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The devastated father of four children poisoned to death by their mother and grandmother is seeking $400 million from New York authorities, alleging a horrifying pattern of abuse was allowed to continue for years despite repeated warning signs.
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pattern → see → signs
Brady Harmon has filed a legal notice signaling his intention to sue the City of Mechanicville, Saratoga County, two school districts and a housing authority, accusing agencies of failing to protect Harper, 13; Hudson, 11; and 10-year-old twins Gavin and Gracelynn Harmon.
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Harmon → file → Harper
The filing came exactly three months after authorities say Harmon's ex-wife, Sarah Myers, 44, and her mother, Amy Steadman, 64, carried out a meticulously planned murder-suicide on June 10.
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wife → come → June
Investigators believe the women drugged the four children before Gavin was repeatedly stabbed.
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Gavin → believe → children
Myers and Steadman then took their own lives.
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Myers → take → lives
But Harmon's explosive 17-page notice alleges the tragedy was preceded by years of disturbing behavior that authorities should have detected and stopped.
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authorities → allege → that
It accuses Myers and Steadman of suffering from Munchausen syndrome by proxy - a form of abuse in which a caregiver fabricates, exaggerates or causes illness in somebody under their care.
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caregiver → accuse → care
Harmon claims the pair were 'regularly drugging' the children with substances including melatonin, Benadryl and kratom 'to control them and to make them sick.
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them → claim → them
One of the most alarming incidents allegedly unfolded in May 2024, when all four children became ill while attending the Mechanicville City School District.
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children → unfold → District
Harper Harmon, 13; Hudson Harmon, 11; and 10-year-old twins Gavin and Gracelynn Harmon were found dead in an upstate New York home on June 23
Authorities say their mom, Sarah Myers, 44, and their grandmother, Amy Steadman, 64, conspired to kill the kids in a murder-suicide plot before a scheduled reunion with their father
Three were taken to Albany Medical Center showing signs consistent with an opiate overdose, while Gracelynn's condition was allegedly so serious she required Narcan.
Myers blamed Benadryl, according to the filing.
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Myers → find → filing
The hospital contacted Child Protective Services, but Harmon's attorneys argue the incident should have led to the children being removed from their mother's care or, at minimum, 'triggered immediate criminal and abuse investigations.
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children → contact → investigations
The filing claims Gavin suffered particularly severe abuse and was 'falsely diagnosed with several mental illnesses and put on a psychotropic medication that reduced his ability to fight back.'
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that → claim → ability
Harmon also alleges that as his children became chronically absent from school - supposedly because Myers was homeschooling them - agencies withheld information concerning their education, medical treatment and alleged abuse from him 'in violation of his parental rights and the law.
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agencies → allege → rights
The father had not seen his children in person since 2019 amid a bitter custody battle but that was about to change with Harmon reaching an agreement for the children to spend the summer with him in Utah from July through September.
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children → see → September
'I sent their flight information.
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I → send → information
I planned activities based on their interests,' he wrote to his ex-wife as he prepared for their arrival.
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he → plan → arrival
'I requested their medical records, medications, allergies, doctors' information, and other documents that were required under the parenting plan.
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that → request → plan
I believed I was preparing to welcome my children home.'
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I → believe → children
Investigators have discovered that Steadman visited multiple pharmacies in the days leading up to the mass-poisoning event
Harmon had been separated from the children since 2019, but the children were due to spend this summer with him in Utah
He spoke to them on June 7 and was looking forward to their reunion.
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He → discover → reunion
Then, on June 10, Myers sent him a message saying the children were sick.
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children → send → message
'The kids have gotten a little stomach bug throwing up is it okay to switch your online visit to tomorrow night at 4 pm your time please,' she wrote.
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she → get → pm
Harmon replied that he hoped they would feel better.
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they → reply → ?
When he tried again the following day, his video call went unanswered.
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call → try → ?
Investigators now believe the children were already dead.
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children → believe → ?
Police later revealed that messages between Myers and Steadman discussed medicating the youngsters that same day.
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messages → reveal → youngsters
'Sarah Myers instructed Amy Steadman that the medications should be administered between 10.30am and noon so they could be finished before a scheduled telephone call at 6pm with the children's father,' Mechanicville Police Chief Bill Rabbitt said last month.
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Rabbitt → instruct → father
Investigators also discovered an ominous message from one woman to the other: 'It's not working.
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It → discover → other
We need another option.'
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We → need → option
Steadman is said to have visited several pharmacies in the days before the killings, while investigators said internet searches included queries about medication reactions, what insulin does to non-diabetics and the Utah court system.
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insulin → say → diabetics
Police uncovered unsigned notes believed to have been from Myers alleging that she and her children were abused while living in Utah
On the same day, Myers sent a text to Harmon saying their children had the stomach bug, police also found messages to Steadman about their plan to medicate the kids
Later searches included: 'Where is the most fatal place to be stabbed?'
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place → uncover → kids
Toxicology results have since provided another piece of the investigation, with kratom and diphenhydramine, the active ingredient in Benadryl, detected in the children's bodies.
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kratom → provide → bodies
'Preliminarily, there is nothing in the toxicology findings that has surprised investigators or is inconsistent with the direction of our investigation,' Rabbitt told WNYT.
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Rabbitt → be → WNYT
The bodies remained undiscovered inside the family's Mechanicville apartment until June 23.
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bodies → remain → June
Harmon alleges he repeatedly sought welfare checks during the nearly two-week period, but police did not enter the home until a neighbor called 911 after noticing a foul odor.
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neighbor → allege → odor
The family's remains were badly decomposed by the time they were discovered.
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they → discover → time
Authorities subsequently found letters, including a handwritten confession signed by Steadman and other unsigned writings believed to have been authored by Myers, accusing Harmon of abusing Myers and the children while they lived in Utah.
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they → find → Utah
Harmon vehemently denies those allegations.
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Harmon → deny → allegations
His legal notice claims Myers instead used accusations against him 'to gain sympathy, resources (including public resources), and money, and to otherwise control, manipulate, abuse and harm the children.
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Myers → claim → children
Steadman had accused Harmon of being abusive in a since-deleted fundraiser
Brady Harmon, the children's father, has spoken to multiple news outlets about an ongoing custody battle with their mother after they were found dead in their apartment
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they → accuse → apartment
Police recovered evidence at the scene suggesting a potential poisoning
He has previously described Myers as the 'culprit' rather than a 'victim' and accused her of using the children to maintain control over him.
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He → recover → him
…and 8 more, not listed.
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