Nanny saved self, showing sanity: shrink

A PROSECUTION expert in the murder trial of Yoselyn Ortega defended his assertion on Tuesday that the Upper West Side nanny wasn’t legally insane when she stabbed two children in her care — pointing to her bid to save herself from a self-inflicted knife wound.

Psychologist Ali Khadivi testified that Ortega exhibited “intent” — the legal standard required for sanity — in the bathroom of the Krim family home on W. 72nd St. after she killed 6-year-old Lulu and Leo, 2, on Oct. 25, 2012.

Ortega plunged a 13-inch kitchen knife into her neck after attacking the children, then tried to save herself by pressing a towel against the wound to staunch the blood, he testified.

The nanny showed intent by “trying to save her life by putting cloth on top of her wound,” Khadivi said.

Meanwhile, Ortega’s lawyer, Valerie Van Leer-Greenberg, tried to discredit Khadivi’s opinion that Ortega was “depressed” and “anxious” — asking why doctors would have given her antipsychotic drugs afterward. Khadivi replied that it was a common treatment for a suicidal patient.

The defense is arguing that Ortega should be found not guilty by reason of insanity.