Nanny Gets 50 Years To Life In Killing Of 2 Children
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) - A nanny convicted of murdering two children on the Upper West Side was sentenced to 50 years to life with no possibility of parole on Monday.
Yoselyn Ortega, 55, was found guilty on all counts last month in the savage stabbing deaths of 2-year-old Leo Krim and his 6-year-old sister Lucia back in 2012 while they were in her care, reports CBS2's Hazel Sanchez.
"I'm very sorry for everything that happened," Ortega said. "I ask for a great deal of forgiveness, to God, to Marina, to Kevin."
The apology held no weight with the judge who sentenced her to two consecutive sentences of 25 years to life in prison - one per murder - all but guaranteeing she will never be free.
Marina Krim and Kevin Krim each read their own victim impact statements in court, recounting memories of their children taken from them at such young ages.
"She should also know nothing of hope," said father Kevin Krim. "The defendent is evil and utterly dangerous narcissist and a complete failure. It is right that she should live and rot and die in a concrete and metal cage like the ugly dark shadow of Lulu and Leo's bright shining lights."
Kevin also spoke often about "Team Krim," while Marina spoke out against those who recommended bringing Ortega into their family as a nanny in the first place.
"She tried to destroy what Kevin and I set out to build, a happy family," said Marina Krim.
"I felt like i had expressed a lot of my rage and did what was required, but i'm here once again to finish this horrible chapter of my and my family's life," she said.
VIDEO: Statements At Sentencing Of Yoselyn Ortega
• Marina Krim, mother of Lulu and Leo Krim
• Kevin Krim, mother of Lulu and Leo Krim
• Manhattan Prosecutor Stuart Silberg
• Defense Attorney Valerie Van Leer-Greenberg
• Convicted murderer Yoselyn Ortega
• Sentencing by Judge Gregory Carro
"It is so unfair that they are gone, unfair to us, unfair to the world," said Kevin.
The Krims are pushing for 'Lulu & Leo's Law' which would make lying about childcare experience a crime.
Prior to the sentencing and after the Krims statements, Ortega's defense attorney cited that her client suffered from depression and anxiety disorders, and refused to take prescribed medications.
"I am very sorry, but I hope that no one will go through what I have gone through," Ortega said to the court through a translator. "So many people have wished me all the worse, my life is in the hands of God.
"I ask for a great deal of forgiveness from God, from Marina, from Kevin," she said.
The nanny's lawyer had argued that Ortega was mentally ill and couldn't be held responsible for the children's deaths.
Prosecutors say Ortega knew what she was doing and understood "every stab, every slash" as she slaughtered the children.
The children were found in a bathtub by their mother when she returned home to the family's luxury apartment building at 75th and Columbus Avenue. Each had been stabbed multiple times with a kitchen knife, police said.
Ortega had stabbed herself in the neck before police arrived. She was hospitalized for weeks.
