Some really horrorific photos have been released which show a nanny lying in a pool of blood after butchering two young kids then cutting her own throat.
Yoselyn Ortega is on trial over the murder of brother and sister Leo, two, and Lucia Krim, six, in their New York apartment in October 2012.
Jurors heard how the nanny stabbed herself in the neck just as the children’s mother arrived at the murder scene but survived her horror injuries.
Prosecutors say Ortega waited until Marina Krim found her children dead before plunging the knife into herself so she could relish her agony.
Ortega was found lying slumped in the doorway of the bathroom, covered from the waist up in blood and next to a huge kitchen knife.
She appeared to be unconscious and seemingly had something tied round her blood-soaked neck.
The 55-year-old was rushed to casualty and photos of her in a hospital bed show her on a respirator and drip.
A particularly gory photo showed a close up of her neck where a chunk of skin appeared to be missing.
One juror covered her face when confronted with the image of the gaping, self-inflicted stab wound. Another closed his eyes and shuddered.
The court was shown a series of images, including “hesitation” cut marks on her wrists, which Dr Jonathan Arden called “very, very superficial”.
The expert testified Ortega drew the blade across her right wrist once and her left wrist three times before deciding to slit her own throat.
The force with which Ortega stabbed herself twice in the neck was so great she broke her neck in the process, Arden testified.
Ortega, who is mounting an insanity defence, claims she’d been “touched by the devil” and doesn’t recall the murders.
Horrified jurors were earlier shown sickening crime scene pictures in court and some were then released to the media by the city’s District Attorney.
Photos of a bloodied knife wrapped in a towel in the hallway and blood spattered on the floor and walls were among the images shown.
Blood was smeared on the walls and floor of the bathroom where the bodies of Leo and Lucia – known as Lulu – were found with their eyes open.
The bottom of the tub was almost entirely red, according to the Daily Mail.
One blood-covered knife sat in a sink next to a pink child’s toothbrush.
Another knife sat wrapped in a towel on op a toy refrigerator in the apartment’s hallway.
Ortega stabbed herself in the neck in an apparent attempt to take her own life
At least two jurors wiped away tears as they beheld the horror images, as others gasped and held their faces.
By the afternoon, one juror told the judge he could no longer be fair and impartial and was excused from the case, it was reported.
The photos were taken about seven hours after mother Marina Krim found her kids mortally wounded.
She also saw Ortega stabbing herself in the neck in an apparent attempt to take her own life.
Leo was stabbed five times, and Lucia, who fought back, was stabbed 30 times, according to prosecutors.
Ortega is said to have butchered the children while their mother was blocks away at a dance studio.
Ortega was supposed to pick up Lulu from kindergarten and walk her to dance class before going home to put Leo down for nap.
Marina had shown up to the dance studio to pick up LuLu and panicked when she noticed her daughter wasn’t there.
She frantically texted Ortega: “Where’s Lulu… Donde Estas… Where are you” but Ortega did not answer.
A therapist who saw Ortega days before the stabbing occurred testified she hadn’t appeared suicidal or murderous.
Dr Thomas Caffrey said they met to discuss a variety of different issues including anxiety, depression, and guilt.
Ortega has claimed she heard voices and was “touched by the devil” which drove her to carry out the murderous attack.
But Caffrey told the court there was “no evidence” she suffered from any delusions or hallucinations.
In her first statement to police following the murders, Ortega allegedly complained about the children’s mother, reports the New York Post.
“I had to do everything and take care of the kids,” she said on waking up in hospital two days after the attack.
“I worked as babysitter only and she (Krim) wanted me to do everything so wanted 5 hours of cleaning every week.
“When I got things wrong she would make a grunting, gargling sound. She would show frustration.”
Earlier emergency workers who were called to the horrific scene gave evidence to the court.
“That’s the worst crime scene I’ve ever seen, other than September 11,” said paramedic Eugene Nicholas.
Building caretaker Michael Minihan offered a chilling account of Ortega’s eyes bulging out as she gasped for air and bled from the knife wound.
He remembered rushing to the apartment in October 2012 after hearing mom Marina Krim’s blood-curdling cries.
Krim was on the mezzanine “holding her middle child, Nessie, screaming incoherently,” Minihan said.
When Minihan entered the apartment, he said he first saw Ortega, “staring … the eyes of the devil in my face,” he said. “Her eyes were bulging.”
Ortega faces a minimum of 20 years imprisonment if she is convicted and could be jailed for life without parole.
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