Mother charged with drowning her three children at New York's Coney Island beach

A mother accused of drowning her three children at New York's Coney Island beach has appeared in court on murder charges, authorities have said.

Erin Merdy, 30, was charged with first and second-degree murder in the deaths of her children Zachary Merdy, seven, Liliana Stephens-Merdy, four, and Oliver Bondarev, three months, a spokesperson for the Brooklyn district attorney's office said.

Merdy was arraigned by video link from the hospital where she was sent for a psychiatric examination.

Officers searched the Coney Island shoreline early on Monday after a relative called emergency services. According to the criminal complaint, Merdy had told the relative "that she had hurt her children and that they are gone".

Police found Merdy on the pier, wet and barefoot. The children were later found unresponsive at the water's edge. They were pronounced dead in hospital.

The city medical examiner's office ruled their deaths as homicide by drowning.

Evidence against Merdy includes video that shows her walking toward the ocean with the children just before 1am on Monday, according to the complaint.