Police in an upstate New York town have named a grandmother as a suspect for killing five of her family members, including four grandchildren.
Amy Steadman, 64, has been accused of being responsible for the deaths of herself, her daughter, and the four minors, officers in Mechanicville, New York, said.
According to Mechanicville Chief of Police William Rabbitt, cops found the bodies of the six victims inside an apartment. This came when they were responding to a welfare check at around 6:30 pm on Tuesday, with neighbours saying that they had not seen them for days.
The victims have been identified as Sarah Myers, 44, and her four children – Harper Harmon, 13, Hudson Harmon, 11, Gavin Harmon, 10, and Gracelynn Harmon, 10, police informed.
Addressing a press conference, Rabbitt said Steadman is being suspected of “intentional poisoning” of herself, her daughter and her four grandchildren.
“We will say that there is recovered evidence inside the apartment to indicate intentional poisoning to include numerous persons and over-the-counter medications,” he said.
The officer said that preliminary investigation suggests there was no evidence that “any outside individual” was responsible for the deaths.
“Evidence recovered during the investigation, including a handwritten note and other circumstantial evidence, strongly suggests that Amy Steadman was involved in the deaths,” Rabbitt said about the investigation, which is still ongoing.
One of the children “suffered fatal sharp force injuries,” he added. None of them were enrolled in a public school, according to police.
A possible motive was not disclosed by the police during the press conference. It was also not clear when the family members died, with the chief saying they remained dead for an “extended period of time.”
Police said the father of the children lives in Utah, while Steadman, and Myers and her children all lived in the same apartment complex in Mechanicville.
