The father of four children who police say were killed by their mother and grandmother has filed a notice of claim against Saratoga County and the City of Mechanicville alleging more could have been done to protect his family.
On June 23,, the bodies of Amy Steadman, her daughter Sarah Myers and Myers’ four children -- ages 10 to 13 -- were discovered in Steadman’s Mechanicville apartment.
This month, police shared the results of the case’s toxicology report – the four children had fatal levels of over-the-counter allergy medicine as well as kratom. Police say one child suffered multiple stab wounds.
The case’s reverberations were felt across the country -- the children’s father, Brady Harmon, lives in Utah.
He and Myers had been engaged in a contentious divorce, according to a newly filed notice of claim from Harmon.
Harmon’s claim seeks $400 million for injuries, damages and civil rights violations. Attorney Cassandra Rohme explains.
“At the outset it appears there were many, many, many opportunities to intervene with this family that would have prevented the children’s horrific abuse and their deaths. And that’s what we’re trying to seek accountability and justice for,” said Rohme.
The claim outlines several instances in which local authorities should have taken further action to protect the four children. It alleges Steadman and Myers had previously drugged the children in May 2024. In that instance, three of the children were sent to Albany Medical Center.
The claim was filed against Saratoga County, the Ballston Spa Central School District, the City of Mechanicville, as well as the city’s housing authority and school district.
“When the children got to the hospital one of the perpetrators told the staff ‘it was just Benadryl,’ meanwhile it was so severe one of the children had to be given Narcan which, if people know, is something that helps revive people who have overdosed on narcotic drugs. So, that incident was reported to CPS because it was so extreme but it appears that nothing was done and frankly that is just shocking,” said Rohme.
The claim also outlines that in the days leading up to the discovery of the children’s bodies, Harmon made multiple requests for wellness checks.
The children were homeschooled by Myers. Harmon’s claim argues those tasked with monitoring their education and safety failed to fulfill their responsibility.
Additionally, the claim argues Myers had used the children as “pawns” in the custody and divorce proceedings with Harmon.
“There are certain motives that people have for engaging in this sort of family annihilation. What I’m speaking of is murdering one’s own children is a very extreme crime but one of the motivations is spousal revenge. And that’s what seems to be the case here that this was the final way that the perpetrator could essentially, in her mind, win the CPS and longstanding divorce, custody argument that they were having,” said Rohme.
Rohme also explained that the claim alleges Steadman and Myers kept the children ill on purpose.
“These children were extremely medically complex. They had many medical and mental health disorders that were really unexplained. Come to find, from a very preliminary investigation, what everyone who was treating them and interacting with them at CPS should have known was you have a parent who is repeatedly drugging the children inappropriately, that is also a sign of what we call medical child abuse, what used to be called Munchausen by Proxy,” said Rohme.
