A Brooklyn mother has been sentenced to 20 years to life in prison after pleading guilty to drowning her three young children in the ocean near their Coney Island home.
The Victims
The victims were Zachary Merdy, 7; Lilana Stephens Merdy, 4; and Oliver Bondarev, 3 months old.
The Crime
On September 12, 2022, at approximately 12:37 a.m., Erin Merdy, 34, took the children to the beach near West 35th Street and drowned them in the Atlantic Ocean. She then walked alone over two miles to the apartment of the youngest child’s father in Brighton Beach.
Discovery and Response
Family members, concerned by her calls, contacted police. The children were found unresponsive and wet on the shoreline around 4:30 a.m. and were pronounced dead at Coney Island Hospital. Relatives said Merdy may have been suffering from postpartum depression at the time.
Sentencing
Brooklyn Supreme Court Justice Danny Chun sentenced Merdy to 20 years to life in prison. She had pleaded guilty to three counts of first-degree murder on March 4, 2026. District Attorney Eric Gonzalez said the sentence ensures accountability for the “heartbreaking and unthinkable” loss of the children.
