The drowning deaths of three children who were found unconscious early on Monday along the shoreline of New York’s Coney Island have been ruled homicides, the city’s medical examiner’s office announced on Tuesday.
The bodies of three children, identified by police as Zachary Merdy, 7, Lilana Merdy, 4, and 3-month-old Oliver Bondarev, were found after an hour-long search prompted by a worried relative who notified police that the child’s mother could harm her children.
Authorities since detained the mother, identified by family members as 30-year-old Erin Merdy. She is suspected of drowning the three children and has been hospitalized for psychiatric evaluation….