A Father Was Fighting for Custody of His Children—Then Police Uncovered a Heartbreaking Family Tragedy Inside the Home 💔

Sarah Myers and her mother Amy Steadman died by suicide before they, along with Myers’ four children, were found dead in Steadman’s home, police say

Two of the six family members who were found dead in an upstate New York home last month were found to have died by suicide, authorities said.

Mechanicville Police Chief Bill Rabbitt confirmed to the Times Union of Albany, N.Y., that Sarah Myers, 44, and her 64-year-old mother Amy Steadman are believed to have died by suicide before they were found dead from an apparent poisoning alongside Myers’ four children inside Steadman’s Mechanicville residence on June 23.

The deaths of the four children found at the scene — identified as 13-year-old Harper, 11-year-old Hudson, and 10-year-old twins Gavin and Gracelynn by police — are being investigated as homicides, Rabbitt said. One of the children was fatally stabbed, and police believe the others were poisoned.

A spokesperson for Mechanicville police did not immediately respond to PEOPLE’s request for information.

After the six bodies were discovered, Rabbitt said at a press conference on June 25 that Steadman was suspected of “intentional poisoning” in the incident.

“We will say that there is recovered evidence inside the apartment to indicate intentional poisoning to include numerous persons and over-the-counter medications,” the police chief said at the time.

Rabbitt identified Steadman as Myers’ mother, and Myers was identified as the mother of the children. Myers and her children lived in a separate unit within the apartment complex.

The bodies were discovered after a welfare check to the apartment, when neighbors grew concerned that they hadn’t seen the family who lived there for several days.

Speaking to the Times Union, the chief added that a handwritten note was found at the scene, as well as evidence of prescription and over-the-counter drugs in Steadman’s apartment.

The six bodies were badly decomposed when police found them, Rabbitt said.

The children’s father, Brady Harmon, spoke to WNYT from his home in Salt Lake City, claiming he had not seen his children in person since November 2019, when he and the children’s mother separated. He added that he had been trying to get custody or visitation with his children for six years, and was just days away from seeing them.

“I wish there was something else I could have done legally,” Harmon said. “But I went through everything I could. Everything that my lawyers could do, everything. I just never thought that someone would go and do this.”

Harmon also told News 10 that his children were set to stay with him in Utah from July 1 to September 1 and “just come and be with Dad and connect with family they have not seen. Connect with additional family members they have never met.”

Harmon said he found out about his children’s deaths on June 23.

“You talk about the feeling of, how do you prepare for this? You get down to almost the finish line — just absolutely cut your legs out from underneath you and the only thing left to do is crawl across the finish line to bring the remains home,” he told WNYT.

If you are experiencing domestic violence, call the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-7233, or go to thehotline.org. All calls are toll-free and confidential. The hotline is available 24/7 in more than 170 languages.

If you or someone you know is struggling with mental health challenges, emotional distress, substance use problems, or just needs to talk, call or text 988, or chat at 988lifeline.org 24/7.