Three young children found unconscious on the shoreline of Brooklyn's Coney Island early Monday morning have died, reports NBC New York. The children's mother was found on the boardwalk two miles away and continues to be questioned.
According to the preliminary investigation, a concerned family member called 911 around 1:40 a.m. out of fear the 30-year-old mother harming her three small children. NYPD soon responded to the Neptune Avenue apartment the concerned relative had identified. No one answered the door when officers knocked but it was unlocked, according to officials.
Officers later encountered a man in the building who identified himself as the father of one of the three children. He expressed the same concern as the 911 caller and told police he believed the mother and children were on the boardwalk in Coney Island.
A full-scale search commenced after another 911 call came in. Officers later found the mother, Erin Merdy, barefoot and soaking wet the boardwalk. Merdy was without her three children, who were later found unconscious at the water's edge by 35th Street around 4:45 a.m., about three hours after the initial 911 call.
Life-saving efforts began but the children were pronounced dead at Coney Island Hospital. Relatives identified the children as Zachary, 7, Liliana, 4 and Oliver, 3 months.
Although Merdy was known to neighbors as a pleasant woman with no known criminal record, she refused to talk to officers. She was taken to the police station for questioning and cops say they are looking into whether the children were in the water before they were found on the shore and asking any potential witnesses to come forward.
A decision hadn’t been made about what criminal charges Merdy might face.
Anyone with information is asked to call Crime Stoppers at 1-800-577-TIPS.
