and other evidence pointed toward Steadman’s involvement.

Later, investigators said additional evidence, including communications between Steadman and Myers, helped establish their alleged planning.

Authorities have said the women appeared to believe they were protecting the children from alleged abuse.

But investigators have also emphasized that they found no evidence supporting the abuse allegations against the children’s father.

Mechanicville Police Chief William Rabbitt said the women appeared to have portrayed the killings as an attempt to protect the children, but authorities rejected that explanation as a justification for what happened.

The father disputes the allegations made against him
Harmon has consistently denied allegations that he posed a danger to his children.

According to investigators, Myers and Steadman had claimed the children were being harmed or endangered by their father.

Police said they were unable to verify those claims.

Harmon had previously separated from Myers and moved to Utah. He had been involved in a prolonged custody dispute over the children.

The custody history has become an important part of the case because Harmon now argues that authorities had information that should have prompted stronger intervention.

The $400 million legal claim
On Sept. 18, Harmon took another major step by filing a notice of claim, a required legal step before certain lawsuits can proceed against government entities in New York.

The filing names the City of Mechanicville, Saratoga County, Mechanicville City School District, Ballston Spa Central School District and Mechanicville Housing Authority.

Harmon intends to seek approximately $400 million, alleging negligence, civil-rights violations and failures to protect his children.

The claim alleges that the children had been subjected to years of mistreatment and that multiple agencies had opportunities to recognize the danger.

It specifically accuses Myers and Steadman of repeatedly giving the children medications and other substances in order to control or sicken them.

Those accusations are part of Harmon’s legal filing and have not been proven in court.

A 2024 incident is now receiving renewed attention
One of the most significant allegations in the legal filing involves an incident at school in May 2024.

According to the notice of claim, several of the children became seriously ill after their mother said they had been given Benadryl.

Three children were reportedly taken to Albany Medical Center, while another allegedly received Narcan after appearing to exhibit symptoms associated with an opioid overdose.

Harmon’s legal filing argues that the episode should have triggered a more extensive investigation into the children’s welfare.

It also alleges that the children were not tested for diphenhydramine or kratom despite the circumstances described in the filing.

The agencies named in the claim have been contacted by news organizations for comment.

The allegations remain subject to the legal process.

Questions surrounding child protective services
The case has raised broader questions about how previous allegations involving the children were handled.

Local reporting has confirmed that Saratoga County Child Protective Services had conducted multiple investigations involving allegations of abuse or maltreatment.

The latest investigation was reportedly opened shortly after the children were believed to have died.

County officials have declined to discuss the individual investigations because of confidentiality restrictions surrounding child-welfare cases.

Harmon argues that the system failed his children despite warning signs.

His attorneys have said they intend to investigate the actions of child protective services, schools and other agencies before deciding how the case should proceed.

Why the father says he is continuing to fight
For Harmon, the legal action is not simply about financial compensation.

He has said publicly that no amount of money could replace his four children.

His attorneys have described the $400 million figure as an initial claim intended to reflect the scale of the alleged harm while preserving his legal rights as the investigation continues.

The filing also seeks accountability for what Harmon believes were missed opportunities to protect the children.

He has argued that if he had received complete information about the children’s circumstances, he could have sought emergency legal action to change their living arrangements.

That claim will ultimately depend on evidence presented through the legal process.

The children remembered as individuals
Amid the investigation and legal battle, the family has continued to remember the four children as more than victims in a criminal case.

Harper was 13.

Hudson was 11.

Gavin and Gracelynn were 10-year-old twins.

Their father has repeatedly spoken about the lives they should have been able to live — growing older, celebrating birthdays, reaching milestones and building their own futures.

Instead, their lives ended inside an apartment in Mechanicville during what investigators say was a coordinated attack by their mother and grandmother.

Their deaths have also deeply affected the local community.

The investigation is not over
Although police have released significant information about the deaths, Chief Rabbitt has said the investigation remains ongoing.

The toxicology results answered one of the central questions surrounding the case: what substances were involved in the deaths.

But investigators have continued reviewing the broader circumstances, including the planning, communications, prior reports involving the children and events leading up to June 10.

The legal claim filed by Harmon could bring additional information into public view as the case progresses.

For now, however, the official findings are clear on the central point: four children died as a result of intentional acts, while their mother and grandmother also died by suicide.

The remaining questions concern not only what happened inside the apartment, but whether earlier warning signs could have changed what ultimately happened to the four children.

For their father, that question is now at the center of his fight for accountability.

Sources
New York Post — Father speaks out after the deaths of his four children