Yoselyn Ortega

N.Y.C. Nanny Pleads Not Guilty to Killing Children

Nanny Yoselyn Ortega Pleads Not Guilty to Killing Children

Originally posted 11/28/2012 12:40PM

Yoselyn Ortega, the nanny charged with first-degree murder for allegedly killing the two young children she cared for, faced a Manhattan Supreme Court Justice Tuesday morning – and entered a plea of not guilty.

Still in the New York-Presbyterian/Weill Cornell Medical Center bed a month after police said she fatally stabbed Lucia, 6, and Leo Krim, 2, before she turned the knife on herself, Ortega had her plea entered on her behalf by her public-assistance lawyer, Valerie Van Leer-Greenberg.

"My client is profoundly mentally impaired and in need of medical attention," the attorney said, reports the New York Post. The paper also says that during the 10-minute legal proceeding in the hospital Ortega, 50, appeared alert though remained silent and under a blanket.