This column, from the weekly opinion piece MATTER OF FACT, first appeared on BrooklynReporter.com, the Home Reporter and Spectator dated September 16, 2022
In the early morning hours of Monday, September 12, three young children were found dead at the water’s edge in Coney Island. Two miles away, on the boardwalk, police found their mother soaking wet and unresponsive, accompanied by some members of her family. She had told her family that she had drowned her 3-month-old, 4-year-old, and 7-year-old.
The following day, the medical examiner ruled the children’s deaths homicides and Erin Merdy was charged with their murders Wednesday, September 14. This unspeakable tragedy is extremely difficult to process and will forever be one of the darkest days in the Coney Island community’s history.
Cops arrived at Merdy’s home a few hours before the tragic discovery of the children’s bodies at the beach, after a concerned relative called 911 stating that the children may be in danger of being harmed by their mother. Officers met with the father of one of the children who also feared for the kids’ safety.
Our mental health system is severely lacking, and this horrific case has made that painfully evident. When news of the children’s deaths first broke, NYPD Chief of Department Kenneth Corey stated that there was no history of Merdy having been reported to authorities for abusing or neglecting her children in the past, but we now know that is not the case.
“She fell through the cracks.”
A source with familiar with Erin Merdy’s ACS interactions on the department’s failure to monitor the mother of three, who had dealt with mental health struggles for years.
The New York Times reported that Derrick Merdy, the father of the oldest child, said he had tried to obtain custody of his son after being concerned about his living conditions and had tried to get help from authorities. The Administration of Children’s Services began an investigation into Erin Merdy in 2020 after the oldest child stopped showing up for school and she remained under the agency’s watch until two months ago.
A Daily News source familiar with the mother’s ACS interactions said, “She fell through the cracks.” After the birth of her third child in May, Merdy checked into a hospital with postpartum depression. Two months later, on July 15, ACS ended their two-year watch of her without conducting a mental health examination, as per the source.
Family members have been quoted, describing Merdy as someone who has dealt with mental health issues, was still struggling with mental health issues, and comes from a family with a history of mental health issues. She undoubtedly needed far more help than she ever received and now three young children have lost their lives because of that.
Merdy, who had not paid rent in over a year, had been facing eviction since January when the New York COVID-19 eviction moratorium expired. There were many signs that she was struggling with mental health issues, a city agency had her under watch since 2020, and another city agency was involved in eviction proceedings against her.
There has to be a better way for New York City agencies to share information related to someone with psychological issues who is under watch for potentially being a danger to themselves or others. In hindsight, as we the public learn the details of what family members and ACS knew about Merdy’s mental health struggles and of the difficulties she was having maintaining her family’s housing, it is clear that there were plenty of warning signs.
Since taking office at the beginning of the year, Mayor Adams has called for city agencies to make cuts, including this past week when he directed them to make cuts between this year and next, totaling eight percent. Adams has been exempting the NYPD from any cuts.
The murders of three young children in Coney Island were crimes and the police were needed that night. Heartbreaking photos of officers hurrying the children’s lifeless bodies off the beach and performing CPR on them make it clear that they were serving the community that night.
But when we think about investments in city services going forward, we need to acknowledge that investing in reacting to tragedies does not prevent tragedies. The NYPD officers did everything they could to save those children’s lives, but it was too late. Not just too late on that night, but too late in terms of our systems not protecting kids from a parent who had become a danger to them.
