Yoselyn Ortega

Overview

Yoselyn Ortega was a nanny who was charged in New York City with killing two young children she was caring for.

People

• Yoselyn Ortega (50) — nanny accused of killing Lucia Krim (6) and Leo Krim (2).
• Lucia Krim (6) — one of the children killed.
• Leo Krim (2) — one of the children killed.
• Marina Krim — the children’s mother.
• Nessie Krim (3) — the Krim child who lived.
• Kevin Krim — father of the Krim children.
• Raymond W. Kelly — Police Commissioner.
• Valerie Leer-Greenberg — Ms. Ortega’s lawyer.
• Judge Stone — judge who ordered Ms. Ortega held without bail and ordered psychiatric evaluation as to competency to stand trial.
• Cyrus R. Vance Jr. — Manhattan district attorney.
• Paul J. Browne — chief police spokesman.
• Dr. Charles S. Hirsch — spokeswoman for the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner.
• Maria Lajara (also spelled Maria Lajhara in one place) — friend of Ms. Ortega.
• Charlotte Friedman — neighbor who saw Ms. Ortega and the children in an elevator.
• Fernando Mercado — superintendent of the Riverside Drive building.
• Ruben Rivas (49) — neighbor.
• Kenia Galo (25) — neighbor.
• Rima Starr (63) — neighbor.
• Marcelina Lovera — neighbor of Ms. Ortega.
• Juan Pozo (67) — car service driver who used to rent a room in Ms. Ortega’s apartment.
• William Krim (74) — grandfather of the children.
• William Davila — father of Maya.
• Sara Park — dry-cleaning shop customer.
• Rachel Cedar (35) — neighbor.
• Mark Hoffman — president of CNBC.
• **Paul J.

Timeline

• October 25, 2012 — The Krim family’s nanny, Yoselyn Ortega, was accused of stabbing herself in the throat with a bloody kitchen knife after killing Lucia Krim (6) and Leo Krim (2) in the family’s apartment shortly before the children’s mother, Marina Krim, returned from a swimming lesson.
• October 26, 2012 — Friends and neighbors described Ms. Ortega’s condition and background in the aftermath of the killings.
• November 3, 2012 — Police charged Ms. Ortega with first-degree murder.
• November 13, 2012 — Ms. Ortega was indicted on murder charges, according to court records released on this date.
• November 28, 2012 — Ms. Ortega pleaded not guilty to murder charges from her hospital bed; Judge Stone ordered she be held without bail and ordered a psychiatric evaluation as to competency to stand trial; he also ordered suicide watch.

Background

Ms. Ortega was a nanny who was referred to the Krims by a family friend and worked for them for about two years. Police said there was no record of her having committed a previous crime and there was no indication of tensions between her and the Krims.

Neighbors described Ms. Ortega as having an up-and-down year. Friends and relatives described her as looking harried, gaunt, and older in recent months, sometimes avoiding eye contact and speaking little. Relatives and friends said she had sought help from a mental health professional.

Ms. Ortega lived on Riverside Drive in Harlem, and neighbors said she had lived in a six-story tenement building at 610 Riverside Drive. Before the nanny job, neighbors said she had worked in factories and as a cleaning lady. Neighbors said her sister was a taxi driver. Juan Pozo said Ms. Ortega’s sister told him that Ms. Ortega felt like she was “losing her mind.”

Friends said Ms. Ortega had financial difficulties, including losing an apartment in the Bronx and being forced to move back to her sister’s apartment on Riverside Drive.

Ms. Ortega sold inexpensive jewelry and makeup to neighbors. She also gave someone makeup to peddle, and the woman had not come through with the money. A neighbor said Ms. Ortega had been selling jewelry and makeup to make extra money. Ms. Lajara said Ms. Ortega twice asked her to pray that a woman who owed her a considerable amount would pay her.

Police said on the day of the killings that Ms. Krim left Leo and Lucia with Ms. Ortega while she took their middle child, Nessie (3), to a swimming lesson. Ms. Krim had planned to meet the others at a dance studio after the swimming lesson, but they never showed up.

The offence

Events leading to discovery

When Ms. Krim returned from a swimming lesson, she found that Lucia (6) and Leo (2) were dead in the bathtub. Police Commissioner Raymond W. Kelly said Ms. Krim saw that Ms. Ortega had been stabbing herself in the throat with the same bloody kitchen knife she had already used on the children.

Police said that as Ms. Krim walked into the bathroom, Ms. Ortega plunged a kitchen knife into her own throat.

The police said Ms. Ortega was unconscious when police arrived. One account said the nanny was found unconscious on the floor; another said Ms. Ortega had been conscious and that she was still intubated in the hospital.

Victims

• Lucia Krim (6) died from “multiple stab and incise wounds” with cuts that typically cause rapid bleeding.
• Leo Krim (2) died from “incise wounds of the neck.”

Autopsies and statements by medical examiner office sources were consistent in describing the causes of death as multiple stab and incise wounds for Lucia and incise wounds of the neck for Leo.

Investigation

Police charged Ms. Ortega after she was questioned while hospitalized and under police guard.

Police and law enforcement officials said they were unable to establish a motive, describing the reasons prompting the attack as remaining a mystery.

Police said there was no record of Ms. Ortega having committed a previous crime and no indication of any tensions between her and the Krims.

Police commissioner Raymond W. Kelly said Ms. Krim had witnessed Ms. Ortega stabbing herself when she turned on the bathroom light, and that given the horror Ms. Krim witnessed, it was difficult for her to communicate. Paul J. Browne said police did not immediately know if Ms. Ortega left a note behind.

Ms. Ortega’s statements to detectives

On November 3, 2012, during an interview with detectives from her hospital bed, Ms. Ortega said she had resentment toward the family and complained that the family were always telling her what to do.

A law enforcement official said: “Marina knows what happened,” and added that Ms. Ortega did not confess to the killings.

In one account, Ms. Ortega was described as telling police that “I’m paid to watch the children, not to clean up and do housework,” and that she was angry because the family wanted her to clean as well as look after the children. Another detail included that she told detectives her employers had arranged to give her an extra five hours a week in housekeeping work to help her make more money, and that she was unhappy because it interfered with her doctor’s appointments.

Arrest and custody

Ms. Ortega was arrested as soon as the police arrived at the scene. She was taken to NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital/Weill Cornell Medical Center and was under police guard.

Police said she received treatment for self-inflicted knife wounds to her throat and wrists and was intubated. She remained hospitalized and was described as medically fragile.

Trial

Plea

On November 28, 2012, Ms. Ortega pleaded not guilty to murder charges from her hospital bed. Her lawyer, Valerie Leer-Greenberg, entered the plea on Ms. Ortega’s behalf.

Ms. Ortega was wearing a neck brace and still had part of the apparatus of a tracheotomy in her throat. She did not speak; a Spanish interpreter described the proceeding to her.

Ms. Leer-Greenberg told the judge that Ms. Ortega was still too frail to be discharged from the hospital. Ms. Ortega’s hands were handcuffed under a white blanket and her hair pulled under a blue hairnet, according to an Associated Press pool report.

Court orders

Judge Stone ordered that Ms. Ortega be:

• held without bail;
• undergo a psychiatric evaluation as to her competency to stand trial;
• placed on suicide watch.

Outcome

As of the court proceedings on November 28, 2012, Ms. Ortega had pleaded not guilty and remained held without bail pending further proceedings, including a psychiatric evaluation of her competency to stand trial.

Other details

Relationship to the Krim family

Relatives said the Krims treated Ms. Ortega like a member of their family and would pay for her travel to the Dominican Republic so she could visit her family while the Krims went on vacation.

Relatives and friends of Ms. Ortega said signs of her unraveling had been visible, and that she had sought help from a mental health professional.

A friend, Maria Lajara, described Ms. Ortega as happy about finding a new apartment and said Ms. Ortega had told her that she loved her job with the Krims. The friend said Ms. Ortega told her she was paid well and treated well and that she would take the children to the park.

Statements by neighbors and acquaintances

Charlotte Friedman said she saw the nanny and the two children in the elevator at about 5 p.m., describing everything as looking normal. She said: “Everything looked normal, she said: The girl was friendly, as she usually was, and the nanny said nothing.” She also said: “I never saw her as a warm nanny,” and that when asked, the girl said she had been dancing.

Rima Starr described hearing bloodcurdling screams and said the mother was screaming to a child. She said: “I heard blood curdling screams and I went down to the lobby and there was the mother screaming, hunched over the three year old. 'At time she was screaming things like: "I'll never speak to her again", repeating that over and over again, then "it's all right, you'll be all right, you'll be alright" to the child. 'Then she would get waves of the reality of what just happened and then she'd go into just plain bloodcurdling screams with her arms flailing out to the sides.'”

Rima Starr also said an account that included: “Two babies, in the bath, nanny” and that the wife made a cutting sign across her throat.

Marina Krim returned home from a swimming lesson and discovered the children and Ms. Ortega in the bathroom, according to Police Commissioner Raymond W. Kelly. Rima Starr said she recognized building superintendent’s screaming voice.

Identified names and aliases used in reporting

The children were referred to by different names in different places: Lucia Krim was described as known as “Lulu”, and Leo Krim was described as known as “Lito.” The children were also identified as Nessie (3), Lucia (6), and Leo (2).

Reporting notes included in the record

The case record included an update stating a correction about Ms. Ortega’s condition: Ms. Ortega was conscious and was not in a medically induced coma.