Police in New York City announced Wednesday that a lady has been detained on suspicion of murder, days after her three children were discovered unresponsive on a Coney Island beach and ultimately passed afterwards.
According to authorities, Erin Merdy, 30, was charged with purposeful killing, killing with a depraved disregard, and killing a child under the age of 11.
After the New York City medical examiner determined that the children’s deaths were homicides, the charges were made public.
According to authorities, Lilana Merdy, 4, Zachary Merdy, 7, and Oliver Bondarev, 3 months old, all drowned.
A relative contacted 911 in the early hours of Monday, worried that Merdy might have harmed the kids, and police discovered their mother on the boardwalk, drenched and without shoes. According to Kenneth Corey, the department chief of the New York Police Department, Merdy was with other family members but not her kids.
Her kids were eventually located by the shore by police. They were declared dead at a hospital despite efforts to bring them back to life.
No information was provided by the city’s Administration for Children’s Services regarding the family’s history with child protective services.
The safety and well-being of all children in New York City are our top priorities. Together with the NYPD, we are looking into this incident, an agency representative stated in an email.
A notice of eviction for Merdy’s Coney Island apartment was delivered, according to records, just before the Covid-19 eviction moratorium ended in January. People who knew the family said she appeared overburdened by the duties of caring for two young children and a newborn.
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