Yoselyn Ortega
Yoselyn Ortega, a nanny allegedly stabbed two young children to death before slitting her own throat.
Mirror Online reports that Ortega has appeared in court after she was accused of murdering the siblings Lucia and Leo Krim.
Six-year-old Lucia, known as Lulu, and two-year-old Leo died of multiple stab wounds at the family’s New York apartment in October 2012.
Mother Marina Krim returned home with younger daughter Nessie, then three, to find the youngsters' bodies in the bath tub .
Ortega, 53, was found critically injured on the bathroom floor with a self-inflicted stab wound to her neck.
Yesterday, Ortega looked frail and gaunt as she appeared before New York Supreme Court.
Judge Gregory Carro offered the defendant 30 years to life imprisonment in exchange for her guilty plea.
Through her lawyer, Ortega, rejected the deal, which would have made her eligible for parole by age 80, the New York Post reported.
The murdered siblings, Lucia and Leo Krim
Attorney Valerie Van Leer-Greenberg told the court: "The defendant does not wish to accept that at this time."
The prosecution also offered objections to the plea bargain, the newspaper reported.
Lawyer Stuart Silberg said: "The People believe the only appropriate sentence is life without parole.
"The family is behind that, the family will testify, the family does not want that to be the disposition in this case and in their words they want her never to be out."
Ortega, who had only worked for the family for a short time, is believed to have told authorities that she hurt the children because of money problems.
She was also allegedly angry at the youngsters' parents for asking her to clean the family's home, in New York's Upper West Side.
It has been suggested that Ortega's legal team are preparing to file a psychiatric defence.
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