Erin Merdy: Brooklyn mom held for drowning her children was released from child welfare body without psychiatric exam
BROOKLYN, NEW YORK: Erin Merdy, who drowned her three children on the beach at Coney Island, was previously charged with murder in connection with their deaths on September 14, as she admitted to the crime. The incident took place on September 12 and it is believed that the mother battled some ongoing mental health issues at that time. It is now being reported that she was previously released from the Administration for Children’s Services without having a psychiatric exam.
Merdy, 30, drowned her kids, the youngest one being four, and it is now said that she suffered from depression, post-partum precisely, but was not properly evaluated. New York Daily News reports that Merdy 'slipped through the cracks' of New York City's Administration for Children's Services just months before this tragedy. She was taken to the 60th Precinct stationhouse for questioning before her transfer to a Brooklyn hospital for a psychiatric evaluation. The tragedy was somehow hinted at by Merdy herself as she texted her family members saying, "the babies are gone," before they were found unresponsive along the shorelines.
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After 90 minutes of police searching for the mother and three children, a 911 redirected the cops to the boardwalk in neighboring Brighton Beach where Merdy was found drunk and incoherent. The sources explained that she was still wet from the water, barefoot, and wrapped in a bathrobe. The charges explained by an NYPD spokesperson are three counts of second-degree murder, three counts of depraved indifference to human life, and three counts of murder with the victims under 11 years old. The city medical examiner determined that 7-year-old Zachary Merdy, 4-year-old Liliana Merdy, and 3-month-old Oliver Bondarev died by drowning.
Erin Merdy 'slipped through the cracks'
Jacqueline Scott, the grandmother of the drowned kids told the outlet about Merdy's depression. She said, "She might have been going through postpartum depression. She was a good mother. I reached out to her yesterday and she said she was doing laundry and I said I wanted to speak to the kids. I tried to call her twice on the phone and there was no answer." Scott explained that she was one of many relatives who were trying to reach Merdy on Sunday night.
A Concerned family member called the cops and informed them of the possible harm to the children. The officials arrived at Neptune Avenue, Brooklyn, at 1.40 am Monday morning, only to find the house door open and no one present. On the other hand, Merdy previously claimed that the children were already missing before they were found unresponsive on the beach two miles away. When transported to the hospital, all the kids were pronounced dead. Zachary's father, Derrick Merdy, told the publication, "There are no words that could ... do him justice for what he really was. I can’t express it. Like you met my son, you’ll love him. To know him was a real privilege. In seven years, he changed my life forever. He really did." It was also established that there was no prior abuse or neglect against the children.