Yoselyn Ortega -The Krim children were discovered in their family’s Manhattan apartment the morning of October 25, 2012 by their mother, Marina Krim, who had come home to find her two-year-old daughter Nessie in the bathtub, covered with blood and not breathing. Her six-year-old sister Lulu was found dead nearby in the bathroom, and although her throat had been slashed, it was unclear whether she had been killed before or after Nessie.
Background on the Killer
Yoselyn Ortega was born in Santiago, Dominican Republic on September 20th, 1960. She immigrated to the United States in 1989 and became an American citizen twelve years later. In 2004, she began working as a nanny for Marina Krim and Kevin Krim. Ortega was considered very good with the children and had been granted full-time status with the family in 2012.
In October 25th 2012, Marina Krim found her two children stabbed to death in the bathtub of their home by their nanny, Yoselyn Ortega. Both children had multiple stab wounds and their throats were cut from ear to ear. It was determined that Lulu and Leo died immediately due to the loss of blood.
The scene caused such terror in Marina that she could not stay there any longer and ran out of the apartment into the hallway screaming for help. When police arrived, they saw Ortega standing motionless at one end of the hallway with blood all over her clothes, hands, and face. After being taken into custody, she showed no remorse or emotion at all throughout her court hearings. It is still unknown what motivated Yoselyn Ortega to kill these innocent kids while they were sleeping in their own bed which has left us wondering how someone could commit such a horrible crime?
What Is Munchausen Syndrome by Proxy (MSBP)?
Munchausen Syndrome by Proxy (MSBP) is a mental disorder where the perpetrator harms their own child or other children in their care to the point of abuse, illness, and even death. The person with MSBP typically does this for attention or for sympathy from others. The person is usually not diagnosed until after the abuse has occurred and may have been going on for many years.
Yoselyn Ortega had been caring for Lulu Krim since she was 3 months old and had full access to her food. After stabbing both herself and Lulu, she ran out of the house leaving them both bleeding in her apartment on W. 75th Street in Manhattan’s Upper West Side at 2:30 pm on October 25th 2012.
According to Dr.
MSBP in Action
Yoselyn was found guilty and sentenced to life in prison with no possibility of parole. After the trial, she was extradited to the Dominican Republic, where she remains in custody. The murder weapon was never found. The only evidence left behind were some DNA traces that belonged to Yoselyn. It is still unknown how she managed to kill two adults and three children without leaving any traces of her DNA behind. Some believe that this case was another instance of MSBP; one time when it didn’t work as planned.
Murder Weapon Found
In November of 2012, the lifeless bodies of Lulu Krim, age 6; Leo Krim, age 2; and Nessie Krim, age 7 months were found in the bathtub by their father Kevin. The children had been stabbed repeatedly by their nanny and longtime family friend, Yoselyn Ortega. It was later reported that Kevin found the three children after he heard them crying while he was in the bathroom downstairs.
In what may be one of New York’s most gruesome murders to date, Yoselyn then attacked Kevin with a kitchen knife before she went on to stab herself fatally. After all these years, there are still so many questions left unanswered as to why this occurred – why did this woman who loved her employer and his family commit such an evil act?
There have been numerous different theories circulating for some time now about how Yoselyn could commit such an atrocity. Some say that it may have been a mental illness (such as schizophrenia) or because she had postpartum depression, but there is no conclusive evidence pointing to any other specific theory. If anyone can get inside the mind of Yoselyn Ortega, they might know more about her motive for killing these three innocent lives- not just physically but emotionally as well.
Final Thoughts on the Yoselyn Ortega Murder Case
Yoselyn Ortega has been found guilty for the murder of Lucia and Leo Krim. She had been caring for the children for two years before committing this crime. The only question that remains is how this sweet woman turned into such a cold-blooded killer. No one can really answer that but there are some possible explanations.
One possibility is that her mental state was being affected by various factors, including anxiety, paranoia, insomnia, schizophrenia and other psychotic disorders. Another possibility is she was trying to kill herself and just happened to be in the wrong room with the wrong kids. However, it seems unlikely because if she wanted to commit suicide she would have used her own pills or cut her wrists not tried stabbing someone else’s children.
