Police investigators at the scene where three children were found unconscious on the shoreline in Brooklyn, September 12, 2022. Photo / Dave Sanders, The New York Times
Police investigators at the scene where three children were found unconscious on the shoreline in Brooklyn, September 12, 2022. Photo / Dave Sanders, The New York Times
Warning: Distressing content
The mother of three children who drowned this week in New York City has been arrested and charged with their murder, one of the most horrific crimes against children in the city's recent memory.
The New York City Police Department said the mother, Erin Merdy, 30, ofBrooklyn was arrested on Wednesday (Thursday NZT) after the Monday deaths of the children, who were identified by the department and relatives as Zachary Merdy, 7; Liliana Merdy, 4; and Oliver Bondarev, 3 months old.
The medical examiner's office in New York City ruled the deaths homicides by drowning on Tuesday. An arraignment date for Merdy has not yet been set.
The death in the predawn hours, a drama played out on the boardwalk and shoreline, immediately recalled the cases of Susan Smith, who in 1994 sent her car rolling into a South Carolina lake with her two sons strapped inside, and Andrea Yates, who drowned her five children in the bathtub in a Houston suburb in 2001.
In a typical year, about a dozen children are killed in New York City in situations that police classify as "domestic". In some of those cases, there turn out to be missed signs and missed chances to intervene.
On Monday, the police department received a call just before 2am urging them to check on Erin Merdy. A relative believed that her children were in danger, authorities said.
Derrick Merdy with his son, Zachary Merdy. Photo / The New York Times
Officers found Merdy, barefoot and soaking wet on the boardwalk in Brighton Beach, about 90 minutes later on Monday, without her children, Kenneth Corey, the chief of department, said at a news conference that morning.
The police found the children more than 3 kilometres away about 4.30am, unconscious on the shoreline at West 35th Street in Coney Island. The children were taken to Coney Island Hospital, where they were pronounced dead, Corey said.
On Wednesday, members of the police department's 60th Precinct, who responded to the scene, thanked Police Commissioner Keechant Sewell in a Twitter post for supporting them in the days after the drowning.
In 2020, according to a law enforcement official who spoke on condition of anonymity, the city's Administration for Children's Services found evidence to support a claim of neglect or abuse against Merdy. Details on the case were not available, and the agency said it could not discuss Merdy pending the outcome of its investigation of the deaths.
But an agency employee who spoke on condition of anonymity said on Tuesday that it did not file a petition in family court against Merdy, required to seek court-ordered supervision of the family or removal of children from her custody.
Last year, after a string of abuse deaths of children where it appeared that police or Administration for Children's Services investigators appeared to have skipped steps or closed a case too soon, the city overhauled its system for keeping watch over families, including making more unannounced visits and beefing up investigations.
On Wednesday, in the lobby of Merdy's Coney Island apartment building, neighbours had assembled a small memorial for the children. Balloons featuring characters such as Minnie Mouse were fastened to a cardboard box that was filled with plush toys and a small football — a nod to Zachary, who played wide receiver, linebacker and offensive line for a youth team called the Silverbacks.
"RIP Zachary Liliana Oliver," read one note left at the memorial. "You will always be in our hearts."
Merdy's mother, Jacqueline Scott, requested privacy on Wednesday. She said her family is in mourning and declined to comment on the charges.
Derrick Merdy, Zachary's father and Merdy's ex-husband, said he fought for years to get custody of his son, and had called authorities multiple times about concerns over his welfare.
Derrick Merdy, who is from Norfolk, Virginia, said on Wednesday that he had not made funeral arrangements for Zachary. Details on services for the other two children were not immediately known.
Derrick Merdy said he had made preparations to fly his son's body from New York City to Virginia.
"I'm taking him home to VA where he should have always been," he wrote in a message.
