Nicole "Nikki" Addimando (born November 19, 1988)
is an American woman who shot and killed her domestic partner in
Poughkeepsie,
New York
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* New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States
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in September 2017. Originally sentenced to 19 years to life, Addimando's term of imprisonment was reduced on appeal to 7.5 years. She is incarcerated at
Bedford Hills Correctional Facility for Women.
Addimando said that her partner, Christopher Grover, had
physically and
sexually abused her for years,
and she provided photographs and other materials she said documented this abuse.
She further claimed that she shot Grover while he sat on their couch after he had threatened her with the gun.
Grover's family disputed Addimando's abuse claims,
and prosecutors argued that Grover had been shot while he was asleep.
Addimando was ultimately convicted of
second-degree murder and second-degree criminal possession of a handgun.
Background
The couple met in 2008, when Nicole was 19 and Christopher 21, at a
gym where they were both employed as gymnastics
teachers. In 2012, after Nicole became
pregnant
Pregnancy is the time during which one or more offspring develops (gestation, gestates) inside a woman, woman's uterus (womb). A multiple birth, multiple pregnancy involves more than one offspring, such as with twins.
Pregnancy usually occur ...
, they moved in together in
Salt Point, New York. In 2013, Nicole alleges, Christopher began to force Nicole to have sex with him, and if she refused, he would attack her violently. A second child was born in February 2015, and according to Nicole, Christopher continued to violently abuse her. She also alleges that he filmed the abuse and uploaded the videos to
PornHub without her
consent. In November 2015, Family Services contacted Jason Ruscillo, a detective from Hyde Park. In preparation for the meeting, Sarah Caprioli of Family Services prepared an
affidavit describing the abuse Addimando had told Caprioli about, but Addimando did not sign it.
In September 2017, Addimando told a police officer that she tried to run away from Grover, but he
threatened to kill her. There had been a
fight
Combat ( French for ''fight'') is a purposeful violent conflict meant to physically harm or kill the opposition. Combat may be armed (using weapons) or unarmed ( not using weapons). Combat is sometimes resorted to as a method of self-defense, or ...
, and Addimando shot and killed Grover.
Sentence reduction
In 2019, New York passed a law—the Domestic Violence Survivors Justice Act—that authorized reductions in sentences for domestic-violence survivors when the abuse they suffered "was a significant contributing factor to the defendant's criminal behavior."
Judge Edward McLoughlin originally ruled that Addimando's case did not meet the requirements of a reduced sentence because, according to the judge, she could have left her abuser.
An appeals court disagreed and reduced Addimando's sentence to 7.5 years.
Clemency effort
In November 2021, Addimando filed a
clemency application, attaching a petition in support of application with 30,000 signatures.
A separate petition supporting Addimando's clemency push amassed 579,000 signatures.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Addimando, Nicole
Incidents of domestic violence
American people convicted of murder
American female murderers
Living people
September 2017 crimes in the United States
2017 crimes in New York (state)
1988 births
Mariticides