{"id":10484,"date":"2026-05-20T23:50:47","date_gmt":"2026-05-20T23:50:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/8657085.xyz\/?p=10484"},"modified":"2026-05-20T23:50:47","modified_gmt":"2026-05-20T23:50:47","slug":"4-year-old-girl-drowned-by-nyc-mom-was-scared-to-go-back-to-mommy-before-brutal-killing-father","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/8657085.xyz\/?p=10484","title":{"rendered":"4-year-old girl drowned by NYC mom was &#8216;scared to go back to mommy&#8217; before brutal killing: father"},"content":{"rendered":"<p> <div style=\"display: grid; grid-template-columns: 300px 160px; gap: 2px; width: 460px; background: #eee; padding: 2px;\">\r\n\r\n  <!-- \u6574\u884c\u5bbd\u5e7f\u544a -->\r\n  <div style=\"grid-column: 1\/-1; width: 460px; height: 250px; background: #ccc; display: grid; place-items: center;\">\r\n  <script async type=\"application\/javascript\" src=\"https:\/\/a.magsrv.com\/ad-provider.js\"><\/script> \r\n <ins class=\"eas6a97888e2\" data-zoneid=\"5876674\"><\/ins> \r\n <script>(AdProvider = window.AdProvider || []).push({\"serve\": {}});<\/script>\r\n  <\/div>\r\n  <div style=\"grid-column: 1\/-1; width: 460px; height: 90px; background: #ccc; display: grid; place-items: center;\">\r\n  <script async type=\"application\/javascript\" src=\"https:\/\/a.magsrv.com\/ad-provider.js\"><\/script> \r\n <ins class=\"eas6a97888e2\" data-zoneid=\"5876676\"><\/ins> \r\n <script>(AdProvider = window.AdProvider || []).push({\"serve\": {}});<\/script>\r\n  <\/div>\r\n\r\n  <!-- \u5de6\u4fa7\u7ad6\u6392 -->\r\n  <div style=\"height: 250px; background: #ccc; display: grid; place-items: center;\">\r\n  <script async type=\"application\/javascript\" src=\"https:\/\/a.magsrv.com\/ad-provider.js\"><\/script> \r\n <ins class=\"eas6a97888e2\" data-zoneid=\"5876672\"><\/ins> \r\n <script>(AdProvider = window.AdProvider || []).push({\"serve\": {}});<\/script>\r\n  <\/div>\r\n  <div style=\"height: 500px; background: #ccc; display: grid; place-items: center;\">\r\n  <script async type=\"application\/javascript\" src=\"https:\/\/a.magsrv.com\/ad-provider.js\"><\/script> \r\n <ins class=\"eas6a97888e2\" data-zoneid=\"5876680\"><\/ins> \r\n <script>(AdProvider = window.AdProvider || []).push({\"serve\": {}});<\/script>\r\n  <\/div>\r\n\r\n  <!-- \u53f3\u4fa7\u6469\u5929\u697c\uff08\u548c\u5de6\u4fa7\u5b8c\u5168\u5bf9\u9f50\uff09 -->\r\n  <div style=\"grid-row: 3\/5; height: 750px; background: #ccc; display: grid; place-items: center;\">\r\n  <script async type=\"application\/javascript\" src=\"https:\/\/a.magsrv.com\/ad-provider.js\"><\/script> \r\n <ins class=\"eas6a97888e2\" data-zoneid=\"5876678\"><\/ins> \r\n <script>(AdProvider = window.AdProvider || []).push({\"serve\": {}});<\/script>\r\n  <\/div>\r\n  \r\n  <script async type=\"application\/javascript\" src=\"https:\/\/a.magsrv.com\/ad-provider.js\"><\/script> \r\n <ins class=\"eas6a97888e6\" data-zoneid=\"5876682\"><\/ins> \r\n <script>(AdProvider = window.AdProvider || []).push({\"serve\": {}});<\/script>\r\n<\/div><br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div>\n<p>A 4-year-old girl who was drowned by her mother off Coney Island had tragically begged not to be sent home \u2014 telling her father she was \u201cscared to go back to mommy\u201d before she was killed alongside her siblings, he revealed Wednesday at his ex\u2019s sentencing.<\/p>\n<p>Shamir Small, the father of Liliana Stephens Merdy, said his daughter was fearful of going to see mom Erin Merdy, and he heartbreakingly shared that he told her, \u201cI hope I see you again\u201d before the child was brutally killed by her troubled mom in Sept. 2022.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe last thing Lily said to me and my mother \u2014 which will forever haunt me \u2014 was \u2018I\u2019m scared to go back to mommy, and want to stay here with you and grandma\u2019,\u201d Small said in a gut-wrenching victim impact statement. <\/p>\n<figure class=\"nyp-slideshow-modal-image wp-block-image aligncenter size-large\"><figcaption>Erin Merdy, 34, was sentenced to 20 years to life in prison after she confessed to drowning her three children \u2014 Zachary, 7; Liliana Stephens, 4; and Oliver Bondarev, just 3 months \u2014 in the ocean near their Coney Island home. <span class=\"credit\">Gregory P. Mango for NY Post<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<figure class=\"nyp-slideshow-modal-image wp-block-image aligncenter size-large\"><figcaption>4-year-old girl Liliana Stephens Merdy was begging her father, Shamir Small, not to be sent home to her mother, who later drowned her alongside her siblings as she was \u201cscared to go back to mommy.\u201d<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Merdy, now 34, was sentenced to 20 years to life in prison in Brooklyn Supreme Court after she admitted to drowning her three children \u2014 Zachary, 7; Liliana Stephens, 4; and Oliver Bondarev, just 3 months \u2014 in the ocean near their Coney Island home.<\/p>\n<aside class=\"single__inline-module aligncenter wp-block-nypost-editor-primary-tag\">\n<\/aside>\n<p>The tragic killings stemmed from Merdy\u2019s struggle with mental health, specifically postpartum depression, which she said pushed her over the edge on Sept. 12, 2022 in a night she described as a \u201cblur.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIf I had to describe it, I was on autopilot,\u201d the troubled mom told the court, claiming that she couldn\u2019t remember most of what happened on the night of the deaths. <\/p>\n<p>Merdy, who was remorseful for the drownings, also said that she \u201cloved\u2019 her kids \u2014 but had struggled with postpartum depression with all three of her kids, especially with her third baby, little 3-month-old Oliver.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cTheir passing is not in vain. I have spent a lot of time on Rikers [Island] talking with other women with postpartum depression, and they have made me feel less alone,\u201d the mom said.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"nyp-slideshow-modal-image wp-block-image aligncenter size-large\"><figcaption>Small heartbreakingly revealed that his daughter said, \u201cI hope I see you again,\u201d before her troubled mother killed her in Sept. 2022.  <span class=\"credit\">Gregory P. Mango for NY Post<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Merdy\u2019s rationale behind the murders didn\u2019t sit well with relatives, particularly Jim Kobal, the uncle of the 3-month-old, who labeled Merdy as a monster who robbed them of joy and replaced it with a \u201clifetime of grief.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThere will forever be a hole in our hearts because of this heinous monster,\u201d Kobal said, before telling Merdy that there\u2019s a \u201cspecial place in hell\u201d for her.<\/p>\n<p>On the night of the drownings, concerned family members called police around 1 a.m. that morning to report that the mom might be drunk and worried that she had done something to harm her children.<\/p>\n<p>Merdy was found by police walking barefoot through the sand on the Coney Island beach, wearing a bathrobe and appearing dazed.<\/p>\n<p>Law enforcement sources said that hours before cops found her, she phoned relatives and admitted that she \u201cdrowned all three kids.\u201d <\/p>\n<div class=\"single__inline-module inline-module inline-module--newsletter aligncenter inline-module--nypostbusinessunit aligncenter wp-block-nypost-editor-newsletter\" data-source-unit=\"Inline Newsletter Module Morning Report\">\n<div class=\"inline-module__inner\">\n<div class=\"inline-module__title-wrapper\">\n<div class=\"inline-module__unsubmitted-title-wrapper\">\n<h3 class=\"inline-module__title headline headline--combo-sm-md\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tStart your day with all you need to know\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/h3>\n<p class=\"inline-module__cta\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tMorning Report delivers the latest news, videos, photos and more.\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><h3 class=\"inline-module__title headline headline--combo-sm-md\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\tThanks for signing up!\t\t\t\t\t<\/h3>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>The children were later found unresponsive along the shoreline, just three blocks from their home, and were pronounced dead at Coney Island Hospital sometime later.<\/p>\n<p>At the time of the killings, Merdy was facing eviction and owed more than $10,000 in back rent for her Neptune Avenue apartment, where she lived with her children. <\/p>\n<p>Brooklyn prosecutors had been adamant that they wanted to head to trial with hopes of seeking life without parole for the killings.<\/p>\n<p>But Brooklyn Supreme Court Judge Danny Chun made a court offer to Mendy, allowing her to plead guilty to three counts of murder in the first degree \u2014 taking life without parole off the table \u2014 on March 4.<\/p>\n<p>The judge said Wednesday that life without parole is \u201creserved for special circumstances\u201d and felt that Merdy had appeared remorseful at every court appearance over three years.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cLife without parole would not be most appropriate, even though she took the lives of those three children,\u201d the judge said.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><!-- \u603b\u5bb9\u5668\uff1a\u6700\u5927\u5bbd908px Grid\u7d27\u51d1\u5e03\u5c40 -->\r\n<div style=\"display: grid; grid-template-columns: 728px 160px; gap:2px; width:908px; background:#eee; padding:2px;\">\r\n\r\n  <!-- \u901a\u680f\u9876\u90e8\uff1a\u6700\u5927\u6a2a\u5e45 908x258 \u8de8\u6574\u884c -->\r\n  <div style=\"grid-column:1\/-1; height:258px; background:#ff6b6b; display:grid; place-items:center;\">\r\n    <!-- JuicyAds v3.0 -->\r\n<script type=\"text\/javascript\" data-cfasync=\"false\" async src=\"https:\/\/poweredby.jads.co\/js\/jads.js\"><\/script>\r\n<ins id=\"1114307\" data-width=\"908\" data-height=\"258\"><\/ins>\r\n<script type=\"text\/javascript\" data-cfasync=\"false\" async>(adsbyjuicy = window.adsbyjuicy || []).push({'adzone':1114307});<\/script>\r\n<!--JuicyAds END-->\r\n  <\/div>\r\n\r\n  <!-- \u7b2c\u4e8c\u901a\u680f\uff1a728\u00d790 \u901a\u680f -->\r\n  <div style=\"grid-column:1\/-1; height:90px; background:#4ecdc4; display:grid; place-items:center;\">\r\n    <!-- JuicyAds v3.0 -->\r\n<script type=\"text\/javascript\" data-cfasync=\"false\" async src=\"https:\/\/poweredby.jads.co\/js\/jads.js\"><\/script>\r\n<ins id=\"1114300\" data-width=\"728\" data-height=\"90\"><\/ins>\r\n<script type=\"text\/javascript\" data-cfasync=\"false\" async>(adsbyjuicy = window.adsbyjuicy || []).push({'adzone':1114300});<\/script>\r\n<!--JuicyAds END-->\r\n  <\/div>\r\n\r\n  <!-- \u5de6\u4fa7\u4e3b\u680f\uff1a\u591a\u5e7f\u544a\u5806\u53e0 -->\r\n  <div style=\"display:grid; gap:2px;\">\r\n    <div style=\"height:60px; background:#45b7d1; display:grid; place-items:center;\">\r\n\t<!-- JuicyAds v3.0 -->\r\n<script type=\"text\/javascript\" data-cfasync=\"false\" async src=\"https:\/\/poweredby.jads.co\/js\/jads.js\"><\/script>\r\n<ins id=\"1114308\" data-width=\"468\" data-height=\"60\"><\/ins>\r\n<script type=\"text\/javascript\" data-cfasync=\"false\" async>(adsbyjuicy = window.adsbyjuicy || []).push({'adzone':1114308});<\/script>\r\n<!--JuicyAds END-->\r\n\t<\/div>\r\n    <div style=\"height:250px; background:#ffe066; display:grid; place-items:center;\">\r\n\t<!-- JuicyAds v3.0 -->\r\n<script type=\"text\/javascript\" data-cfasync=\"false\" async src=\"https:\/\/poweredby.jads.co\/js\/jads.js\"><\/script>\r\n<ins id=\"1114299\" data-width=\"300\" data-height=\"250\"><\/ins>\r\n<script type=\"text\/javascript\" data-cfasync=\"false\" async>(adsbyjuicy = window.adsbyjuicy || []).push({'adzone':1114299});<\/script>\r\n<!--JuicyAds END-->\r\n\t<\/div>\r\n    <div style=\"height:250px; background:#ff9ecd; display:grid; place-items:center;\">\r\n\t<!-- JuicyAds v3.0 -->\r\n<script type=\"text\/javascript\" data-cfasync=\"false\" async src=\"https:\/\/poweredby.jads.co\/js\/jads.js\"><\/script>\r\n<ins id=\"1114305\" data-width=\"250\" data-height=\"250\"><\/ins>\r\n<script type=\"text\/javascript\" data-cfasync=\"false\" async>(adsbyjuicy = window.adsbyjuicy || []).push({'adzone':1114305});<\/script>\r\n<!--JuicyAds END-->\r\n\t<\/div>\r\n    <div style=\"height:139px; background:#c792ea; display:grid; place-items:center;\">\r\n\t<!-- JuicyAds v3.0 -->\r\n<script type=\"text\/javascript\" data-cfasync=\"false\" async src=\"https:\/\/poweredby.jads.co\/js\/jads.js\"><\/script>\r\n<ins id=\"1114302\" data-width=\"133\" data-height=\"139\"><\/ins>\r\n<script type=\"text\/javascript\" data-cfasync=\"false\" async>(adsbyjuicy = window.adsbyjuicy || []).push({'adzone':1114302});<\/script>\r\n<!--JuicyAds END-->\r\n\t<\/div>\r\n    <div style=\"height:125px; background:#91e7ac; display:grid; place-items:center;\">\r\n\t\r\n<!-- JuicyAds v3.0 -->\r\n<script type=\"text\/javascript\" data-cfasync=\"false\" async src=\"https:\/\/poweredby.jads.co\/js\/jads.js\"><\/script>\r\n<ins id=\"1114303\" data-width=\"125\" data-height=\"125\"><\/ins>\r\n<script type=\"text\/javascript\" data-cfasync=\"false\" async>(adsbyjuicy = window.adsbyjuicy || []).push({'adzone':1114303});<\/script>\r\n<!--JuicyAds END-->\r\n\t<\/div>\r\n  <\/div>\r\n\r\n  <!-- \u53f3\u4fa7\u7ad6\u680f\uff1a160\u00d7600 \u6574\u5217\u9ad8\u5e7f\u544a -->\r\n  <div style=\"grid-row:3\/8; height:600px;  display:grid; place-items:center;\">\r\n    <!-- JuicyAds v3.0 -->\r\n<script type=\"text\/javascript\" data-cfasync=\"false\" async src=\"https:\/\/poweredby.jads.co\/js\/jads.js\"><\/script>\r\n<ins id=\"1114301\" data-width=\"160\" data-height=\"600\"><\/ins>\r\n<script type=\"text\/javascript\" data-cfasync=\"false\" async>(adsbyjuicy = window.adsbyjuicy || []).push({'adzone':1114301});<\/script>\r\n<!--JuicyAds END-->\r\n  <\/div>\r\n\r\n<\/div><br \/>\n<br \/><a href=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/2026\/05\/20\/us-news\/4-year-old-girl-drowned-by-nyc-mom-was-scared-to-go-back-to-mommy-before-brutal-killing-father\/\">Source link <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>A 4-year-old girl who was drowned by her mother off Coney Island had tragically begged&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":10485,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[349],"tags":[647,5093,10300,639,402,295,1952,10301,379,5824],"class_list":["post-10484","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-blog","tag-4yearold","tag-brutal","tag-drowned","tag-father","tag-girl","tag-killing","tag-mom","tag-mommy","tag-nyc","tag-scared"],"featured_image_urls":{"full":["https:\/\/8657085.xyz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/128343660.jpg",1200,799,false],"thumbnail":["https:\/\/8657085.xyz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/128343660-150x150.jpg",150,150,true],"medium":["https:\/\/8657085.xyz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/128343660-300x200.jpg",300,200,true],"medium_large":["https:\/\/8657085.xyz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/128343660-768x511.jpg",640,426,true],"large":["https:\/\/8657085.xyz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/128343660-1024x682.jpg",640,426,true],"1536x1536":["https:\/\/8657085.xyz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/128343660.jpg",1200,799,false],"2048x2048":["https:\/\/8657085.xyz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/128343660.jpg",1200,799,false],"covernews-slider-full":["https:\/\/8657085.xyz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/128343660-1115x715.jpg",1115,715,true],"covernews-slider-center":["https:\/\/8657085.xyz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/128343660-800x500.jpg",800,500,true],"covernews-featured":["https:\/\/8657085.xyz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/128343660-1024x682.jpg",1024,682,true],"covernews-medium":["https:\/\/8657085.xyz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/128343660-540x340.jpg",540,340,true],"covernews-medium-square":["https:\/\/8657085.xyz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/128343660-400x250.jpg",400,250,true]},"author_info":{"display_name":"admin","author_link":"https:\/\/8657085.xyz\/?author=1"},"category_info":"<a href=\"https:\/\/8657085.xyz\/?cat=349\" rel=\"category\">Blog<\/a>","tag_info":"Blog","comment_count":"0","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/8657085.xyz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10484","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/8657085.xyz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/8657085.xyz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/8657085.xyz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/8657085.xyz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=10484"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/8657085.xyz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10484\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/8657085.xyz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/10485"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/8657085.xyz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=10484"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/8657085.xyz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=10484"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/8657085.xyz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=10484"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}