Trending Now - Mother Sentenced to 20 Years to Life for Drowning Her Three Kids
WHO:
Fox News - Brooklyn District Attorney Eric Gonzalez stated, "No sentence can fully measure the loss of a seven-year-old, a four-year-old and a three-month-old baby, or the grief their loved ones will carry forever."
NY Post - The father of Liliana, the 4-year-old victim, stated, "The last thing Lily said to me and my mother -- which will forever haunt me -- was 'I'm scared to go back to mommy, and want to stay here with you and grandma.'"
CNN - Erin Merdy, 34, was sentenced for the murders of her three children.
CNN - The children were Zachary Merdy, 7; Liliana Stephens Merdy, 4; and Oliver Bondarev, 3 months old.
CNN - Brooklyn District Attorney Eric Gonzalez made a statement regarding the case.
WHAT:
Fox News - The city medical examiner ruled the deaths of the children as homicides caused by drowning.
ABC News - Erin Merdy was sentenced to 20 years to life for drowning her three children in the ocean near Coney Island's boardwalk.
CNN - Erin Merdy was sentenced to 20 years to life in prison for drowning her three children.
CNN - Merdy pleaded guilty to three counts of first-degree murder.
CNN - The children were found unresponsive and wet on the Coney Island shoreline.
WHERE:
CNN - The incident occurred at Coney Island, New York.
CNN - The children were found on the Coney Island shoreline.
WHEN:
CNN - The drowning occurred on September 12, 2022.
CNN - Merdy took the children to the beach at approximately 12:37 a.m. on the night of the incident.
CNN - Police found the children at about 4:30 a.m. on the same night.
WHY:
CNN - The statement from Eric Gonzalez described the children as "innocent" and the act as "the most heartbreaking and unthinkable way" to take their lives.
HOW:
Fox News - Prosecutors stated that surveillance video showed Merdy walking toward the ocean with the children shortly before 1 a.m.
CNN - Merdy walked from the beach toward the apartment of the father of the youngest child at about 1:25 a.m. after the incident.
CNN - Merdy drowned her children in the ocean.
(UPDATED May 21, 2026 08:13 UTC)
Brooklyn District Attorney Eric Gonzalez expressed the profound grief surrounding the tragic deaths of three young children, emphasizing that no sentence can truly measure the loss felt by their loved ones. The city medical examiner has ruled the children's deaths as homicides resulting from drowning, highlighting the severity of this heartbreaking case. Prosecutors revealed that surveillance footage captured Merdy walking toward the ocean with the children shortly before 1 a.m., adding to the disturbing details of the incident.
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(UPDATED May 21, 2026 04:20 UTC)
Erin Merdy has been sentenced to 20 years to life for the tragic drowning of her three children in the ocean near Coney Island's boardwalk. Following the incident, she was seen walking from the beach toward the apartment of the father of her youngest child around 1:25 a.m. The father of Liliana, the 4-year-old victim, shared a heartbreaking memory, stating that the last thing Lily said to him and her grandmother was, "I'm scared to go back to mommy, and want to stay here with you and grandma."
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(UPDATED May 21, 2026 01:44 UTC)
Erin Merdy has been sentenced to 20 years to life in prison for the drowning murders of her three children, Zachary, Liliana, and Oliver, who were found unresponsive on the Coney Island shoreline. Merdy pleaded guilty to three counts of first-degree murder, with Brooklyn District Attorney Eric Gonzalez describing the children as "innocent" and the act as "the most heartbreaking and unthinkable way" to take their lives. The tragic incident occurred on September 12, 2022, when Merdy took her children to the beach in the early hours of the morning.