During the night of Monday, September 12, 2022more than three years ago, Oliver, Liliana and Zachary They died at the hands of their mother, Erin Merdyin a case that shocked the City of New York due to the brutality of the events that occurred in Coney Islanda popular peninsula of Brooklyn famous for its fair atmosphere.
On Wednesday, March 4, 2026, the accused pleaded guilty of three counts of first degree murdersince the victims were identified as his three children: Zachary Merdyseven years old; Liliana Stephensfour years old; and Oliver Bondareva three-month-old baby who died during the cold New York night in September.
According to the research presented by the Prosecutor’s Office from New York, Erin Merdy took the three minors to the beach of Coney Island, where later the drowning in it Atlantic Oceanso the 34-year-old woman, originally from Brooklyn, received a sentence that could keep her imprisoned until the end of his days.
This is because Erin Merdy was sentenced by Judge Danny Chun to life sentence for the murder of his three children, whom he drowned in the ocean off the boardwalk in the area where he lived. However, the sentence was handed down despite the objection of the New York prosecutor’s office, which sought death penalty for the accused woman.
Erin Merdy, in a state of emotional alteration
According to what was stated by the American television network Univisionthe New York authorities indicated that, after drown her three children, the woman left the beach alone and walked four kilometers to Brighton Beachthe neighborhood of New York where the father of his three-month-old son, Oliver Bondarev.
Furthermore, during the trip to Brighton Beach, Erin Merdy called several family members in “obvious state of emotional disturbance“, although he avoided answering about the whereabouts of the children due to the “psychophysiological activation that affected his perception of events and the way in which he modulated his conduct“, which worried the family.
Read more about the impact of the war: US reveals how much money and aircraft it lost against Iran
Given this concern, the relatives of Erin Merdy and the baby’s father, Oliver Bondarev, initiated a search and contacted the emergency service 911so the New York police deployed an operation in the coastal zone and, almost five hours after the events, he found the three minors unconscious and wet.
The children were taken to the Coney Island hospital and a few hours later they were declared deadwhile Erin Merdy, who at the time was in Brighton Beach with the father of her youngest child, was barefoot, soaked, and constantly repeating that her children had missingbut that she “was very sorry.”
Legal proceedings against Erin Merdy
Through a digital statement, the New York prosecutor, Ernest Chinstated that “no sentence can compensate for the loss” of the three minors and assured that the case represents “one of the most heartbreaking and unimaginable tragedies” faced by the Brooklyn Prosecutor’s Office so far this year. centurymainly due to its media impact.
The case was constantly commented on social networks, where dozens of mothers they criticized to Erin Merdy for her actions and asked for the death penalty for the accused, taking advantage of the fact that the administration of the president of the United States, donald trumphas promoted its use since the Republican president’s return to the White House.