Brooklyn mother arraigned on multiple murder charges in death of three children in Coney Island
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NYPD officers and detectives from the Crime Scene Unit gather evidence as they investigate the drowning of three children on the beach in Coney Island on Monday. Credit: Jeff Bachner
A Brooklyn mother accused of drowning her three children in the surf off Coney Island earlier in the week learned through a video criminal court appearance the specific charges she faced during a hospital arraignment on Friday.
Officials said Erin Merdy, currently under psychiatric watch at a hospital, was represented by a court appointed defense lawyer as Brooklyn prosecutors disclosed to Criminal Court Judge Archana Rao that she faced a total of seven counts in a criminal complaint stemming from the children’s deaths early Monday.
The complaint accused Merdy, 30, of three courts of intentional second-degree murder, three counts of depraved indifference murder and one charge of first-degree murder, which essentially covers instances when one homicidal act includes the death of another person. She entered no plea during the proceeding.
According to the complaint, Merdy, who lived on Neptune Avenue in Brooklyn, killed her son Zachary Merdy, 7, a daughter Liliana Stephen-Merdy, 4, and 3-month-old son Oliver Bondarev.
Merdy was seen on video early on Sept. 12 walking with the children on the beach around West 35th Street and Riegelmann Boardwalk, the complaint stated. About three hours later, officers saw Merdy alone on the boardwalk, barefoot and wet, about two miles from where police recovered her children.
The children were found at 4:40 that morning unresponsive on the shoreline, wet and with sand on their bodies, according to court papers. All three children were rushed to nearby Coney Island Hospital, where they were pronounced dead.
The complaint went on to say that relatives had told cops that Merdy had said to them that she had hurt her children and that “they were gone.”
In a briefing with reporters Wednesday, NYPD chief of detectives Jame Essig said that Merdy had told officers she had dreamed of being in the water with the children.
Merdy has been under psychiatric observation at NYU Langone Hospital-Brooklyn since she was taken into custody on Monday.
Officials said Merdy is next due in court on Tuesday.
Defense attorney George Cooke didn’t return a telephone call for comment.
On Monday, Dine Stephen, an aunt of Merdy, said in a telephone interview that her niece was having mental health problems following the birth of her youngest child. She was also reportedly behind in her rent and facing eviction.
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