A New York woman has been sentenced to 20 years to life in prison for the drowning deaths of her three young children near the Coney Island boardwalk.
Brooklyn District Attorney Eric Gonzalez announced Erin Merdy, 34, was sentenced by Brooklyn Supreme Court Justice Danny Chun after pleading guilty to three counts of first-degree murder on March 4, 2026.
The victims-Zachary, Liliana, and Oliver-were seven, four, and three months old. Their bodies were recovered from the Atlantic Ocean shoreline on September 12, 2022, and ruled homicides by drowning.
Gonzalez said the investigation began after Merdy's relatives called police at 12:37 a.m., concerned she intended to harm her children. Officers found Merdy barefoot and soaking wet three kilometers from her home, repeatedly saying the children were gone and she was sorry.