The father of a four-year-old girl who was drowned by her mother in Coney Island put his daughter to rest on Monday but insisted his ex was not a “monster” when speaking after the funeral.
Shamir Small said his ex Erin Merdy, 30, loved her daughter Liliana “Lily” Stephen, four, despite drowning the girl and her two half-siblings last week.
“Contrary to what happened, her mother loved her,” Small said.
“I don’t care what nobody says,” he said, “what [Merdy] act was monstrous, but she herself is no monstrosity.’
Small also said he wanted his daughter to be remembered for how she lived, not how she died.
“I don’t want her to be remembered or known how she died,” he said, “I don’t even want to hear about it anymore.
“I don’t want to see it, read it, or nothing at all. I just want everyone to remember that Lily was loved by all of her family members for four years.’
Lily wore a pink dress before being laid out in a white coffin buried in Cypress, Queens. A Barbie doll was placed with her in her coffin.
Merdy faces triple count of second-degree murder, triple count of indifference to human life and triple count of murder of victims under the age of 11, an NYPD spokesman said. She has not yet appeared in court because she was not medically cleared to do so.
Lily wore a pink dress before being laid out in a white coffin buried in Cypress, Queens. A Barbie doll was placed with her in her coffin
Shamir Small said his ex Erin Merdy, 30, loved her daughter Liliana “Lily” Stephen, four, despite drowning the girl and her two half-siblings last week
Merdy had mental health issues for years and suffered from postpartum depression but was not properly screened just months before she allegedly drowned her three children, the youngest just four months old.
The city coroner found last Tuesday that Lily, seven-year-old Zachary Merdy and three-month-old Oliver Bondarev also drowned.
Merdy had slipped “through the cracks” of the New York City Administration for Children’s Ministries just months earlier, the New York Daily News reported.
Merdy sent a chilling text message to family members before her children’s deaths saying “the babies are gone,” prompting panic and a police search that ended with the heartbreaking discovery of the three children unconscious.
Liliana “Lily” Stephen’s funeral on Monday. The four-year-old girl was drowned by her mother last week
Small also said he wanted his daughter to be remembered for how she lived, not how she died
NYPD detective chief James Essig said the mother told police she dreamed of going into the water with her children.
“We believe that she went into the water and drowned the children… As for motive, we’ll leave that to the healthcare professionals,” Essig said.
Jacqueline Scott told the New York Daily News that her daughter is a good mother.
“She may have been going through postpartum depression. She was a good mom,” she told the publication.
“I contacted her yesterday and she said she does laundry and I said I wanted to talk to the kids. I tried to call her twice but there was no answer.’
Scott added that she was one of several concerned relatives who tried to reach Merdy on the night of 9/11.
Police were called to an apartment on Neptune Avenue, Brooklyn at 1:40 am on September 12 following a call from a concerned family member.
The caller said they believed Merdy harmed their three children and officers were present but could not locate the family.
At 3:15 a.m., police received a second call from a woman in “distress” walking barefoot on the boardwalk in Brighton Beach, Brooklyn.
Merdy claimed her three children were missing before they were found unresponsive on the beach two miles away.
The three children were found unconscious on the beach and taken to hospital, where they were pronounced dead.
Erin Merdy’s apartment is guarded by a police officer, New York, U.S., September 12, 2022
Police were called at 3:15 am on September 12 to reports of a 30-year-old woman walking barefoot on the boardwalk in Brighton Beach, Brooklyn, in “distress”.
“Bright” Zachary Mendy, 7, was one of three siblings found dead on a Brooklyn beach
Merdy was first taken to the police station but later taken to the hospital in an ambulance.
Police had previously responded to six domestic incidents involving the distraught mother, including one on July 2 in which she refused to hand the children over to her husband.
Court records show that Merdy was threatened with eviction because she was thousands of dollars in arrears on her rent.
Alfred Brown, Zachary’s soccer coach, said the last time he saw the little boy was on June 25.
He told : “He hasn’t played this year, he was supposed to stay with his dad over the summer.
“He used to say ‘Coach, Coach, Coach’ – not hearing him say it today is just heartbreaking.
“I named him Zac Attack. His mother looked pretty normal, but we can all hide our problems.
“Zach was very lively, bright, giggly and full of life. The smile on his face was worth the world to me.”
Joseph, 60, a caretaker in the building where Merdy lives, said: “I’m speechless… drowning her children – I wonder what she was thinking and what led to it.
“People love their children, was she overwhelmed by the responsibility? It’s just a sad situation.’
Officials confirmed in a press conference that the children had no history of abuse or neglect
The father of one of the children reportedly told officers at their block of flats (pictured) that he was concerned for their safety after their mother made multiple statements that she would harm them
Merdy reportedly told officers her three children were missing before they were found unresponsive on the beach three miles away
The children, a seven-year-old boy, a four-year-old girl and a three-month-old girl, were taken to hospital but were pronounced dead on arrival
Victor Rodriguez, 54, another neighbor, added: “I used to see them all the time, their kids would always ask if they could pet my dog.
“Everything seemed fine with her but when Covid struck she looked depressed. She wasn’t that friendly anymore. And kept to himself.
“It’s devastating, especially knowing the kids. They were very sweet and respectful, they seemed like happy kids – no problem in the world.
“I think Covid had something to do with it. Before Covid and after Covid it was like Dr. Jekyll and Mr Hyde – two different people.’
An NYPD spokesman added there were no known previous instances of the children being abused or neglected.
Police are appealing for witnesses or anyone with information about the accident to come forward.
Anyone with information is asked to call Crime Stoppers at 1-800-577-TIPS.