Six Family Members Found Dead in New York, Police Suspect Grandmother in Poisoning

Six members of one family were found dead in an apartment in Mechanicville, New York, and police suspect the grandmother, 64-year-old Amy Stadman, was involved in poisoning her daughter and four grandchildren. The victims were Sarah Myers, 44, and her children Harper Harmon, 13, Hudson Harmon, 11, and twins Gavin Harmon and Gracelyn Harmon, 10. Myers and the children lived in a separate unit in the same apartment complex as Stadman.

Mechanicville police chief said investigators found signs inside the apartment indicating deliberate poisoning, including over-the-counter medication. He said evidence gathered in the investigation, including a handwritten note and additional circumstantial evidence, strongly suggests Stadman was involved in the deaths. At this stage, police say there is no evidence that an outside party was responsible, and the investigation is ongoing.

Officers went to the Harris Avenue home Tuesday evening on a welfare check after neighbors reported they had not seen the family for several days. The chief said Mechanicville is a close-knit city, but he would not discuss a possible motive. He also said he could not determine exactly how long the family had been dead before police arrived, only that it was for an extended period. He added that the children were not enrolled in public schools.

The children’s father, Brady Harmon, told WNYT he had not seen them in person since November 2019. He said he spent six years trying to win custody or visitation and was only days away from seeing them. “I wish there was something else I could do legally,” he said. “I went through everything I could. Everything my lawyers could do, everything. I just never thought somebody would do that.” He described feeling as if he was almost at the finish line before having it taken away, and said the only thing left was to “crawl to the finish line to bring the remains home.”