Three children were found dead on the beach in Coney Island, New York early Monday.

Police identified the three children as Zachary Merdy, 7, Lilana Merdy, 4, and 3-month-old Oliver Bondarev.

The children were found around 4:40 a.m. after a relative called 911 indicating “she was concerned that her family member may have harmed her three small children,” New York Police Chief of Department Kenneth Corey said at a press conference Monday.

Police have not identified the children’s mother. However, multiple news outlets have identified her as 30-year-old Erin Merdy.

Merdy was found with relatives on the boardwalk around 3 a.m. after a second 911 call was placed.

“The mother was soaking wet,” Corey said. “Whether she had been out in the rain or whether she had been in the water is all speculative at this point. She was wet, she was barefoot, and she was not communicative to the officers.”

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Police work along a stretch of beach at Coney Island which is now a crime scene after a mother is suspected of drowning her children in the ocean on September 12, 2022 in the Brooklyn borough of New York City. Three children were found unconscious on the beach near the Coney Island boardwalk early Monday morning. Detectives were trying to question the mother at the local police precinct house after she was picked up two miles down the boardwalk.

Police were initially called to Merdy’s apartment around 1:40 a.m. for a welfare check and met the father of one of the kids who “expressed similar concerns and said he believed the woman and the children were on the boardwalk in Coney Island,” Corey said.

Officers began searching for Merdy and her children on the boardwalk and the beach. After Merdy was found the search intensified, said Corey. The children were later discovered about two miles from where police found Merdy.

Police work along a stretch of beach at Coney Island which is now a crime scene after a mother is suspected of drowning her children in the ocean on September 12, 2022 in the Brooklyn borough of New York City. Three children were found unconscious on the beach near the Coney Island boardwalk early Monday morning. Detectives were trying to question the mother at the local police precinct house after she was picked up two miles down the boardwalk.

The children were pronounced dead at Coney Island Hospital. Merdy was taken to the police station to be questioned.

At the press conference, Corey said “detective are attempting to speak with her but so far she has not said anything.”

A NYPD spokesman said Merdy is currently at a local hospital.

Police stand along a stretch of beach at Coney Island which is now a crime scene after a mother is suspected of drowning her children in the ocean on September 12, 2022 in New York City. Three children were found unconscious on the beach near the Coney Island boardwalk early Monday morning. Detectives were trying to question the mother at the local police precinct house after she was picked up two miles down the boardwalk.

Merdy’s aunt Dine Stephen told theDaily Beastthat Merdy was struggling with mental health issues.

“Basically, people have mental issues, and that’s what needs to be focused on. A lot of people are struggling nowadays, and she was one of them. She struggled.”

“No one expected it to get to this level,” she said. “But obviously, she’s a woman who needs help. She has mental problems. We ask for people to have some grace and understand that. She’s not an evil person. She has mental issues that need to be addressed.”

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Zachary’s father Derrick Merdy told theNew York Timesthat he had been fighting for custody of his son.

“I was trying to get my son,” he said. “Now that’s not going to happen.”

No charges have been filed against Merdy as of Tuesday.

source: people.com