Mother of 3 children who drowned in the US is arrested and charged with the crime

The mother of three children killed on Brooklyn’s Coney Island beach has been arrested and charged with the crime, an official told CNN On thursday.

Erin Merdy, 30, was charged with three counts of second-degree murder, three counts of depraved indifference to human life and three counts of murder with victims under the age of 11, the official said.

The children drowned early on Monday and their deaths are considered homicides, the New York City Office of the Medical Examiner said.

Relatives called the police after Merdy allegedly told them “the babies are gone” and “the kids are gone”.

When questioned by detectives, Merdy told them she was “dreaming about taking the kids on the water,” according to the officer.

Merdy was prosecuted Wednesday and remains in a hospital for further psychological evaluation, the official said.

All three children were pronounced dead at a hospital after first responders performed life-saving measures, including CPR, department chief Kenneth Corey told reporters on Monday.

Their mother was questioned by police and hospitalized after they found her Monday morning in Brighton Beach, adjacent to Coney Island, according to an official.

Police searched beaches, streets and local hospital

The children were found after police received a 911 call at 1:40 am (local time) on Monday from someone who was concerned that “a family member could have harmed their three young children,” Corey said. The caller asked the police to check the woman’s Coney Island apartment.

At the apartment, a man who identified himself as the father of one of the children said he was also concerned, Corey added. He told authorities he believed the woman and three children were on a boardwalk in Coney Island.

Officers searched beaches, streets and a local hospital. Then another 911 call came directing officers to a specific location—Brighton 6th Street and Riegelmann Boardwalk near Brighton Beach. The caller reported a woman who was unconscious, according to the police spokesperson.

Police found the woman and other family members with her. The children were not there.

The search continued through ground, air and port units. At around 4:42 am, officers found the children unconscious on the shore of West 35th Street in Coney Island, Corey said.

The place where the children were found is about 2 miles from where the woman was seen — and just half a mile south of her apartment.

She was “drenched” when investigators made contact with her, said Corey, who noted that it was unclear whether she was in the rain or in the water off the coast.

Football coach recalls ‘quiet and expressive boy’

The 7-year-old was a kind and generous person with a special humility, his father told CNN on Tuesday.

“Anyone who knew my son would know he is special,” said his father, Derrick Merdy.

He loved the video game character Sonic the Hedgehog. “I think I spent a lot of money buying him every single one of them,” Merdy said.

The boy “had a humility about him that I can’t even imitate, and I’ll try my best to live like he did because he was so kind and generous,” the father said. “He would be great.”

Allen McFarland, a youth soccer coach and employee of the New York City Department of Education, remembered the 7-year-old as a quiet, expressive boy who was always excited to play soccer.

“He was excited to tackle, to get tackled, excited to run with the ball, excited to hit the person with the ball, he was just excited,” McFarland said, recalling that the boy joined the team two years ago and wore the number 15.

The coach had to break the news to the team on Monday and was met with tears from the children, who were heartbroken.

McFarland said the boy’s mother pulled him out of football in March. “You could see there was a lot going on,” the trainer said of the mother.

“She would say, ‘No, I know he likes it and we’re going to try to get back together, but the schedule is full,’” McFarland said. “It looked like she was juggling a lot.”

One person who used to work at a shelter for survivors of domestic violence said the two oldest children were “sweet”.

The 4-year-old liked to play with dolls, the former shelter worker told CNN . The boy was a superhero fan, said the person, who worked with these two children for six months in 2020 and 2021 — before their third child was born.

“It is heartbreaking to see. The children were always well behaved and quiet. beautiful souls. Mom was almost quiet,” said the former shelter worker.

The person, who declined to be publicly identified, said the mother did not socialize with other residents, but occasionally participated in activities with the children.