Facebook(NEW YORK) — A nanny accused of stabbing two young children to death in a New York City home is going on trial today for a crime that shocked parents in the largest U.S. city.
Opening statements are today in the case against Yoselyn Ortega, who allegedly killed 6-year-old Lulu Krim and 2-year-old Leo Krim at the Krim family’s idyllic Upper West Side apartment on October 25, 2012.
The children’s mother, Marina Krim, came home after taking her then-3-year-old daughter, Nessie, to a swim class, and found Lulu and Leo dead in a bathtub filled with blood, authorities said.
Police said Ortega stabbed herself in the neck after allegedly killing the two children.
Ortega, who worked for Marina Krim and her husband, Kevin Krim, for two years, was charged with two counts each of first-degree murder and second-degree murder.
Ortega allegedly told prosecutors she was mad that the Krims asked her to work too hard and that cleaning products she was told to use hurt her skin, according to The New York Times.
Ortega, now 55, is pleading not guilty by reason of insanity, according to the Times. Two psychiatrists have said she had “major depressive disorder with psychotic features,” the Times said, citing court papers.
Ortega’s attorney, Valerie Van Leer-Greenberg, did not immediately respond to ABC News’ request for comment.
District Attorney Cyrus Vance said in 2012: “This crime shocked and horrified parents around the city, many of whom entrust their children to the care of others both by necessity and by choice. My heart goes out to the family of those beautiful young children, and I hope that, with time, this family will heal.”
The Krims have since had two more children, Felix and Linus.
They also founded the Lulu & Leo Fund, an organization that offers parents and schools a creativity curriculum based on 10 principles of creativity “that can help anyone thrive and build resiliency in all facets of their lives,” according to its website.
The initiative “empowers children and adults with the skills and confidence they need to have resilience in the face of hardship and to thrive in an ever-changing world,” Kevin Krim wrote in an essay last year. His essay appeared in Option B, a website started by Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg, whose husband died unexpectedly in 2015.
“Marina and I shared the creative impulse to do something constructive in the face of the destructive effects of violence,” Kevin Krim wrote. “We started the Lulu & Leo Fund in those early days to honor their creative, too-brief lives.”
In a video message earlier this month, Kevin Krim said, “This trial will be very hard for us.”
But, Marina Krim added, referring to the Lulu & Leo Fund, “We’re going to focus on the positive and the goodness that’s come out of all this.”
Copyright © 2018, ABC Radio. All rights reserved.