Police are speaking to the mother of the three youngsters who died after being discovered unresponsive on a Coney Island beach.
At 1.40 am, police were summoned to an apartment on Neptune Avenue in Brooklyn after receiving a call from a worried relative at another location.
Officers were called after they received a complaint that Erin Merdy, 30, may have hurt her three children, but they were unable to locate the family.
At 3.15 a.m., they received a second complaint about a lady who was reportedly in “distress” and was seen wandering about barefoot on Brighton Beach in Brooklyn.
Before her three children were discovered unconscious on a beach two miles away, Merdy reported that they were gone.
When they arrived to the hospital, Zachary Merdy, 7, Liliana Merdy, 4, and a baby who was three months old were already proclaimed dead.
Initially transported to the police station, Merdy has now been carried in an ambulance to the hospital while wearing a sheet over her head.
Eight police officers are presently waiting for a warrant outside of her flat, and they informed DailyMail.com that it was a busy crime scene.
She has been involved in six domestic disputes in the past, including one on July 2 when she refused to give her husband the children.
In the building where Merdy resides, maintenance worker Joseph, 60, told DailyMail.com: “I saw the young woman this morning, and she was sobbing over whatever occurred.”
I advised her to persevere through the agony and be strong. Soon after daybreak she was circling the first level.
I wonder what was going through her head and what lead up to her doing that. I’m dumbfounded to go and drown your children.
People adore their children; was she under too much pressure? Simply put, the situation is unfortunate.
Another neighbour, Victor Rodrigez, 54, said, “I used to see her all the time, and her kids would often ask if they could touch my dog.”
She seemed to be in a good place, but as the covid struck, she appeared down. She had lost some of her friendliness. and remained silent.
It’s extremely upsetting when you know the kids. They seemed to be happy children who were extremely kind and courteous.
“I believe covid had a role in it.” It was like Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde — two completely different persons — before and after COVID.
A spokesperson for the NYPD revealed during a news conference that cops spent 90 minutes searching the neighbourhood for the children and their mother.
When police arrived at the unsecured flat, the father of one of the kids allegedly told authorities he was worried for their safety since their mother had repeatedly said she would hurt them.
Around 3 a.m., police discovered the mother and other family members; they claim that she was “soaking wet.”
They are unable to determine whether she was soaked by the rain or drowned in the water.
Officers are trying to interrogate her, but she isn’t speaking to them right now.
Police are asking anybody with knowledge on the incident or who may have seen anything to come forward.
They also said that there had never been any previous reports of child abuse or neglect.
Emergency services from the sea and the air were requested to search the coastline for the three kids.
Before the three kids were taken to the hospital and confirmed dead, officers tried CPR on them.
Call Crime Stoppers at 1-800-577-TIPS if you have any information.