A New York grandmother is believed to have poisoned her daughter and four grandchildren and taken her own life in what police believe to be a horrifying murder-suicide plot.
Amy Steadman, 64, was found dead inside a Mechanicville, New York apartment on Tuesday alongside her daughter, 44-year-old Sarah Myers, and four grandchildren, Harper, 13, Hudson, 11, and Gavin and Gracelynn, both 10, according to authorities.
Mechanicville Police Chief William Rabbitt on Thursday announced that evidence now suggests the grandmother was responsible for the tragic act.
Mechanicville, located about 30 miles north of Albany, is considered one of the smallest cities in the state with a population that hardly exceeds 5,000 residents.
One of the children had sharp-force injuries, the police chief said, but added the official causes of death are still pending and subject to toxicology testing after bottles of prescription and over-the-counter medicines were found in the home.
How the entire tragedy unfolded is still under investigation.
As one social media user posted, “What in the hell happened inside of that apartment?”
Sources told NewsChannel 13 that the grandmother was resentful over her grandchildren’s father recently gaining custody of the children.
Myers and her children also lived in the same apartment building.
One neighbor told Times Union that the grandmother and mother were “inseparable” and were “like best friends.”
Police discovered their bodies early Tuesday evening after arriving on a health and welfare check when the two had not been seen for several day, according to news outlets.
“Mechanicville is a close-knit city,” the police chief said. “Many residents knew the family involved, have children and grandchildren of their own, or simply cannot comprehend the loss of six lives under such heartbreaking circumstances.”
Breitbart contributor Lowell Cauffiel is the author of the New York Times true crime best seller House of Secrets and nine other crime novels and nonfiction titles. See lowellcauffiel.com for more.
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