The nanny, Yoselyn Ortega, remains in critical condition. Police say she stabbed herself in the throat with a kitchen knife after attacking the children. They were found by their mother, next to a bathtub, dying of knife wounds. Detectives have not figured out why the woman stabbed the two young children in her care, but they are now saying the 50-year-old woman may have been having financial problems and may have recently sought psychological help. Neighbors have been placing flowers outside the family's Upper West Side apartment.
The mother is devastated. "The mother was crying out, 'What am I going to do with the rest of my life? My life is ruined. I have no children. I have no children,'" neighbor Herbert Klein said. Ortega is a naturalized citizen from the Dominican Republic. Family members say she was having emotional problems but they had no idea they could have led to something like this.
The Krim family had a lot of ties to the Bay Area and lived in San Francisco for quite a few years before moving to New York where Kevin became an executive for CNBC. While he was in the Bay Area, he worked for Bloomberg and Yahoo. Their former neighbors were stunned at the tragic news.
The Krim's former home is nestled in a quiet well-manicured neighborhood in Noe Valley, a neighborhood of refurbished Victorian homes. The Krims lived in their two-bedroom, two-bath house for about six years before selling it in July of last year. "I remember he had gotten a job and they were going to move to New York," Lynne Maltz said.
Maltz lives around the block from their old house. She remembers Kevin, Marina, and two of their three children, 6-year-old Lucia and 3-year-old Nessie who was not killed. She never met 2-year-old Leo who may have just been born around the time they moved. "They were definitely nice people and he was a techie." Maltz said. "They bought a house, a small Victorian, and they spent a lot of time fixing it and making it just right."
Maltz also met the grandparents who rented her in-law apartment during a brief stay. She didn't know at the time that their son was Kevin Krims. "They mentioned that their children lived around the corner and sure enough, when I met them, I knew them," Maltz recalled.
People who spoke with ABC7 News say most of the homes in the area are occupied by two working parents. Many are young couples with children ready for Halloween. Everywhere throughout the neighborhood, nannies could be seen walking, pushing strollers. Anne Bennett says that specific part of Noe Valley is dubbed "Nanny Valley." She knows all of them but says on weekend, "I recognize all the kids but they're all with their parents on the weekends and I don't have any idea who the parents are," she says.
Almost everyone in the area Friday knew what happened to the Krims family. Morgan Cleveland has a 2-year-old son. "It's a fear of mine of course, but luckily, I have a wonderful nanny and you just kind of have to go with your gut I guess," she told ABC7 News. Nevertheless, she said she and all her friends take no chances. They go through services that help them pick nannies. "All the ladies are pre-screened. So, it's a service that helps you cut through some of the things you might not see if you do your own screening," she said.
Kevin Krim heard the sad news from police who were waiting for him at JFK International Airport when he returned Thursday night from a business trip to San Francisco. Comcast and NBC issued a statement Friday saying in part, "The sadness we all feel for the Krim family is without measure."
