A vigil was held this weekend to honor the memory of four children who were found dead in a Mechanicville apartment last week, along with their mother and grandmother.
64-year-old Amy Steadman, her daughter 44-year-old Sarah Myers, and Myers’ four children, aged 10-13, were found in Steadman’s apartment late Tuesday evening after city police were called for a wellness check.
Initial details were fuzzy, reporting on the ground was a bit difficult without much actually known to the public. Neighbors had lots to say.
What we did learn later in the week, however, is that police believe Steadman played a role in the deaths – here’s police Chief Bill Rabbitt.
“Evidence recovered during the investigation, including a hand-written-note, strongly suggest that Amy Steadman was involved in their deaths. However final determinations regarding responsibility will be made only after all investigative findings, toxicology results and medical examiner reviews have been completed,” Rabbitt said.
Police said autopsies suggest one child suffered fatal sharp force trauma, while poisoning from a number of prescription and over-the-counter medications factored into the other deaths.
The vigil this weekend was centered around remembering the children, what can you tell us about the event?
As you can imagine the words don’t really exist to describe the kind of impact this tragedy has had on the local community.
The crowd of around 100 people joined together in song at the start of Saturday’s vigil in Tallmadge Park in Mechanicville.
In the shade of a tree, dozens of stuffed animals were placed next to handwritten signs, candles and flowers honoring the children’s memory.
Stephanie Sweeney was close friends with Steadman — living just steps away — and says she was like another grandmother to the four children. She organized the event and was almost moved to tears by how many people were in attendance.
Sweeney was also the person who made the call to 9-1-1 that led to the discovery of the bodies.
“So, I got the smell — the flies, immediately picked up my phone and walked away and made the phone call. It was incredibly heart wrenching because I knew before I even made the call that that’s exactly what was going on. Did I know that they were all together? Absolutely not. As soon as the officers showed up, I reminded them that Sarah lived in a whole different part of the complex and that’s when I was told that they didn’t need to go there,” said Sweeney.
We’re still waiting on a final report from Mechanicville Police – chief Rabbitt was in attendance Saturday and said toxicology reports need to come back before more progress is made there. That could take a few weeks.
Anyone with any additional information on the case is asked to contact the Mechanicville Police Department.
