NEW YORK, NY – Stephen Giraldo of 144th Street in Jamaica, Queens, was handed a 25-year prison sentence today for his egregious attempt on his estranged wife’s life, announced Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz. The incident, occurring nine months prior, involved Giraldo intentionally ramming his SUV into his wife, Sophia Giraldo, 41, before stabbing her, all in the disturbing view of their three children.
District Attorney Katz expressed her deep concern, stating, “The heinous nature of this crime is beyond comprehension. Directing your children to stay seated, deliberately striking their mother, then proceeding to stab her is both cruel and unthinkable.” She further emphasized that the delivered sentence aimed to provide some solace and justice to the victim and her family.
Giraldo, 37, had confessed to the crime of attempted murder a month earlier. Today, Queens Supreme Court Justice Michael Yavinsky declared the 25-year prison term, accompanied by an additional five years of post-release oversight.
The incident specifics are as follows:
On the morning of December 27, 2022, around 5:20 a.m., surveillance cameras captured Giraldo in a white Ford Explorer SUV outside his estranged wife’s residence. Along with him in the vehicle were their three children, aged 6, 9, and 11.
As Sophia Giraldo approached the front of the SUV, Stephen Giraldo instructed his children to remain buckled. He then deliberately drove the vehicle into her. Following the initial assault, the vehicle toppled over. Unperturbed, Giraldo clambered over his front passenger-seated child, emerged from the vehicle, and proceeded to stab Sophia.
The injuries sustained by Sophia included significant neurological trauma, leg fractures, and a life-threatening stab wound affecting her liver. While she managed to survive the assault, she remains unresponsive and continues to require medical intervention.