In this episode of Pushing Up Lilies, I’m covering the heartbreaking case involving Amy Steadman and the tragic family deaths that shook the community of Mechanicville, New York. Cases involving multiple family members are among the most emotionally difficult for investigators, first responders, and the communities left searching for answers. As details emerged, investigators were faced with the complex task of piecing together what happened inside a home where several lives were lost, while loved ones struggled to make sense of an unimaginable tragedy. As a forensic death investigator, I discuss the investigative process behind cases like this, the importance of carefully documenting the scene, evaluating the evidence without assumptions, and understanding how investigators work to reconstruct the events that led to such devastating outcomes. I also explore the emotional toll these cases can have, not only on surviving family members, but on the professionals responsible for uncovering the truth. But beyond the investigation, I want to remember the people at the center of this story. Behind every report are individuals whose lives mattered, families forever changed, and a community left grieving. Every death investigation is about more than determining what happened, it’s about honoring those who can no longer speak for themselves and seeking answers with compassion, professionalism, and respect. This episode contains discussion of family violence, homicide, and death.  Listener discretion is advised. EPISODE TRANSCRIPT: 00:06 Welcome to Pushing Up Lilies. I’m your host, Julie Mattson. Pushing Up Lilies is a weekly true crime podcast with spine-tingling, unusual, and terrifyingly true stories from my perspective as a forensic death investigator and a sexual assault nurse examiner. 00:24 Do I have some stories for you? Are you ready? Welcome to another episode of Pushing Up Lilies. I’m so happy that y’all joined us today. Still recovering from all the CrimeCon stuff. My items that I had there were boxed up and shipped back to me, and I just got them all back. 00:46 So, I’m trying to get them into my store at the Mercantile in Krum. Thank you for being patient with me. My plan was to try to do that today, but I ended up having to make a doctor’s appointment. So, it’s been kind of crazy. 00:58 Clinical tomorrow and then meds fall, med spa, and, you know, the routine. Trying to keep my head afloat while I’m finishing school. I’ve got one month left of this semester. So, I get a month and a half off and then I have two more small three-month semesters finished or left. 01:18 So hopefully it will go quickly. It seems like so far away, but I know that these days’ time flies super-fast. I want to make sure that y’all have a super safe 4th of July. I know at the medical examiner’s office, we would always frequently have drownings during the holidays when everyone’s at the lake and having their hold my beer and watch this moment. 01:41 So, keep a close eye on your friends. And my biggest thing is don’t always assume that your friends that can swim don’t still need to be watched because if they’re drinking or if they’re not super healthy, they could have a medical emergency in the water. 02:02 There are, in many cases, free life jackets available at the lakes. So, everyone in your boat should have one. There’s just a lot of ways to think ahead about how to be safe and prevent accidents and injuries and deaths. 02:19 Just kind of keep that in your head when you’re going to the lake or even when you’re just outside in the heat. Take water. Stay hydrated. We don’t want a bunch of heat strokes going on. Think about your health and the health of the others with you. 02:32 And that will help tremendously in preventing deaths and accidents and injuries. So, okay, that’s my spiel. Gonna get into this week’s episode. This week, I want to talk to you a little bit about the case regarding Amy Steadman, and this is the Mechanicville family deaths. 02:51 Now, this happened on June 23rd, so it wasn’t that long ago. This year, police in Mechanicville, New York responded to a wellness check at an apartment on Harris Avenue. Now, a neighbor had grown worried. 03:05 The family had not been seen, and the air around the apartment smelled wrong, and flies were gathering. And we’ve talked about this before when someone’s in their home, haven’t been seen in a while. They call the police for a welfare check, and it smells bad. 03:23 I mean, you’ve smelled an animal that has been decaying in the road or in the ditch, and it’s just not a pleasant smell. Those details actually matter in death investigation. Odor and flies, they tell you, obviously, that time has passed. 03:40 They tell you that something inside has changed, and they tell you that the body or bodies are no longer in an early stage of death, but they are decomposing. So, when officers actually entered Amy Steadman’s apartment, they found six people dead. 03:58 Amy Steadman was 64. Her daughter, Sarah Myers, was 44. Sarah’s daughter, Harper Harmon, was 13. Sarah’s son, Hudson Harmon, was 11. And Sarah’s 10-year-old twins were Gavin Harmon and Gracelyn Harmon. 04:17 So, all six were found inside Amy’s apartment. And even though Sarah and the children actually lived in a separate unit in the same apartment complex. Police later said that the deaths appeared criminal and evidence suggested intentional poisoning. 04:35 Investigators also said that one of the children had suffered fatal sharp force injuries. So, a handwritten note found inside the home strongly pointed towards Amy Stedman. According to the police, that’s just what they said. 04:51 Toxicology results and final medical examiner findings were still pending when these details were released. Today we’re talking about what police believe Amy Steadman did. So, we’re talking about the crime scene and the poisoning, sharp force injury,