Nanny suspected in stabbing deaths of two children in NYC apartment

(CBS/AP) NEW YORK - Police said a mother returned home to her luxury apartment building near Central Park on Thursday to find two of her children stabbed to death in a bathtub. Their wounded nanny was nearby, suffering from self-inflicted stab wounds.

PICTURES: Nanny suspected in fatal stabbings of 2 NYC kids

The nanny, Yoselyn Ortega, was found near a knife and was hospitalized in critical condition. She was in police custody as being suspected of killing the children, who were pronounced dead at the hospital.

Police said the children's mother, Marina Krim, and a third child returned to their apartment on Manhattan's Upper West Side on Thursday evening. Puzzled by the darkened home, she returned to the lobby to ask the doorman if the nanny had gone out with the two children.

When she was told they hadn't left, Krim returned upstairs and was led to the bathroom where she saw the bodies of 1-year-old Leo and 6-year-old Lucia in the bathtub while Ortega lay wounded nearby. It's unclear how many times the children were stabbed.

"There was some kind of screaming about, `You slit her throat!"' said music therapist Rima Starr, who lives on the same floor as the family. She said she heard screams coming from their apartment at around 5:30 p.m.

The children's father, CNBC digital media executive Kevin Krim, who had been away on a business trip, was met by police at the airport on his return and was given an escort to the hospital where his loved ones had gathered.

Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly said it's unclear how long the nanny had worked for the family and the police investigation was ongoing. No charges had been filed.

Starr said she believed the nanny was hired just recently.

"I met her in the elevator, the day before yesterday, and was making small talk," she said.

Starr said after police arrived, the mother remained in the building's lobby, screaming hysterically and clutching her surviving child.

On a webpage devoted to a recent family wedding, the eldest of the children, Lulu, is described as loving "art projects, ballet, and all things princess." The youngest, Leo, was said to be just learning how to walk.

The family moved to New York from San Francisco within the last few years. The children's father was named general manager of CNBC's digital media division in March, after working previously in digital media at Bloomberg. Their mother had a cooking blog and taught art classes to young children.