MECHANICVILLE - A report from a medical examiner confirmed what city police suspected - a grandmother and mother used fatal doses of diphenhydramine, an over-the-counter allergy and sleep medication, to kill the younger woman's four children in June.
Mechanicville Police said on Friday that 13-year-old Harper, 11-year-old Hudson, and 10-year-old twins Gavin and Gracelynn were given lethal amounts of the medication often sold under brand names such as Benadryl and ZzzQuil. Their grandmother, 64-year-old Amy Steadman, and their mother, 44-year-old Sarah Myers, whom police said plotted to kill the children, committed suicide by ingesting lethal doses of the same medication.
The toxicology report also showed that mitragynine, the primary ingredient in kratom, was detected in four of the six who were found dead on June 23 at the John S. Moore apartment complex. The police did not identify which of the six people had the herbal substance in their systems. WNYT-Channel 13 previously reported kratom was found in the blood of the four children.
Police have not revealed how much of the substance was found in their bodies. It was unclear how long it took the children to die, but one of the last text messages Steadman sent to Myers stated: "Gracie is aware."
"These findings are consistent with the evidence developed throughout our investigation and do not change the previously announced determinations that the deaths of the four children were homicides and the deaths of the two adults were suicides," Mechanicville Police Chief William Rabbitt said in a statement. "Our responsibility has always been to determine as accurately as possible what happened inside that residence and, most importantly, what happened to those four children."
In addition to the medication, police have said that Gavin Harmon, the youngest boy, was also stabbed.
Related: Father says CPS sent him 10 letters before children found dead in Mechanicville
In August, Rabbitt said that Steadman and Myers plotted to kill the children. Myers was involved in a court battle with her ex-husband Brady Harmon and, under a court agreement reached last year, the children were to spend summers with their father in Utah. Brady Harmon was just days away from meeting his children at the Albany International Airport when the family was discovered dead in Steadman's apartment on Harris Avenue. He planned to fly back to Utah with his children.
Rabbitt said Steadman and Myers contemplated their plan to murder the children as early as June 5, when Steadman began visiting multiple pharmacies to purchase over-the-counter sleep aids and medication prescribed to her. Steadman's internet search history included queries about medication reactions and the effects of insulin on non-diabetics.
Messages between the mother and daughter revealed they wanted to dose the children between 10:30 a.m. and noon on June 10, before a scheduled 6 p.m. phone call with their father. Brady Harmon shared text messages showing Myers asked if their call could be delayed because the children "have gotten a little stomach bug" and were "throwing up."
Police discovered a note written by Steadman and other unsigned messages in the apartment. Police have not disclosed what was written.
"The receipt of these reports answers some of the remaining questions, but our work is not yet finished," Rabbitt said. "The investigation remains ongoing. We will not be releasing any additional information regarding the laboratory or toxicology findings until the investigation is complete. At that time, we will review the entirety of the investigative record and determine what additional information can appropriately be released."
Before the death, Saratoga County Child Protective Services launched several investigations into allegations of abuse and maltreatment of the children. The last investigation was launched on June 24, two weeks after the date when police suspect the youngsters died.
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This article originally published at Toxicology report confirms allergy medication used to kill Mechanicville children.