Nicole Addimando hearing adjourned; process to stretch months
Sept. 11, 2019
"A hearing to determine if Nicole Addimando should be sentenced under the newly enacted Domestic Violence Survivors Justice Act adjourned in Dutchess County Court on Wednesday.
But the process to make that decision, which would drastically reduce the sentence she would otherwise face, is expected to stretch more than two months, if not longer....
Addimando in April was found guilty of second-degree murder in the September 2017 death of Christopher Grover, her live-in boyfriend and father to her children. She never denied shooting him, but claimed she did so in self-defense, after years of physical and mental abuse.
The defense is aiming to prove it is more likely true than not that she was a victim of domestic violence at the time she shot Grover and that the abuse was a major factor in her crime.
The three-day hearing before Judge Edward McLoughlin was the first step in that process.
Addimando’s representation now has until Oct. 16 to submit its final statements. The Putnam County District Attorney's Office will then have until Nov. 13 to submit its response. The defense will have two more weeks to submit a final response before their next scheduled court appearance on Nov. 27.
McLoughlin said he will review the testimony from the hearing, and re-read the nearly 2,000 page trial testimony, at the request of both the prosecution and the defense. When McLoughlin finishes reviewing all of the documents submitted, he will make a decision on Addimando's sentence....
Just four witnesses were called during the hearing. Two of Addimando’s former therapists and her former landlord all testified to seeing signs of abuse on her body. One of the therapists, Sarah Caprioli, also discussed abusive relationships Addimando allegedly shared with three other men — a maintenance man and two police officers — while she was dating Grover.
Kellyann Kostyal-Larrier, executive director of Safe Homes of Orange County, was called by the defense Wednesday as a domestic violence expert. When asked if victims can overstate or exaggerate their stories at times, Koystal-Larrier said victims will make false statements to protect themselves or their family, however she said she has not seen examples of victims overstating abuse.
The prosecution did not call witnesses, but showed a video Grover made for Addimando in May 2014, in which she is seen smiling and pregnant, planting flowers and painting a bedroom. It was taken during a time period in which Addimando claimed she was being abused, the prosecution stated."
Nicole Addimando hearing adjourned; process to stretch months