{"id":363551,"date":"2021-11-06T17:11:09","date_gmt":"2021-11-06T14:11:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/en.buradabiliyorum.com\/moms-rally-for-nikki-addimando-who-killed-abusive-partner\/"},"modified":"2021-11-06T17:11:09","modified_gmt":"2021-11-06T14:11:09","slug":"moms-rally-for-nikki-addimando-who-killed-abusive-partner","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/moms-rally-for-nikki-addimando-who-killed-abusive-partner\/","title":{"rendered":"#Moms rally for Nikki Addimando, who killed abusive partner"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>&#8220;<strong>#Moms rally for Nikki Addimando, who killed abusive partner<\/strong>&#8221;<\/p>\n<div>\n<aside class=\"single__inline-module alignleft\">\n<\/aside>\n<p>On Sept. 28, 2017, Christopher Grover pointed a gun at his partner and the mother of his two children, Nikki Addimando, and told her that he was going to kill her and then shoot himself.<\/p>\n<p> \u201cAnd then,\u201d he said, \u201cyour kids will have no one.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>It wasn\u2019t the first time he had threatened her. But it would be the last, as Addimando managed to grab the gun and fired a bullet into the skull of the Poughkeepsie man who had allegedly routinely beaten and degraded her for six years. She even told a therapist that Grover had filmed himself raping and torturing her, then uploaded the video to the sex site Pornhub.<\/p>\n<p>Now, speaking from the Westchester jail where she is serving a 7 &amp; 1\/2-year sentence \u2014\u00a0reduced from 19 years \u2014 for second-degree murder and illegal possession of a firearm, Addimando said that she asks \u201cmyself every day\u201d how else she should have reacted under the circumstances. <\/p>\n<p>\u201cIf I could go back in time, I still don\u2019t know in that moment \u2014 what I could have done,\u201d she said. \u201cAnd it h<a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/download-scripts-themes-apps\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"9\" title=\"Download Scripts &amp; Themes &amp; Apps\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">app<\/a>ened so fast. I mean, do you know what I should\u2019ve done? Because I\u2019ve been searching for the answer.\u201d<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"1024\" height=\"682\" src=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2021\/11\/nikki-addimando-abuse-photos.jpg?quality=90&amp;strip=all&amp;w=1024\" alt=\"At Nikki Addimando's trial, defense attorneys presented photos of injuries she'd sustained over the years, arguing that Chris Grover had caused these injuries.\" class=\"wp-image-20048006\" srcset=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2021\/11\/nikki-addimando-abuse-photos.jpg?quality=90&amp;strip=all&amp;w=1535 1536w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2021\/11\/nikki-addimando-abuse-photos.jpg?quality=90&amp;strip=all 1024w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2021\/11\/nikki-addimando-abuse-photos.jpg?quality=90&amp;strip=all&amp;w=512 512w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\"\/><figcaption>At Nikki Addimando\u2019s trial, defense attorneys presented photos of injuries she\u2019d sustained over the years, alleging that her partner, Chris Grover, had caused them.<\/figcaption><figcaption><span class=\"credit\">Courtesy of Garrard R. Beeney<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Her thought-provoking question was posed to journalist Justine van der Leun, who spent hours visiting Addimando at Bedford Hills Correctional Facility, the prison portrayed in the fictional <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/watch-movies-tv-seriess\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"8\" title=\"Watch Movies &amp; TV Series\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">TV series<\/a> \u201cOrange Is The New Black.\u201d She recorded multiple interviews with Addimando for a new six-part podcast, \u201c<a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/lemonadamedia.com\/show\/believeher\/\">Believe Her<\/a>.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>In addition to looking closely at the case and Addimando\u2019s trial, the series features the women who have mobilized to call for her clemency.<\/p>\n<p>Nearly 573,000 people have signed a <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.change.org\/p\/president-trump-freenikki\">Change.org <\/a>petition with the hashtag #FreeNikki and tens of thousands of dollars have been contributed to fund legal expenses and the <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/givebutter.com\/walknikkihome\">welfare of Ben and Faye<\/a>, her 8-year-old son and 6-year-old daughter.<\/p>\n<p>Supporters have organized rallies and other events, often local to Poughkeepsie, like fun runs, art shows and a themed benefit night. There\u2019s even #FreeNikki <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/we-stand-with-nikki.creator-spring.com\/\">merchandise<\/a> including hoodies, T-shirts and yoga mats.<\/p>\n<p>Many campaigners, such as Linsey Gatto, a 40-year-old mother from Beacon, are first-time activists.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"1024\" height=\"682\" src=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2021\/11\/stand-with-nikki.jpg?quality=90&amp;strip=all&amp;w=1024\" alt=\"Domestic violence awareness and to raise funds for Nikki.\" class=\"wp-image-20048069\" srcset=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2021\/11\/stand-with-nikki.jpg?quality=90&amp;strip=all&amp;w=1535 1536w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2021\/11\/stand-with-nikki.jpg?quality=90&amp;strip=all 1024w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2021\/11\/stand-with-nikki.jpg?quality=90&amp;strip=all&amp;w=512 512w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\"\/><figcaption>Large groups of supporters have organized petition-signing rallies and sold merchandise to raise funds for Addimando\u2019s children.<\/figcaption><figcaption><span class=\"credit\">westandwithnikki.com<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>\u201cI was appalled [by her sentence] The thought of her being away from her kids \u2026 just broke my heart,\u201d Gatto, an <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.togetherishmom.com\/\">influencer<\/a> who says she is typical of the \u201cregular\u201d women challenging Nikki\u2019s incarceration, told The Post.<\/p>\n<p>Like Gatto, Larissa Vreeland has never met Addimando, but she has mobilized hundreds of women by posting on <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/social-mediaa\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"1\" title=\"Social Media\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Facebook<\/a> groups aimed at moms. Her child is friends with Addimando\u2019s daughter, Faye, who, along with her brother, now lives with relatives.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIf I had a message for Nikki, I\u2019d tell her we all love her,\u201d said Vreeland, a 36-year-old gift shop owner from Salisbury, Conn. \u201cAs members of her support group, we always say that we\u2019ll fight for her until the sun comes up. We\u2019re not going anywhere until she is home.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI had so much empathy for her when I learned that she wasn\u2019t even safe after Chris was gone,\u201d referring to her belief that Addimando\u2019s ordeal at the hands of a state which, despite its projected dedication to truth and justice, disbelieved and failed her.<\/p>\n<p>According to <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/westandwithnikki.com\/\">Addimando\u2019s advocates<\/a>, she was not only the victim of Grover, but also an American judicial system that van der Leun believes \u201ccriminalizes survivors.\u201d <\/p>\n<p>The podcaster said the bias at Dutchess County Court ranged from Judge Edward McLoughlin (who presided over the 2019 trial) labeling Addimando a \u201cbroken woman,\u201d to Chana Krauss, the assistant district attorney, slut-shaming her by suggesting she was a willing participant in \u201crough\u201d sex who faked her internal injuries or inflicted them on herself.<\/p>\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"alignleft size-nypost-small-post\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"231\" height=\"347\" src=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2021\/11\/elizabeth-clifton-larissa-vreeland.jpg?quality=90&amp;strip=all&amp;w=231\" alt=\"Friend Elizabeth Clifton (left) says she's seen evidence of Addimando's domestic violence and Larissa Vreeland (right) has organized help online, despite never having met Addimando.\" class=\"wp-image-20048121\" srcset=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2021\/11\/elizabeth-clifton-larissa-vreeland.jpg?quality=90&amp;strip=all&amp;w=462 462w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2021\/11\/elizabeth-clifton-larissa-vreeland.jpg?quality=90&amp;strip=all&amp;w=347 346w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2021\/11\/elizabeth-clifton-larissa-vreeland.jpg?quality=90&amp;strip=all&amp;w=231 231w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2021\/11\/elizabeth-clifton-larissa-vreeland.jpg?quality=90&amp;strip=all&amp;w=116 115w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2021\/11\/elizabeth-clifton-larissa-vreeland.jpg?quality=90&amp;strip=all 1024w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 231px) 100vw, 231px\"\/><figcaption>Friend Elizabeth Clifton (left) said she saw evidence of Addimando\u2019s domestic violence and Larissa Vreeland (right) has organized help online, despite never having met Addimando.<\/figcaption><figcaption><span class=\"credit\">Zandy Mangold<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<p>Her therapist, Sarah Caprioli, testified that, when Addimando was pregnant with Faye, Grover repeatedly burned her vagina with a scorching spoon heated over the stove. Medical experts including a midwife and nurse \u2014 whom Addimando had asked at the hospital to document her wounds in case she left Grover and needed evidence for a child custody battle \u2014 said under oath that they had seen severe swelling and burns on her genital area.<\/p>\n<p>Other witnesses, including Elizabeth Clifton, Addimando\u2019s friend and confidant, said they\u2019d seen bruises, black eyes and strangulation marks around her neck. Caprioli reported finding a Pornhub account of a man who matched Grover\u2019s description, featuring photos and videos of a bound and gagged Addimando being raped and tortured. The screenshots she took were displayed in the courtroom. A previous therapist testified that she saw a video of Grover raping Addimando.<\/p>\n<p>But the judge declared that gym worker Grover, the licensed owner of the pistol that killed him, didn\u2019t fit the \u201cprofile\u201d of an abuser. Addimando was found guilty of second-degree murder. <\/p>\n<p>Van der Leun maintained that \u201cpeople in positions of power\u201d such as McLoughlin, detectives and the prosecution team questioned why, if this behavior was ongoing, Addimando didn\u2019t just leave.<\/p>\n<p>At her sentencing, Addimando said, \u201cI wish more than anything that this ended another way. If it had, I wouldn\u2019t be in this courtroom. But I wouldn\u2019t be alive either. This is why women don\u2019t leave. They so often end up dead or where I\u2019m standing \u2014 alive, but not free.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt\u2019s relatable to many women,\u201d van der Leun said, adding that skepticism by authorities \u201cspeaks to the bigger issue of what an abuse survivor is required to do in order to be believed.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>In one of her 2020 jail interviews used in the podcast, Addimando theorized that it would have taken her own murder to prove she was telling the truth about Grover\u2019s violence.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"1024\" height=\"682\" src=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2021\/11\/believe-her-podcast.jpg?quality=90&amp;strip=all&amp;w=1024\" alt=\"Justine van der Leun's podcast on Nikki Addimando case.\" class=\"wp-image-20051507\" srcset=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2021\/11\/believe-her-podcast.jpg?quality=90&amp;strip=all&amp;w=1535 1536w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2021\/11\/believe-her-podcast.jpg?quality=90&amp;strip=all 1024w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2021\/11\/believe-her-podcast.jpg?quality=90&amp;strip=all&amp;w=512 512w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\"\/><figcaption>Journalist Justine van der Leun (inset) has a new podcast about Nikki Addimando\u2019s case.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>\u201cIt [dying] is probably the only way I would have been believed,\u201d she said.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>In July, the Supreme Court Appellate Court reduced Addimando\u2019s sentence to 7 &amp; 1\/2 years under the Domestic Violence Survivors Act. Her allies celebrated, but were disappointed that the conviction still stands.<\/p>\n<p>Music teacher Clifton, 46, whose house in Poughkeepsie occasionally provided a refuge for Addimando, told The Post she and other friends \u201cjust want her home.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt\u2019s been so painful for Nikki not to be with her kids as they\u2019ve grown up in their most tender years,\u201d she added. <\/p>\n<p>The plan now is to file paperwork with Gov. Hochul in a bid for clemency.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMost of all, I want Nikki to heal and be with her children again,\u201d van der Leun said. \u201cBut I know that, in time, she wants to advocate for women who could also be helped by the same people who stand behind her. I can see her coming into her own voice.\u201d\n                        <\/p><\/div>\n<blockquote><p><strong><span style=\"color: #ff6600;\">If you liked the article, do not forget to share it with your friends. Follow us on\u00a0<span style=\"color: #ff0000;\"><a style=\"color: #ff0000;\" href=\"https:\/\/news.google.com\/publications\/CAAqBwgKMLG0nwswvr63Aw\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\">Google News<\/a><\/span>\u00a0too, click on the star and choose us from your favorites.<\/span><\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">For forums sites go to <span style=\"color: #ff9900;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/forum.buradabiliyorum.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Forum.BuradaBiliyorum.Com<\/a><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong>If you want to read more <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/news\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"2\" title=\"News\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">News<\/a> articles, you can visit our <span style=\"color: #ff9900;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/en.buradabiliyorum.com\/news\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">News category.<\/a><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><span style=\"color: black;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/2021\/11\/06\/moms-rally-for-nikki-addimando-who-killed-abusive-partner\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Source<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>&#8220;#Moms rally for Nikki Addimando, who killed abusive partner&#8221; On Sept. 28, 2017, Christopher Grover pointed a gun at his partner and the mother of his two children, Nikki Addimando, and told her that he was going to kill her and then shoot himself. \u201cAnd then,\u201d he said, \u201cyour kids will have no one.\u201d It&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":363552,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2021\/11\/Nikki-Addimando-Christopher-Grover-main.jpg?quality=90&strip=all&w=1024","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[70897],"tags":[118564,71434,74691,71152,28970],"class_list":["post-363551","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","tag-11-6-21","tag-courts","tag-domestic-abuse","tag-domestic-violence","tag-true-crime"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/363551","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=363551"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/363551\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/363552"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=363551"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=363551"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=363551"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}