Grandma ‘who fatally poisoned four grandchildren’ given blunt two-line obituary

A grandmother who is suspected of fatally poisoning her daughter and four grandchildren before taking her own life has been remembered by surviving family members in a blunt, two-line obituary.

Amy Steadman, 64, her daughter, Sarah Myers, 44, and four grandchildren, Harper Harmon, 13, Hudson Harmon, 11 and 10-year-olds Gavin Harmon and Gracelynn Harmon, were found dead at Steadman’s home in Mechanicville, New York on June 23.

According to the authorities, who discovered the bodies after responding to a welfare check, a handwritten note found at the scene ‘strongly suggests that Steadman poisoned her five family members.

Mechanicville police chief William Rabbitt said: ‘There is recovered evidence inside the apartment that indicates intentional poisoning with numerous prescriptions and over-the-counter medication,’ adding that additional toxicology testing would be taking place.

He added that as well as the suspected poisoning, one of the four children died from ‘fatal sharp-force injuries’.

While inquiries into the case are still ongoing, the family paid little to no tribute to Steadman in an obituary published by New Comer Cremations and Funerals in Albany.

It read simply: ‘Amy J Steadman, 64, passed away on Tuesday June 23 2026. Per the request of the family, services were held privately.’

A second obituary, for Myers, described her as ‘a devoted mother who loved her children’ and ‘cared for them with the utmost devotion and love’.

According to reports, Myers had been locked in a custody battle with her children’s father, Brady Harmon, who lives in Utah and who had not seen his children in person since 2019.

He had been planning to take them home with him for the summer but Myers had been due in court for a custody hearing on June 29 amid claims she had not been sticking to the parenting plan.

Local news channel WNYT reported that Myers shared a since deleted GoFundMe created by a friend weeks before her death which said that she needed to raise money to travel to Utah for a custody battle, as well as to hire a lawyer.

Myers had also claimed on social media she was a victim of domestic violence — a claim Harmon stringently denies.

The couple married in 2015 but separated four years later, which was the last time he saw his children, but he continued to speak to them, most recently on June 7.

However he said that he received a text from Myers on June 10 telling him: ‘Hey the kids are sick, we’ll talk to you on the 11th,’ the same day his lawyer sent her paperwork relating to the custody hearing.

Speaking to The US Sun, Harmon expressed fears that this may have ‘pushed the family over the edge’, adding that concern for his children rose after he was unable to reach them, and that he called police multiple times to ask for welfare checks.

He revealed how he raised the alarm with police after they missed a scheduled video call with him on June 13.

‘I was like “I’m sorry to burden you but I cannot get a hold of these kids, and she said they were sick, and I’m worried something’s gone on”,’ Harmon explained.

The six bodies were eventually found after a neighbor, Stephanie Sweeney, called the police to request a check, after she had not heard from them in days.

The paper reports that Sweeney saw flies gathering around the window of Steadman’s apartment, and claimed she could ‘smell death’ when she attempted to visit.

Police in Utah later broke the devastating news of the six deaths to Harmon at his home.

‘I have been fighting for so long to be able to have access to them, fighting so long to be part of their lives and show them there’s something different,’ he told Spectrum News 1.

‘Almost to that finish line, have my legs cut out from me and gutted because someone decided to take my kids away from me.’ 

Harmon even speculated that his ex-wife may have carried out the crime together with Steadman, saying: ‘And all because they were going to spend 60 days with me. Sixty days in six and a half years. I finally get 60 days, and I get this thrown in my face.’

However John Bauman, another ex-husband of Myers, refuted this suggestion, telling Spectrum News 1 that she was ‘a good person’, adding: ‘To me, I would say she did have nothing even close to having anything to do with their deaths, you know, at all. Because they were her world.’

The local police department in Mechanicville has said it will release more information about the case once autopsies have been completed.

Rabbitt said: ‘The Mechanicville Police Department, in partnership with the New York State Police, remains committed to conducting a thorough and complete investigation while providing as much information as possible without compromising the integrity of that investigation.

‘Mechanicville is a close-knit city. Many residents knew the family involved, have children and grandchildren of their own, or simply cannot comprehend the loss of six lives under such heartbreaking circumstances.

‘Our thoughts remain with the family members, friends, neighbors, first responders and everyone affected by this tragedy.’