By Dan Burns
NEW YORK, Nov 28 (Reuters) - A New York nanny accused of the
stabbing deaths of two young children pleaded not guilty to
murder charges Wednesday in a judicial proceeding conducted in
the hospital where the 50-year-old woman is handcuffed to her
bed as she recovers from self-inflicted wounds.
Yoselyn Ortega was indicted two weeks ago on two counts each
of first- and second-degree murder in the killings of Lucia
Krim, 6, and her brother, Leo, who was days shy of his second
birthday, in their parents' luxury apartment.
Ortega was under a white blanket, handcuffed to her hospital
bed and wearing a blue hair net, according to a pool report of
the proceeding at New York-Presbyterian/Weill Cornell Medical
Center. She appeared alert but did not speak during the
10-minute proceeding.
Ortega's attorney, Valerie Van Leer-Greenberg, entered the
plea on her behalf, the pool report said. Judge Lewis Bart Stone
ordered Ortega held without bail while she undergoes a
psychiatric exam. The next court date was set for Jan. 16.
Ortega has been in the hospital since Oct. 25, recovering
from what police have described as stab wounds she inflicted on
herself at the scene of the murders.
The children's mother, Marina Krim, discovered their bodies
in the bathtub when she returned to their Upper West Side home
from a swimming lesson with a third child, police have said.
Ortega then began to stab herself in front of Krim.
"Yoselyn Ortega is charged with taking the lives of two
innocent children who were incapable of defending themselves,"
New York District Attorney Cyrus Vance said in a statement.
"This crime shocked and horrified parents around the city, many
of whom entrust their children to the care of others both by
necessity and by choice."
Ortega was formally arrested earlier this month after police
interviewed her for the first time in her hospital room.
Ortega had been employed by the Krim family for two years,
police said. She lived with her son and sister near the Krims'
apartment off Central Park and has been a naturalized U.S.
citizen for a decade.
Marina Krim had expected to meet Ortega and the two children
at a dance studio on the day of the killings. Upon finding the
lights out in the apartment, Marina Krim asked the doorman if
Ortega had taken the kids out, police said.
Krim then re-entered the home and found the children in the
bathroom before encountering Ortega.
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