Parents everywhere are rattled and horrified by the story of a Manhattan mother who came home to find two of her children murdered by their nanny, who had also tried to kill herself. Police say that the nanny stabbed the two children, aged 2 and 6, in the bathtub and then apparently slit her own throat. The mother, Marina Krim, had briefly left their Upper West Side apartment with a third child, but came home later to find the terrible scene. Her husband, an executive at CNBC, was on a business trip and was met at the airport by NYPD officers who informed him of the tragedy. The nanny, 50-year-old Yoselyn Ortega, survived, but is in critical condition and police say they have no hints as to her motive.

News spread quickly around the country and the world as parents imagined their worst fears coming to life. The message board at Urban Baby, one of the city's most popular parenting websites, has been inundated with posts about the incident, from parents questioning their own decision to hire outside help, others defending nannies, and some even doubting the police's version of events. 

The mother also kept her own Livejournal blog about "Life with the Little Krim Kids" that was quickly turned into a memorial by grieving commenters. Police say they don't know how long the nanny worked for the Krim family, but earlier posts on the blog mentioned a trip to Ortega's home in the Dominican Republic, where they spent time with her and her relatives.

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Dashiell Bennett