On September 12, 2022, 4-year-old Liliana Merdy was drowned by her mother, Erin Merdy, along with her two siblings (7-year-old Zachary and 3-month-old Oliver) at the Coney Island beach in Brooklyn, New York. Earlier that night, the mother had called her sister in a frantic and hysterical state, refusing to answer questions about the children's whereabouts. The maternal aunt called 911 around 1:25 AM, and relatives found the mother on a boardwalk near the beach, wet and barefoot, without the children. The mother told relatives that she had drowned the children. Law enforcement and EMS located all three children unresponsive on the shoreline. Despite life-saving efforts, all three were pronounced dead at 5:38 AM at the hospital. The cause of death for all three children was cardiac arrest secondary to drowning, and the manner was ruled homicide. The mother, who had a documented history of depression and had been evaluated for postpartum depression, was indicted on three counts of first-degree murder and nine counts of second-degree murder. The family had prior CPS involvement including a substantiated educational neglect finding and a preventive services case that had closed just two months before the deaths.
Contexts/Conditions
Is there any mention of child drug ingestion or overdose?
Is there any mention of a drowning incident (either intentional or accidental)?
The fatality report explicitly states: "the cause of death for all three children was cardiac arrest secondary to drowning." The mother "stated that she drowned them." The NBC News article confirms: "Officials said Oliver Bondarev, 3 months old; Lilana Merdy, 4 years old; and Zachary Merdy, 7 years old, drowned." This was an intentional drowning at the Coney Island beach.
Is there any mention of a firearm incident?
Is there any mention of inappropriate supervision (e.g., child wandered off and drowned)?
Is there any mention of inflicted injury? (e.g. slapped, punched, kicked, choked)
The mother intentionally drowned the children, which constitutes inflicted injury. The fatality report states: "The SM would not provide relatives with information on the children's whereabouts but stated that she drowned them." The manner of death was officially ruled homicide. Additionally, a prior CPS report from 4/22/2022 alleged that "the BF of the then 1-day-old deceased sibling choked the 7yo deceased sibling" and "the 7yo reported the BF of the then 1-day-old deceased sibling did put his hands around his throat."
Is there any mention of malnutrition, starvation, or dehydration?
The Daily Mail article, reporting on the fathers' lawsuit, states that the mother was known "to neglect the children, inclusive of withholding food from them" and that "She was reportedly not feeding them regularly." While these are unverified lawsuit allegations from a secondary source, they constitute affirmative mentions of food deprivation relevant to the children.
Is there any mention of medical neglect?
Is there any mention of a motor vehicle crash or incident?
Is there any mention of a murder-suicide incident?
Is there any mention of outdoor elements (including hot car deaths)?
Is there any mention of prenatal substance exposure (including fetal alcohol syndrome or neonatal abstinence syndrome)?
Is there any mention of sexual abuse?
Is there any specific mention of shaken baby or abusive head trauma?
Is there any mention of prolonged abuse or torture (including restraints, captivity)?
Is there any mention of an unsafe sleeping environment?
Individuals Involved
Was an adoptive parent or guardian involved in the death?
Was a biological father involved in the death?
Was a biological mother involved in the death?
The fatality report identifies the biological mother as the alleged perpetrator. She was indicted on three counts of 1st Degree Murder and nine counts of 2nd Degree Murder. The report states: "The SM would not provide relatives with information on the children's whereabouts but stated that she drowned them." The official manner of death was homicide.
Was a day care worker, babysitter, or nanny involved in the death?
Was a female paramour or friend involved in the death (e.g., girlfriend, stepmother)?
Was a foster parent involved in the death?
Was a male paramour or friend involved in the death (e.g., boyfriend, stepfather)?
Was another adult relative involved in the death? (e.g., grandfather, aunt)
Was a sibling involved in the death?
Child Characteristics
Was the child adopted?
Was the child homeschooled (including "cyberschooling") or taken out of school?
Was the child in foster care at the time of the incident?
Was the child living with relatives at the time of the incident (but not parents)?
Is there any mention of a neurological developmental child disability? (e.g., autism, intellectual disability, nonverbal)
Is there any mention of a physical child disability? (e.g., feeding tube)
Is there any mention of prematurity or low birthweight?
Is there a history of child protection reports prior to death (for this child or siblings)?
The fatality report documents two prior CPS reports. The first, dated 4/22/2022, alleged Inadequate Guardianship against the father of the 3-month-old regarding the 7-year-old sibling (choking incident); it was unfounded. The second, dated 11/30/2020, alleged Educational Neglect and Inadequate Guardianship against the mother regarding the sibling and the deceased child; the EdN allegation was substantiated. A preventive services case was opened in January 2021 and closed in July 2022.
Does the child have a history of foster care (but not in care at time of incident)?
Is there a history of a sibling death (separate incident from this death)?
Parent/Caregiver Factors
Was an adult charged or arrested for the child's death?
The fatality report states: "The mother was indicted on three counts of 1st Degree Murder and nine counts of 2nd Degree Murder." Criminal charges were filed on 9/14/2022 against the mother. The NBC News article confirms: "Erin Merdy, 30, was charged with intentional murder, murder with depraved indifference and murder of a victim under the age of 11."
Is domestic violence by the parent/caregiver referenced?
The fatality report states in the OCFS Review Results of the 4/22/2022 report: "Despite the SM and BF's denial, ACS obtained LE records that revealed a history of DV." Additionally, the preventive services section notes the case was opened to address "the SM's ongoing MH, DV history, and housing concerns."
Is there any mention that the death occurred in a temporary shelter or while homeless?
Is an intellectual disability of the parent/caregiver referenced?
Is the mental health of the parent/caregiver referenced?
The fatality report extensively references the mother's mental health. It states: "ACS learned the SM was engaged in mental health counseling prior to the fatal incident." "The SM was diagnosed with depression and had been evaluated for post-partum depression but was not exhibiting signs or symptoms." "In her interview with ACS, the SM reported she believed she was suffering from post-partum depression at the time of the deaths." The 11/30/2020 report states: "The SM was overwhelmed and extremely depressed." The preventive services section notes: "The SM had a recent hospitalization due to her MH and was diagnosed with severe depression." The NYT article corroborates: "Erin Merdy...had struggled with money, men and mental health."
Is a history of arrests or criminal charges for the parent/caregiver referenced?
Is substance use by the parent/caregiver referenced?
Notable Details
Several significant systemic and policy failures are documented. The fatality report's preventive services section notes the case was closed in July 2022, just two months before the deaths, despite the mother "being behind on bills, not receiving her public assistance benefits due to a sanction, and not receiving child support funds." The preventive services agency "did not confirm the SM was engaged in MH treatment until 13 months after the case opened" despite a recent psychiatric hospitalization. Prior CPS investigations had multiple compliance issues: failure to notify fathers of SCR reports, failure to follow up on the mother's mental health treatment, and failure to obtain psychiatric hospitalization records. ACS also failed to assess the deceased child's two surviving half-siblings during the fatality investigation and did not conduct face-to-face interviews with the fathers. Additionally, the Daily Mail article reports that two of the children's fathers filed a $100 million lawsuit against NYC and ACS, alleging the agencies "failed them" and "ignored red flags" despite the mother's known history of mental health issues and prior CPS involvement.
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