NEW YORK — A New York City woman who was convicted of drowning her three children in the ocean and leaving their bodies along the Coney Island shoreline received a sentence of 20 years to life on Wednesday.
According to The New York Times, Erin Merdy, 34, pleaded guilty in March in Brooklyn Supreme Court to three counts of first-degree murder in the killings of her children, Zachary Merdy, 7; Liliana Stephens Merdy, 4; and Oliver Bondarev, 3 months old.
Authorities said Merdy drowned the children in the water off West 35th Street in the Coney Island section of Brooklyn during the early morning hours of Sept. 12, 2022, WNBC reported.
The children were found after a three-hour search that began when a relative called 911 to express concern that Erin Merdy may have harmed the children, according to USA Today.
The New York City medical examiner’s office ruled the children’s deaths as homicides by drowning, WABC reported.
In a statement, Brooklyn District Attorney Eric Gonzalez said the victims were “innocent children whose lives were taken in the most heartbreaking and unthinkable way.”
“While nothing can bring these children back, this sentence ensures the defendant will be held responsible for taking their lives,” Gonzalez said.
Just after 12:30 a.m. ET on Sept. 12, 2022, prosecutors said that Merdy brought her children to the beach, steps away from the Coney Island boardwalk. She then drowned them in the Atlantic Ocean.
Approximately an hour later, Merdy, walking down the shore in a wet bathrobe, called her family and hinted at what she had done, the Times reported.
After a family member called 911, police arrived at Merdy’s apartment at about 2 a.m. ET. It was unlocked and empty, according to the newspaper.
Meanwhile, Merdy’s family found her two miles away in Brighton Beach at the Riegelmann Boardwalk, an adjoining neighborhood, the Times reported.
The woman reportedly told family members that the children were gone and that she was sorry.