BROOKLYN, NY–
A Brooklyn area woman is being investigated by the police after she allegedly confessed to several family members that she drowned her three children at the beach.
The incident began around 1:40 a.m. after the authorities received a call from a relative of 30-year-old Erin Merdy, who was concerned for the wellbeing of Merdy’s children.
Authorities arrived at Merdy’s apartment, however, there was no sign of her or the children.
Officials did, however, run into the father of one of Merdy’s children inside the apartment building.
The father explained that he was also concerned for the child’s wellbeing and authorities were directed towards the Coney Island beach just blocks away.
Merdy was later found walking along the beach barefoot and in a robe, surrounded by some of her relatives.
Officials say Merdy appeared to be out of it:
“Whether she had been out in the rain or whether she had been in the water, again, is all speculative at this point. She was wet, she was barefoot, and she was not communicative to the officers.”
Despite finding Merdy, authorities could not locate the children.
At around 4:00 a.m., 90 minutes after officials found Merdy, they discovered the bodies of a 3-month-old, a 4-year-old, and a 7-year-old along the shoreline at West 35th Street.
The children were taken to an area hospital where they were pronounced dead.
Merdy was taken to the police department for questioning before being taken to NYU Langone Hospital.
Family members claimed that Merdy loved her children but was struggling:
“In this family, we do have a history of mental illness to varying degrees. A few of us have battled with bipolar disorder, but I didn’t know her mental struggles. I just knew she was trying to find a way for her children, a way to get on her feet,” said Merdy’s uncle Stephen.

“From what I know she was a good mother. She was always with her children, always with her babies. You never know what people are going through. People mask their depression very well,” Alfred Brown who coached one of the children’s football team and lived in the building said.