JAMAICA, QUEENS: Days after Christmas, a 36-year-old father in New York City instructed his three children to fasten their seatbelts before he deliberately ran over their mother using a Ford Explorer.
Following this shocking act, Stephen Giraldo exited the vehicle and proceeded to stab his wife in the liver. He has now pleaded guilty to attempted murder.
Survivor of grisly attack left with severe injuries
Sophia Giraldo endured a harrowing ordeal that left her with significant neurological injuries, fractures in her leg bones, and a stab wound that penetrated her liver, according to statements from prosecutors.
Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz said on Tuesday, September 5, that the severity of the attack had deeply affected the community, according to the New York Post.
Surveillance footage captured Giraldo arriving at the victim's residence in a white Ford Explorer, with the intention of dropping off their children, aged 6, 9, and 11.
As their mother emerged from the house, prosecutors claim that Giraldo instructed the children to remain securely fastened with their seatbelts and then accelerated the vehicle.
The car veered onto the sidewalk, causing it to tilt to one side, but the driver's actions did not conclude at that point.
“Giraldo crawled over his son in the front passenger seat and out of the vehicle’s window and then stabbed his wife with a knife,” according to prosecutors.
Sophia Giraldo's children saw the attack
Sophia Giraldo's traumatic experience resulted in severe neurological damage, fractures in her leg bones, and a liver wound, besides the emotional burden she will have to carry for life.
“The horrifying brutality of the attack, and the fact that it was committed in full view of the victim’s three young children, stirred outrage and heartbreak across the city,” Katz said.
“We welcome the guilty plea and seeing a violent, dangerous man go to prison, but today’s outcome does not remedy the immense pain and lifelong suffering the defendant caused,” she added.
