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The shattered parents of two young children slain in their Upper West Side home, allegedly by their suicidal nanny, have taken to the Internet to bare their heartbreaking pain — and, for the first time, to express hope for a future back in New York.
Marina and Kevin Krim say they have taken most of their strength and solace from one source — their 4-year-old daughter, Nessie.
“She saves us every day, ” Kevin Krim wrote on Facebook Dec. 28, Nessie’s birthday. “Marina and I couldn’t be more proud of her — she is very smart, beautiful and tough.
“And she’s grown so much over the past two months,” her dad wrote.
Little Nessie mercifully was not home when her 6-year-old big sister, Lucia, known as “Lulu,” and 2-year-old brother, Leo, were murdered.
The girl was with her mom as they returned home to their West 75th Street apartment Oct. 26 to an unfathomable horror — family nanny Yoselyn Ortega slitting her own throat after allegedly stabbing Lulu and Leo to death in a bathtub.
Ortega has pleaded not guilty to murder charges and is being held in a prison hospital.
After the murders, Kevin, a CNBC executive, and Marina, a doting stay-at-home mom, returned to their native California to be near their close-knit families, quietly grieving and trying to rebuild their shattered lives.
But last week, the couple announced on Facebook that they are returning to New York City — crossing the country in an RV from LA with Nessie and some close friends.
“We are hopeful that 2013 will be a year of healing, growth and peace,” they wrote.
“Along the way, we are hoping to experience some inspiring moments that will help us with our healing and rebuilding.”
On Saturday, the family stopped in New Mexico.
“We are on Day 3 of our cross-country journey,” Marina wrote.
“We spent the day in charming Santa Fe . . . We strolled through a few art galleries today and found some pieces at the Canyon Road Contemporary Art Gallery that we are sure Lulu and Leo would have loved.”
Along with the update, Marina — who writes that “we still feel our children around us” — posted photos of their Santa Fe findings: a painting of two bears riding a bicycle, another featuring a trio of hearts, and a little girl’s dress fashioned from hammered copper.
Kevin Krim’s poignant recent Web posting about Nessie is one of several he and Marina have shared on an emotional Facebook page celebrating Lulu, Leo and a children’s art and science education foundation (www.lululeofund.org) established in their memory.
The Facebook page is filled with samples of Lulu’s bright, bold artwork, photos of the beaming first-grader with little Leo and inspirational updates from the Krims.
On Dec. 16, the couple managed to even use Facebook to reach beyond their own grief to comfort families of victims of the Sandy Hook Elementary School massacre. “We are hurting so much as we think about the violent tragedy in Newtown,” the Krims wrote.
“Our hearts especially go out to all the families who have lost their children in an act of unspeakable violence. As parents who are dealing with loss and grief, we understand how much these children will be missed every minute of every day.”
Each Facebook posting has prompted hundreds of compassionate messages and encouragement in response from a legion of friends and family, as well as complete strangers who follow the site.
Kevin’s parents, Bill and Karen, wrote after Nessie’s birthday posting, “I am so proud of our son and daughter-in-law. They have been so strong and amazing. Love to Nessie forever and always.”
A St. Louis follower added, “Thank you for honoring us all with sharing your healing and more stories of your beautiful children. I will never forget Lulu and Leo, your inspiration and brave hearts as parents.”
Before the tragedy, Marina had joyously chronicled the day-to-day-activities of her three kids, posting dozens of photos and updates on a blog about their interests and achievements.
On Christmas Day, the Krims thanked their thousands of well-wishers and shared details of the Christmas Eve Amtrak trip they took from LA to San Diego with Nessie “in honor of Leo’s love for tunnel choo-choos.”
“We arrived at Union Station early, so we had some time to wander around Olvera Street, the oldest street in Los Angeles,” Marina wrote.
“There, we stumbled upon a large mural by Leo Politi, Lulu’s very favorite children’s author and illustrator.”
Lulu, she said, got Politi’s book “Juanita” as a Christmas present last year, and the mural they found on the street featured artwork, “The Blessing of the Animals,” from that book.
“Seeing the mural was very moving,” Marina wrote. “Lulu and Leo were there in spirit with us for our Christmas Eve adventure.”