Erin Merdy, 34, was sentenced to 20 years to life in prison after pleading guilty to three counts of first-degree murder for the drowning deaths of her children. Prosecutors said the killings occurred on Sept. 12, 2022, shortly after 12:30 a.m., when she brought Zachary, 7, Liliana, 4, and Oliver, 3 months old, to a beach near West 35th Street by the Coney Island boardwalk. She drowned all three in the Atlantic and left their bodies along the shoreline. The Brooklyn district attorney said the sentence holds her responsible for taking their lives. Her lawyer declined to comment.
"A Brooklyn woman was sentenced on Wednesday to 20 years to life in prison for drowning her three children in the ocean and leaving their bodies along the Coney Island shoreline. The woman, Erin Merdy, 34, pleaded guilty in March in Brooklyn Supreme Court to three counts of first-degree murder in the killings of her children, Zachary Merdy, 7; Liliana Stephen, 4; and Oliver Bondarev, 3 months old."
"On Sept. 12, 2022, just after 12:30 a.m., Ms. Merdy brought Zachary, Liliana and Oliver to the beach near West 35th Street, steps away from the Coney Island boardwalk, prosecutors said. Then, she drowned them in the Atlantic."
"They were innocent children whose lives were taken in the most heartbreaking and unthinkable way, Eric Gonzalez, the Brooklyn district attorney, said in a statement on Wednesday. While nothing can bring these children back, this sentence ensures the defendant will be held responsible for taking their lives, he said."
"George Cooke, a lawyer who represented Ms. Merdy through Brooklyn Defender Services, declined to comment."
Read at www.nytimes.com
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