A Poughkeepsie, New York, mother of two who was convicted of murder for fatally shooting her abusive boyfriend and the father of her children in 2017 has been released from prison.
Nicole "Nikki" Addimando was convicted in 2019 for killing her then-boyfriend, Christopher Grover, in self-defense, and she was sentenced to 19 years to life in prison before appealing the case under the Domestic Violence Survivors Justice Act.
She was able to get her sentence reduced as a result of the appeal and her work in a prison program that trains service dogs for veterans and first responders, according to Sullivan and Cromwell LLC.
"The Nicole Addimando Community Defense Committee is overjoyed to welcome home Nikki to the embrace of her family, friends and community," reads a statement from an advocacy organization for Addimando called "We Stand With Nikki." "Nikki earned a Limited Credit Time Allowance through her participation in a dog training prison program that allowed her to be released six months early on January 4th."
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The organization added that they are "grateful" the New York State Supreme Court’s Appellate Division "recognized Nikki as a survivor allowing her to be resentenced under the Domestic Violence Survivor’s Justice Act."
"The 10 years of advocacy work to pass the DVSJA, the pro bono help of Garrard Beeney and the law firm of Sullivan and Cromwell, and the thousands of people across the country who supported Nikki, have allowed this wonderful moment to happen and we are so grateful," the statement says. "We hope Nikki’s release will inspire others to become involved in supporting other criminalized survivors."
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Addimando's attorneys said she shot Grover after he pointed a handgun at her head and threatened to shoot her on Sept. 28, 2017, and she turned herself in to police that same night.
Witnesses, including police and medical professionals, testified about Addimando's injuries and the severe abuse Grover inflicted upon her.
Her defense also said Grover uploaded videos of the abuse to the pornography website Pornhub, which were witnessed by law enforcement.
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"I wish more than anything it ended another way," she said following the 2019 verdict in her case. "I wouldn't be in this courtroom right now, but I wouldn't be alive either. This is why women don't leave. They so often end up dead or where I'm standing — alive, but still not free."
Addimando's sister wrote a book about her family's "fight for Nikki's freedom" titled "Dear Sister," which is set to be released on Jan. 30.
If you or anyone you know is a victim of domestic violence, please call the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-SAFE or text "START" to 88788.
