A grieving father has broken his silence after tragedy struck his family when his four children were found dead in their home alongside their mother and grandmother, in what police suspect was a poisoning. 

The bodies of the family were found dead inside their apartment in Mechanicville, a small town in upstate New York, on Tuesday. 

The identities were revealed to be Amy Steadman, 64, her daughter, Sarah Myers, 44, and four grandchildren, Harper, 13, Hudson, 11, and Gavin and Gracelynn, both 10. 

Mechanicville Police Department Chief William Rabbitt said at a press conference on Thursday that the bodies were recovered after authorities responded to a welfare check. 

An autopsy concluded that one of the children suffered fatal blunt-force injuries. Rabbitt added that authorities recovered evidence indicating 'intentional poisoning.' 

The chief told reporters that authorities also located a note at the scene, along with circumstantial evidence 'strongly suggesting' that Steadman was involved. 

The children's father, Brady Harmon, has now spoken out about the tragedy, revealing that he had been involved in a custody battle with Myers and that the children were set to spend the summer with him in Utah. 

He told The US Sun that he and Myers married in 2015 but separated four years later, and that it was the last time he saw his children. 

Harmon said he last spoke to his children on June 7, but received a text from Myers on June 10 that they were sick. 

'She messaged me, "Hey, the kids are sick, we'll talk to you on the 11th,'' he said. 

That same day, Harmon said his lawyer sent her paperwork regarding an upcoming custody hearing on the 29th. 

'So, I don't know if that pushed them over the edge because like, "Oh my gosh, he actually has a lawyer that's going to do his job. And we don't know way out of this, so let's do the next best thing. He'll never have access to these kids…" and then do what they did,' he speculated.  

After he learned his children were sick, Harmon said he called police multiple times to ask for welfare checks.  

Harmon added that he consistently spoke to his children on FaceTime and tried to get them excited about their upcoming summer visit to Utah. 

He described his children to the New York Post as 'happy little kids,' adding 'Harper and Grace would show me their drawings, Hudson would show me their cat and Gavin would show me something he built.'

Harmon said that Steadman had lived with him and Myers at one point during their marriage. 

He described the grandmother as not being warm, but admitted that she was 'doting' and would spoil the children. 

Harmon speculated during an interview with Spectrum News that Myers and Steadman committed the crime together. 

'And all because they were going to spend 60 days with me. Sixty days in six and a half years. I finally get 60 days, and I get this thrown in my face,' he added, referring to the upcoming Utah trip. 

'I have been fighting for so long to be able to have access to them, fighting so long to be part of their lives and show them there’s something different,' he continued. 

'Almost to that finish line, have my legs cut out from me and gutted because someone decided to take my kids away from me.' 

Harmon told local ABC affiliate News 10 that he discovered his kids were gone just two days before Father's Day. 

'No mother, no sane mother, parent or anything would sit there and allow that to happen,' he said. 

'Who could do that to a child, especially your own child or grandchild? It is so sickening to think that they did that.' 

However, Steadman's ex-husband, John Bauman, told Spectrum News that she and her granddaughter loved the kids, adding that he did not believe they had anything to do with their deaths. 

Steadman's Facebook profile shows that in 2022, she shared a GoFundMe for her daughter to 'help get a domestic violence lawyer.'

Harmon denied the accusations in his interview with The US Sun, calling Myers the 'culprit' rather than a 'victim.' 

He alleged that she stabbed him in the face with a medicine dropper during a fight in 2019. Harmon also accused his ex-wife of keeping his children away from him to maintain a sense of 'control.'  

Police have assured residents that there is no further threat to the public, but with few details released about how the tragedy unfolded, locals say they have been left stunned by the family's deaths.

A resident in the apartment complex, Megan Reed, 38, told the Times Union that the grandmother lived in an apartment in the same building, and was 'with [Myers] every single day to help her.'

She added: 'Those kids don't deserve this.'

Another neighbor said the grandmother and mother were 'inseparable,' calling them 'best friends.'

Locals said the deaths came in the last days of the Mechanicville High School year, and on Wednesday morning, several students in red caps and gowns were reportedly seen at the scene, kneeling.

Mechanicville Central School District Superintendent G Michael Apostol said the district was providing counseling to its high school students to help them cope with the tragedy.

'Mechanicville is a close-knit city. 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,' Chief Rabbitt said at a press conference. 

'Our thoughts remain with the family members, friends, neighbors, first responders and everyone affected by this tragedy.'

The Daily Mail has reached out to the Mechanicville Police Department for comment on the accusations.