Life with no parole for ‘pure evil’ of kid slays
THE UPPER West Side nanny who butchered two helpless children was sentenced Monday to life without parole, capping a harrowing story that has gripped the city for nearly six years.
Yoselyn Ortega, 55, was convicted April 18 of first-degree murder in the killings of Lulu and Leo Krim. The verdict followed a heartbreaking twomonth trial in Manhattan Supreme Court. The murderous nanny’s prison sentence of life without parole plus 50 years assures she will never see daylight as a free woman.
The children’s mother, Marina Krim, 41, called out the “evil defendant” and her “entire family of bad, unethical people” in a statement she made Monday before Ortega (photo) was sentenced. Her husband, Kevin, 42, echoed her sentiments, and dedicated his statement in the courtroom to memories of their two slain children.
Speaking in Manhattan Supreme Court, Justice Gregory Carro said he couldn’t sum up the case any better than the super of the children’s building, who came upon the scene after their mother: “Pure evil.”
Lulu , 6, and Leo, 2, were savagely stabbed in the bathroom of their W. 75th St. home on Oct. 25, 2012, while their mom was at a swim class with their middle sibling, Nessie, then 3.
The city has watched the Krims struggle through unthinkable loss with inspiring fortitude. Their family grew after the murders when they welcomed sons Felix and Linus. The Krims also launched a foundation in honor of Lulu and Leo.
At trial, Ortega’s lawyer argued she was not responsible by reason of mental disease or defect — a bid the jury rejected in about a day of deliberations after weeks of expert psychiatric testimony.
Before the killings, Ortega tried to settle her affairs by leaving important documents for her sister and family heirlooms for her 17-year-old son. She stabbed and slashed Lulu and Leo in the rear bathroom of their second-floor apartment before plunging a kitchen knife into her own throat in a failed suicide try.
Prosecutors argued Ortega was of sound mind when she killed the children. Assistant District Attorney Stuart Silberg said Ortega was driven by rage over her failures and spite at Marina Krim. Ortega “has shown no remorse,” he said. “She has never shed a tear for these children. ”
Ortega cried a bit before her sentence was imposed and finally showed there was one person she cared about. “I’m very sorry for everything that happened, but I hope that no one goes through what I have gone through,” she told the court.