Mother of 3 children who drowned in Coney Island charged with second-degree murder
CBSN
The mother of three children who died after being found unconscious and in critical condition on the beaches of Coney Island on Monday has been arrested and charged with murder.
Erin Merdy, 30, is charged with three counts of second-degree murder, three counts of depraved indifference to human life and three counts of the murder of victims younger than 11 years old, according to a statement from the New York Police Department.
Authorities said that Merdy was initially taken into custody for questioning Monday following two 911 calls that ultimately led police to the bodies of the children around 4:30 a.m. ET.
Nothing says a warm day quite like the beach, but beyond the shore lies a number of dangers, from rip currents and strong waves to shark attacks and bobbing jellyfish. Onshore, however, you will likely find a flag warning you of potential dangers, and whether it's purple, yellow, red or blue can tell you which hazard could be lurking in the waters.
A woman died while hiking in western Colorado on Monday as a heat dome blanketed pockets of the American West and drove up temperatures in a number of states. Marsha Cook, from Cedar Rapids, Iowa, was pronounced dead after collapsing around the two-mile mark of a hiking trail at Colorado National Monument, officials said Wednesday. She was 54.