Son of nanny on trial for murdering 2 kids says she loved them

Lucia Krim (left) and Leo Krim

 

The son of the woman accused of murdering two small children in her care told jurors Thursday that his mother "loved" 6-year-old Lucia and 2-year-old Leo Krim, reports the New York Daily News. Yoselyn Ortega, 55, is on trial for the stabbing deaths of Lucia, who went by Lulu, and Leo on October 25, 2012.

According to the Daily News, Jesus Frias, 22, testified that on the day of the murders, his mother seemed depressed but kissed him goodbye before he left for high school as usual. 

Ortega had worked as a nanny for the family for several years. Frias reportedly told the jury that Ortega would put Lulu on the phone with him so the little girl could practice her Spanish, and that it was a "lovely scene" when the Krim family visited Ortega's family in the Dominican Republic. 

"They seemed like they loved my mom," he testified, according to the Daily News. "She loved them back."

Frias also reportedly testified that the Krims were good to him, gifting him an iPad and giving him a summer job. He also told the jury that the children's father, Kevin Krim, chatted with him about sports and his future.

"He was a busy man but he still made time for that, so it was something I appreciated," Frias testified, according to the paper.

"And they treated your mother even better, didn't they?" Assistant District Attorney Stuart Silberg asked.

"Yes, they did," Frias said.

Ortega's lawyers don't dispute that she killed the children but say she's too mentally ill to be responsible for what she did. They have said the slayings were an act of madness.

Prosecutors allege Ortega planned the killings, waiting until she was alone in the apartment. She selected two knives from the kitchen and then killed Leo, who suffered five wounds, and Lulu, who fought back and was slashed and stabbed about 30 times, prosecutors said. Ortega also stabbed herself.

Assistant District Attorney Courtney Groves told the jury early in the trial that it's possible Ortega's resentment and jealousy of the children's mother, Marina Krim, coupled with an inability to provide for her own son, sent her into a calculated rage.