14 DAY TRIAL // Dominican Republic-born Yoselyn Ortega has been accused of murdering two children she was looking after, in a NYC Upper East Side apartment, on Thursday.
Much has been written about Marina Krim, the mother of 2-year-old Leo and 6-year-old Lucia Krim, whose life seemed dedicated to her children. She even wrote a blog about them, Little Miss Lucia, which has since been suspended.
However, little is known about the woman who actually took care of the children, spending most of her day in their company.
According to NYPD chief spokesman Paul Browne, “over the last couple of months [Ortega] was not herself,” having had some financial and personal issues.
Juan Pozo, a former neighbor, stated that the woman was seeing a psychologist, Gawker reports.
The woman lived in Bronx with her teenage son, having recently moved there from her sister's apartment in Harlem. She had to return to Harlem after investing a lot into the apartment, as the owner, an acquaintance from the Dominican Republic, had returned.
Neighbors in Harlem reported her complaining about having to work 12 hours per day, and still not making ends meet.
She was selling cheap jewelry and makeup in her little spare time, to pay the bills. Whenever neighbors asked her how she was doing, she would respond she is tired.
Karen Krim, the victim's grandmother, suggested that the woman might have felt unstable.
“My daughter-in-law, if she thought there was anything wrong, she would have never left the two with her. This had to be something simmering inside this woman. Obviously, she went insane,” she said.
It is obvious that she doubts that the nanny was capable of such a crime. Mr. Ortega has no criminal record and, according to Mrs. Krim's blog, she was regarded as a member of the family.
“No fighting with the mom, the family, the kids. [...] Everybody is looking for a reason here,” a law enforcement official said.