Brady Harmon was just days away from seeing his children before they were found dead on June 23 in Mechanicville, N.Y.
Credit: Sarah Myers/Facebook
NEED TO KNOW
- The father of the four children who died in a murder-suicide in Mechanicville, N.Y., has shared his final texts with their mother, who authorities say helped poison the children
- On June 10, the day authorities believe the killings occurred, the children’s father, Brady Harmon, said Sarah Myers missed a scheduled video call with the children, telling him they were sick
- Police believe Myers and her mother, Amy Steadman, planned and carried out the killings before dying by suicide
The father of the four children who died in a murder-suicide in upstate New York has shared his final texts with their mother, who authorities say helped poison the children.
Sarah Myers, 44, and her 64-year-old mother, Amy Steadman, are believed to have died by suicide after killing the children: 13-year-old Harper, 11-year-old Hudson, and 10-year-old twins Gavin and Gracelyn, on June 10, the Times Union of Albany reported, citing Mechanicville police. At least one of the children was stabbed.
The family of six was found dead inside Steadman’s Mechanicville, N.Y., home on June 23 after a welfare check.
On the day authorities believe the killings occurred, the children’s father, Brady Harmon, said a scheduled video call between him and the children didn’t happen, with Sarah later telling him they were sick, according to text messages he shared on Facebook.
“The kids have gotten a little stomach bug throwing up is it okay to switch your online visit to tomorrow night at 4 p.m. your time please,” Sarah wrote.
Harmon replied that he hoped they would feel better. The following day, he said he tried to reschedule the call but received no response.
Credit: Sarah Myers/Facebook
“I cannot understand how anyone could claim that this was done to ‘save’ my children from harm,” Harmon wrote in the post. “The greatest possible harm was done to them. They were terrified, betrayed, and robbed of their lives by the very people who were supposed to protect them.”
Harmon, who lives in Utah, had not seen his children since 2019 and had spent years seeking custody or visitation, he previously told WNYT. He was just days away from seeing them before they were found dead, with a planned visit from July 1 to Sept. 1.
He also shared messages from the days leading up to the incident discussing the children’s scheduled flights, their interests, and child support. In the post, he said the conversations with Sarah gave him no indication of what was being planned.
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“I believe the truth would have begun coming out once they were safely with me,” Harmon wrote on Facebook. “They would have experienced the loving side of their family they had been separated from and taught to fear. Instead of allowing that relationship to be restored, the people responsible chose to permanently silence four innocent children.”
Mechanicville Police Chief Bill Rabbitt told the Times Union that a handwritten note was found at the scene, as well as evidence of prescription and over-the-counter drugs in Steadman’s apartment. That note reportedly came from Steadman, who claimed she killed the children to protect the children from abuse at the hands of their father. Harmon has denied the allegations of abuse.
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