An attorney for the father of four children found dead in the Saratoga County city of Mechanicville in June says state records show the county knew of alleged abuse in the children’s home years before their deaths.
Cassandra Rohme, an attorney with Liakas Law who represents Brady Harmon, said state child welfare records obtained by her firm show Saratoga County was aware the children’s mother, Sarah Myers, showed signs of a condition sometimes called Munchausen by proxy, now more commonly referred to as factitious disorder imposed on another, or medical child abuse, before the children were hospitalized after an overdose in May 2024.
“Given that they knew that information before the children were overdosed in May of 2024, it is very unclear how the county could have come to any decision other than removing these children from the family, from the home where Myers was abusing them,” Rohme said.
Harmon’s attorneys filed a petition Sept. 23 in Saratoga County Supreme Court asking a judge to order the county to preserve evidence, provide a sworn inventory of retained specimens, and disclose the names of every caseworker, supervisor and behavioral health specialist assigned to the family’s case.
The petition includes state records showing Saratoga County substantiated findings against Myers in at least three investigations: one opened in January 2021, one opened in January 2024 involving all four children, and one opened in March 2024 involving one child, in which a behavioral health specialist documented “signs of fictitious disorder imposed on another” and recommended a psychological evaluation.
Rohme said the records show the county had repeated contact with the family well before the children’s deaths.
“This is not something that was unclear or obscured from the county’s view. They knew about it,” Rohme said. “The question is, how did we end up here when they knew about this years ago?
“The Office of Children and Family Services is in the process of investigating how Saratoga County’s Child Protective Services handled this case and will hold the county accountable for any wrongdoing,” the Office of Children and Family Services said in a statement.
Spectrum News 1 has reached out to Saratoga County for comment. They declined, citing pending litigation. The lawsuit also names Mechanicville Police, two school districts and the Mechanicville Housing Authority. A hearing is set for Oct. 22.