Who is Nikki Addimando? Mom-of-two who killed partner in 2017 reveals how she parents from prison
POUGHKEEPSIE, NEW YORK: Nikki Addimando, the mother of two, who was found guilty of shooting her partner to death opens up about the 2017 killing. She told a news channel on Thursday, February 2, that she had to do it to save herself, “It was kill or be killed.” Christopher Grover was shot to death in the Poughkeepsie, New York apartment where he lived with Addimando and his two children. The convict is presently imprisoned at Bedford Hills Correctional Facility, as she was indicted on June 30, 2018, on the charge of second–degree murder, first and second-degree manslaughter, and second-degree criminal possession of a weapon.
"I think there's a misunderstanding about victim and perpetrator. I think it's hard to understand that someone can be both," said Addimando. Talking about why she did not report her partner, she said, "I also thought that if I could make him happy, it would stop or that things would go back to how they were." However, prosecutors during the 2019 trial argued that she could have chosen to leave her boyfriend and had several opportunities to alert the authorities, instead of taking the extreme step. The other argument presented in the case was that Grover was shot dead in his sleep and Addimando was not in imminent danger as he claimed before pulling the trigger.
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Parenting from behind the bars
Addimando's legal team presented evidence of abuse, which comprised of her official testimony, photos, and reports by forensic nurses documenting her abuse, and stood by their claim that it was an act of self-defense. Addimando also claimed that the abuse included nonconsensual pornographic images that were posted to a pornography site without her permission. As per the record, it could not be proven who uploaded those images. “It just brought a whole new level of shame,” she said while talking about the incident to ABC News.
Talking about how she does parenting from behind the bars, Addimando said, "It takes intention and effort, but it would be harder not to. I try to stay involved in their day-to-day. Those are the little moments that I miss most." She added, "I don't know how, [but] I thought that I was protecting them by staying. I really believed that." She meets her two kids once every week when they come for a prison visit.
Who is Nikki Addimando?
Nikki Addimando is a former preschool teacher who met her boyfriend Christopher Grover in 2008. The pair moved in after four years of dating each other, and they had two kids at the time of the unfortunate incident According to Addimando, she suffered both physical and sexual abuse during the relationship she had with Grover.
Addimando was sentenced to 19 years to life in prison, which was reduced to 7.5, however, she is still a convicted murderer. "I felt found, finally, by them, and heard," she said. Chris Grover’s mother Gail released a statement on the reduced sentence and call it “a slap in the face.” Before adding, "We believe Nikki's accusations of abuse are untrue and maintain Chris was a peaceful, loving partner and father."
Addimando felt remorse for Grover’s family and the pain she inflicted on them, "I wish that I could explain to them how much I share in their hurt, how much I grieve Chris, too, and how much I never wanted to cause pain. I know that I've caused so much pain in their lives,"
Nikki Addimando will be released next year, 2024, has never denied shooting Grover, and maintains it was an act of self-defense, after what she calls ‘years of physical and sexual abuse.’