News of Bahrain
World22 May 20261 min read

Brooklyn mother who drowned 3 kids on Coney Island beach sentenced to 20 years to life

NEW YORK: A Brooklyn Court judge has sentenced 34-year-old Erin Merdy to 20 years to life in prison for the tragic September 2022 drowning of her three young children near the famed Coney Island boardwalk. Merdy pleaded guilty in March to three cou

Editorial Team Legacy

Published 22 May 2026, 8:00 · Updated 18:15

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Brooklyn mother who drowned 3 kids on Coney Island beach sentenced to 20 years to life

Email: online@newsofbahrain.com

NEW YORK: A Brooklyn Court judge has sentenced 34-year-old Erin Merdy to 20 years to life in prison for the tragic September 2022 drowning of her three young children near the famed Coney Island boardwalk.

Merdy pleaded guilty in March to three counts of first-degree murder in the deaths of her 7-year-old son Zachary, her 4-year-old daughter Liliana, and her 3-month-old infant son Oliver.

The Judge handed down the sentence on Wednesday over objections from the Brooklyn District Attorney’s office, which had actively pushed for a harsher penalty.

On September 12, 2022, prosecutors said Merdy took the children to the shoreline just after midnight and drowned them. Following a frantic three-hour search sparked by concerned relatives, police discovered Merdy barefoot and soaking wet along the boardwalk.

Shortly after, officers recovered the sand-covered bodies of the three children. Relatives later told investigators that Merdy was battling severe postpartum depression leading up to the tragedy.

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