A father in Utah was preparing for something he had waited nearly six years to experience: having his four children back in his life for an extended summer visit.

Instead, just days before that long-awaited reunion, he learned that all four children had been found dead more than 2,000 miles away in upstate New York.

Now, authorities have revealed more about the devastating case involving six members of one family found inside a Mechanicville residence on June 23.

Police Chief Bill Rabbitt said Sarah Myers, 44, and her mother, 64-year-old Amy Steadman, died by suicide. Myers’ four children—13-year-old Harper, 11-year-old Hudson, and 10-year-old twins Gavin and Gracelynn—were killed, and their deaths are being investigated as homicides.

Authorities believe three of the children were poisoned, while one suffered fatal stab wounds.

The findings add another painful layer to a case that began when concerned neighbors realized something was wrong and requested a welfare check.

Concerned Neighbors Led Police to the Home

Myers and her four children lived in a separate unit of the same apartment complex where Steadman resided in Mechanicville, a small city in New York.

For several days, neighbors had not seen the family.

Their growing concern eventually prompted a welfare check.

When authorities entered Steadman’s residence on June 23, they encountered a devastating scene: six members of the same family were dead inside.

The condition of the bodies suggested significant time had passed before they were discovered. Rabbitt later said the remains were badly decomposed.

Investigators quickly began trying to understand what had happened inside the apartment.

Evidence found at the scene soon pointed authorities toward poisoning.

During a June 25 press conference, Rabbitt said investigators had recovered evidence indicating that multiple people had been intentionally poisoned. Authorities found numerous medications inside the residence, including over-the-counter drugs.

Additional information later emerged.

Rabbitt said investigators also discovered prescription medications and a handwritten note inside Steadman’s apartment.

Police Say the Children’s Deaths Were Homicides

The six deaths did not ultimately receive the same classification.

Authorities now believe Myers and Steadman died by suicide.

The deaths of Harper, Hudson, Gavin and Gracelynn, however, are being treated as homicides.

Police believe three children died from poisoning, while another was fatally stabbed.

Authorities initially focused on Steadman when discussing the suspected poisoning. Two days after the bodies were discovered, Rabbitt said she was suspected of intentionally poisoning multiple people.

The subsequent determination that both Steadman and Myers died by suicide provided additional information about their deaths, but the investigation into exactly what happened to the children remains centered on homicide.

Behind those findings is another part of the tragedy: the children’s father had spent years trying to regain contact with them.

Their Father Hadn’t Seen Them Since 2019

Brady Harmon was living in Salt Lake City when he received the news on June 23 that his four children were dead.

According to Harmon, he had not seen them in person since November 2019, when he and Myers separated.

For approximately six years, he said, he had been pursuing custody or visitation through legal channels.

The process had been long and difficult, but by the summer of 2026, Harmon believed he was finally approaching the moment he had been waiting for.

His children were supposed to travel to Utah.

Harmon said the plan was for Harper, Hudson, Gavin and Gracelynn to stay with him from July 1 through Sept. 1.

The two-month visit would have given them an opportunity to spend time with their father and reconnect with relatives they had not seen for years.

Some family members, Harmon said, were people the children had never even met.

The reunion was scheduled to begin only eight days after the children were found dead.

“I Just Never Thought” This Would Happen

For Harmon, the timing made the loss particularly crushing.

After years of legal efforts, he believed he had done everything available to him to maintain or restore his relationship with his children.

“I wish there was something else I could have done legally,” he said.

Harmon said he and his lawyers had pursued every option they believed was available.

What he had never imagined was that the situation would end with all four children dead.

The father described the experience as reaching almost to the finish line only to suddenly have everything taken away.

The future he had envisioned—his children arriving in Utah, spending the summer with him and reconnecting with their extended family—disappeared before it could begin.

Instead of preparing for their arrival, he faced the task of bringing their remains home.

A Summer That Was Supposed to Reunite a Family

The dates surrounding the case underscore how close the children appeared to be to a major change in their lives.

They were discovered on June 23.

Their planned stay with their father was supposed to begin July 1.

For Harmon, that visit represented far more than an ordinary summer vacation. It was supposed to be an opportunity to rebuild relationships after years apart.

The children would have had two months with him, stretching through Sept. 1.

They would have been able to reconnect with relatives and meet other members of their extended family for the first time.

Instead, the long-awaited reunion became part of the tragedy’s painful timeline.

Harmon said he had spent six years attempting to secure custody or visitation. When the breakthrough finally seemed close, he received news no parent could have prepared to hear.

Evidence Inside the Apartment

As investigators worked to reconstruct what happened, several pieces of evidence inside Steadman’s residence became central to the case.

Police reported finding numerous medications, including both prescription and over-the-counter drugs.

Authorities also recovered the handwritten note.

Rabbitt’s early comments about the scene emphasized evidence suggesting the poisoning was intentional rather than accidental.

The discovery of one child with fatal stab wounds further complicated the investigation and made clear that the deaths of the four siblings could not simply be treated as a shared accidental poisoning.

The deaths of the children are now considered homicides, while authorities say Myers and Steadman took their own lives.

Police have not publicly detailed every circumstance surrounding the deaths or provided a complete sequence explaining what occurred inside the residence before the family was discovered.

What has emerged, however, is a picture of six deaths occurring within one family and four young lives ending just before a planned reunion with their father.

Four Children at the Center of the Tragedy

The investigation necessarily focuses on evidence—medications, a handwritten note, autopsy findings and the circumstances discovered inside the apartment.

But at the center of the case are Harper, Hudson, Gavin and Gracelynn.

The oldest was only 13. The youngest were 10-year-old twins.

Their father had spent years waiting to see them again.

By July 1, they were supposed to be with him in Utah. Instead, their deaths were discovered days before that planned trip could happen.

For Harmon, the legal battle that had consumed years of his life has been replaced by grief and the responsibility of bringing his children’s remains home.

His description of reaching the finish line captures one of the most painful dimensions of the case: after years of separation, he believed the distance between himself and his children was finally about to close.

It never did.

As investigators continue examining the circumstances surrounding the deaths, authorities have drawn a critical distinction in the case. Sarah Myers and Amy Steadman are believed to have died by suicide, while the four children died as victims of homicide.

For the father who had expected to spend July and August rebuilding his relationship with them, there will be no summer reunion.

What was supposed to mark a new beginning for Harper, Hudson, Gavin and Gracelynn instead became the final, heartbreaking chapter in a family story that ended only days before they were scheduled to come home to their dad.