Three children were found dead after drowning at the beach in Coney Island, New York. Their mother, a 30 year old woman named Erin Merdy, has been questioned by police in response to a possible role in their deaths.
Coney Island Drowning Mom Details
Erin Merdy Identified As Mother In Coney Island Drowning Case. “The children’s mother, Erin Merdy, 30, was identified on Monday by Derrick Merdy, who is Zachary’s father and Ms. Merdy’s ex-husband. Police officers answered a call just before 2 a.m. on Monday urging them to check on Ms. Merdy. A relative believed that her children were in danger, authorities said. They received another 911 call before they found Ms. Merdy about 4:30 a.m. with relatives, but without her children, on the boardwalk in Brighton Beach, Chief Corey said.” [NY Times]
Mother Found Barefoot And Wet After Children’s Bodies Found. “The bodies of the 7-year-old boy, 4-year-old girl and 3-month-old girl were found after a nearly three-hour search that began at 1:40 a.m. when a relative called police, worried the woman intended to harm her children. The mother was found 90 minutes later, barefoot and soaking wet, 2 miles (3 kilometers) down the boardwalk from the section of Coney Island where she lived.” [AP]
Police: Mother’s Sister Called 911, Said Children May Be In Danger. “The tragic discovery was made after police responded to a 1:40 a.m. 911 call from their mother’s sister. “The caller indicated that she was concerned her family member may have harmed her three small children,” NYPD Chief of Department Kenneth Corey said at a grim press conference on Coney Island’s Riegelmann Boardwalk.” [Daily News]
Police: Father Also Feared Children Were In Danger. “According to the preliminary investigation, a concerned family member called 911 around 1:40 a.m. out of fear the 30-year-old mother, who lives in a Neptune Avenue apartment, could have harmed her three small children, NYPD officials said at an early morning news briefing. Officers responded to the Neptune Avenue apartment the concerned relative had identified. No one answered the door when they knocked, but it was unlocked, officials said. Cops encountered a man in the building who identified himself as the father of one of the three children. He expressed the same concerns as the 911 caller, NYPD officials said, and told police he believed the mother and children were on the boardwalk in Coney Island.” [NBC]
Police: Mother Won’t Answer Questions About Deaths. “A 30-year-old mother of at least three children has not answered questions from police after three of her children died after apparently drowning on a Coney Island beach in the early hours of Monday. A boy, 7, and two girls, ages 4 and 3 months old, were found unconscious on the sand before 5 a.m. Efforts to revive them were unsuccessful, police said.” [Daily Beast]
One of the first political bloggers in the world, Oliver Willis has operated OliverWillis.com since 2000. Contributor at Media Matters for America and The American Independent. Follow on Twitter at @owillis. Full bio.