NEWYORK –
A mother accused of killing her three children at New York’s Coney Island beach was charged with murder Friday, authorities said.
Erin Merdy, 30, has been charged with first- and second-degree murder in the deaths of her children Zachary Merdy, 7, Liliana Stephens-Merdy, 4, and Oliver Bondarev, 3 months, a spokeswoman for Erin Merdy. the Brooklyn District Attorney’s office said.
Merdy was sorted remotely from the hospital where she was sent for a psychiatric examination. Her attorney from Brooklyn Defense Services said he had no comment.
Officers searched the shores of Coney Island early Monday after a relative called 911. According to the criminal complaint, Merdy told the relative “that she hurt the family members.” my children and they’re gone.”
Police found Merdy on the boardwalk, wet and barefoot. The children were later found unresponsive at the water’s edge. They were pronounced dead at the hospital. The city’s medical examiner’s office ruled their deaths in drowning homicides.
Evidence against Merdy included video showing her walking out to sea with her children shortly before 1 a.m. Monday, according to the lawsuit.
