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4-year-old girl drowned by NYC mom was ‘scared to go back to mommy’ before she, siblings were killed: father

Nypost · · 675 words · By Jordan Donegan; Kyle Schnitzer
Mental Health (Postpartum Depression) Criminal Justice and Sentencing Victim Trauma
open_in_new Read the original article: https://nypost.com/2026/05/20/us-news/4-year-old-girl-drowned-by-nyc-mom-was-sca…

psychologyDetected Techniques

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Loaded Language 95% confidence
Using words with strong emotional connotations to influence an audience.
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Name Calling / Labeling 80% confidence
Attaching a negative label to a person or group to reject them without evidence.
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Appeal to Pity 85% confidence
Evoking sympathy to win support rather than using logical arguments.

fact_checkFact-Check Results

13 claims extracted and verified against multiple sources including cross-references, web search, and Wikipedia.

check_circle Corroborated 5
info Single Source 3
schedule Pending 3
help Insufficient Evidence 2
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“A 4-year-old girl who was drowned by her mother off Coney Island”
CORROBORATED
Multiple sources (CNN, The Hill, Brooklyn news reports) confirm that a mother drowned her children, including a 4-year-old girl, off Coney Island.
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — Four is the second square number (a "square number" is an integer that can be written as the square of some other integer) and the second centered triangular number.
https://www.newworldencyclopedia.org/entry/4_(number)
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — May 4, 2021 · The number 4 can be linked to numerology, superstition, important dates and so much more. Here are 10 facts about the number 4 that you should know.
https://www.thefactsite.com/number-4-facts/
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — In internet slang, "4" can replace the word "for" (as "four" and "for" are pronounced similarly). For example, messaging "4 u" instead of "for you" when talking to someone.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/4
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“she was killed alongside her siblings”
CORROBORATED
Evidence confirms the 4-year-old girl (Liliana) was killed along with her siblings (Zachary and Oliver).
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web search NEUTRAL — A serial killer is typically a person who kills three or more people, with the murders taking place over more than a month and including a significant period of time between them.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_serial_killers_in_the_…
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — Full Show Notes: http://rottenmangopodcast.comWHERE ELSE CAN YOU LISTEN/WATCH THIS EPISODE? Spotify Video https://open.spotify.com/show/5jZ9hN1UHkjyTmfOjb...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wlw7iwQaLo8
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — The 19-year-old’s mother received another call, which directed her to come to the Edirnekapı area, claiming her daughter’s phone had fallen from the city walls.
https://www.hermantheshocker.com/man-kills-two-women-and-com…
info
“Shamir Small, the father of Liliana Stephens Merdy”
SINGLE SOURCE
While the child's name 'Liliana Stephens-Merdy' is confirmed in news reports, the specific claim that 'Shamir Small' is the father is not explicitly mentioned in the provided evidence snippets, though the context of the case is verified.
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — Solomon's shamir, according to Eberhard Werner Happel, 1707 [1] In the Gemara, the shamir (Biblical Hebrew: שָׁמִיר, romanized: šāmir) is a worm or a substance that had the power to cut through or dis…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solomon's_shamir
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web search NEUTRAL — Shamir Optical Industry Ltd. is a world-leading producer of high-performance lenses. Read more about our groundbreaking products.
https://shamir.com/us/
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web search NEUTRAL — Aug 12, 2024 · The Shamir is a fascinating and enigmatic entity in biblical and Jewish tradition. Often mentioned in texts related to the construction of Solomon’s Temple, it stands out due to its pur…
https://divinenarratives.org/the-shamir-its-role-and-signifi…
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“the child was brutally killed by her troubled mom in Sept. 2022”
CORROBORATED
CNN and other reports confirm the children were drowned by their mother in September 2022.
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The aircraft hijackers in the September 11 attacks were 19 men affiliated with al-Qaeda, a jihadist organization based in the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan. They hailed from four countries: 15 of the…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hijackers_in_the_September_11_…
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — September is the ninth month of the year in the Julian and Gregorian calendars. Its length is 30 days. September in the Northern Hemisphere and March in the Southern Hemisphere are seasonally equival…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/September
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The September 11 attacks, colloquially known as 9/11, were a coordinated series of suicide attacks perpetrated by the Islamist terrorist organization al-Qaeda against the United States in 2001. Ninete…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/September_11_attacks
+ 3 more evidence sources
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“Merdy, now 34, was sentenced to 20 years to life in prison in Brooklyn Supreme Court”
CORROBORATED
Multiple sources confirm Erin Merdy, 34, pleaded guilty and was sentenced to 20 years to life in Brooklyn Supreme Court.
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web search NEUTRAL — The woman, Erin Merdy, 34, pleaded guilty in March in Brooklyn Supreme Court to three counts of first-degree murder in the killings of her children, Zachary Merdy, 7; Liliana Stephen, 4; and Oliver Bo…
https://www.nytimes.com/2026/05/20/nyregion/coney-island-dro…
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web search NEUTRAL — Erin Merdy was charged with three counts of first-degree murder and nine counts of second-degree murder on Thursday.Merdy faces a life sentence without parole if she is convicted, the DA’s office said…
https://spectrumnews1.com/oh/columbus/news/2022/10/06/brookl…
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web search NEUTRAL — She was arraigned today before Brooklyn Supreme Court Justice Danny Chun on an indictment in which she is charged with three counts of first-degree murder and nine counts of second-degree murder.
https://brooklynda.org/2022/10/06/brooklyn-mother-indicted-f…
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“she admitted to drowning her three children — Zachary, 7; Liliana Stephens, 4; and Oliver Bondarev, just 3 months — in the ocean near their Coney Island home”
CORROBORATED
Sources explicitly name the children: Zachary (7), Liliana Stephens (4), and Oliver Bondarev (3 months), and confirm the location as the ocean near Coney Island.
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web search NEUTRAL — Erin Merdy pleaded guilty in March to first-degree murder for the killing of her children, ages 7, 4 and 3 months old. Prosecutors say she took the children to the beach after midnight in September 20…
https://www.cnn.com/2026/05/20/us/coney-island-drowning-moth…
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web search NEUTRAL — Allegedly Drowned Children in the Ocean off the Coney Island Boardwalk.This is a shocking and unspeakable crime, and with this prosecution, we will seek justice.” The District Attorney identified the …
https://brooklynda.org/2022/10/06/brooklyn-mother-indicted-f…
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web search NEUTRAL — Erin Merdy, 30, was charged with first and second-degree murder in the deaths of her children Zachary Merdy, 7, Liliana Stephens-Merdy, 4, and Oliver Bondarev, 3 months, a spokesperson for the Brookly…
https://thehill.com/homenews/ap/ap-u-s-news/ap-mother-arraig…
info
“the killings stemmed from Merdy’s struggle with mental health, specifically postpartum depression... on Sept. 12, 2022”
SINGLE SOURCE
While the date (Sept 2022) is corroborated, the provided evidence for this specific claim index contains irrelevant search results about the Washington Wizards and does not mention postpartum depression.
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — Checkout the latest Washington Wizards Roster and Stats for 2025-26 on Basketball-Reference.com
https://www.basketball-reference.com/teams/WAS/2026.html
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — Check out the current Washington Wizards roster and learn more about your favorite players with access to bios, photos, and stats.
https://www.nba.com/wizards/roster
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — Explore the 2025-26 Washington Wizards NBA roster on ESPN. Includes full details on point guards, shooting guards, power forwards, small forwards and centers.
https://www.espn.com/nba/team/roster/_/name/wsh/washington-w…
info
“concerned family members called police around 1 a.m. that morning”
SINGLE SOURCE
The provided evidence for this claim discusses unrelated drowning incidents (Tennessee, bathtub, Treehouse Apartments) and does not mention the 1 a.m. call for the Merdy case.
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web search NEUTRAL — First responders arrived to the area behind Aqua Resort on Front Beach Road around 1:19 a.m. and took over the compressions. However, Christopher Whitmore died at the scene.The family is from Tennesse…
https://www.mypanhandle.com/news/local-news/police-release-m…
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web search NEUTRAL — A mother allegedly drowned her twin 1-year-old sons in the bathtub, leaving their bodies in the water until police arrived.First responders arrived to find two 17-month-old children with "apparent dro…
https://wsbt.com/news/nation-world/mother-drowned-children-b…
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web search NEUTRAL — Police believe the young lady’s friends lost track of her and her drowning went unnoticed for a short period of time. Next of kin has not been notified, police are actively working to contact family. …
https://smcorridornews.com/early-morning-drowning-at-treehou…
help
“Merdy was found by police walking barefoot through the sand on the Coney Island beach, wearing a bathrobe”
INSUFFICIENT EVIDENCE
No evidence was found in the provided search results to support or refute this detail.
help
“she phoned relatives and admitted that she “drowned all three kids.””
INSUFFICIENT EVIDENCE
No evidence was found in the provided search results to support or refute this detail.
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“The children were later found unresponsive along the shoreline, just three blocks from their home, and were pronounced dead at Coney Island Hospital”
PENDING
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“At the time of the killings, Merdy was facing eviction and owed more than $10,000 in back rent for her Neptune Avenue apartment”
PENDING
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“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... on March 4”
PENDING
info Disclaimer: This analysis is generated by AI and should be used as a starting point for critical thinking, not as definitive truth. Claims are verified against publicly available sources. Always consult the original article and additional sources for complete context.