Deaths of 3 kids found on Coney Island beach ruled homicide; mom held
Three children found dead on the beach near Brooklyn’s famed Coney Island boardwalk died by drowning, authorities confirmed Tuesday, as their mother remained in custody.
Seven-year-old Zachary Merdy; Lilana Merdy, 4, and 3-month-old Oliver Bondarev were found after a nearly three-hour search that began at 1:40 a.m. Monday when a relative called police, worried the woman intended to harm her children. They were pronounced dead at a nearby hospital.
The mother, identified by family members as 30-year-old Erin Merdy, 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.
Brooklyn Boro
View MoreNew York City’s most populous borough, Brooklyn, is home to nearly 2.6 million residents. If Brooklyn were an independent city it would be the fourth largest city in the United States. While Brooklyn has become the epitome of ‘cool and hip’ in recent years, for those that were born here, raised families here and improved communities over the years, Brooklyn has never been ‘uncool’.