Grandmother's confession letter reveals planned murder-suicide of four children in New York

Mechanicville Police Chief Bill Rabbitt announced that a handwritten confession, signed by 64-year-old Amy Steadman, was found inside the apartment where Steadman and her 44-year-old daughter, Sarah Myers, were discovered dead alongside Myers' four children. The note accepted responsibility for the deaths and claimed the children were killed to protect them from alleged abuse in Utah, though police could not verify those claims.

Text messages recovered from both women detailed plans to obtain over-the-counter sleep aids and prescription drugs, coordinate the location of the murders, and manage how the act would be concealed. Pharmacy receipts, surveillance video and search-engine history, including queries about medication effects and lethal stabbing locations, corroborated a timeline of planning that began no later than June 5. The children—Harper, Hudson, and twins Gavin and Gracelynn—were scheduled to spend two months with their father, Brady Harmon, in Utah, a claim he has denied. The killings took place on June 10, and the bodies were found on June 23, prompting a thorough investigation into the family’s communications and preparations.