Queens Man Accused Of Mowing Down Wife With SUV Indicted

QUEENS, NY — A Queens man accused of running over his wife in downtown Flushing in December has been indicted an attempted murder charge, prosecutors announced Friday.

The man, identified as 36-year-old Stephen Giraldo, was indicted by a Queens grand jury after being accused of hitting his wife with an SUV before stabbing her with a knife in front of their home with the couple's three children in the car, Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz said.

“This is a heartbreaking crime," Katz said in a statement. "This savage attack, committed in full view of the victim’s three young children, stirred outrage across the city. Our thoughts are with the victim and her children. We will hold accountable the person responsible for this brutality.”

Giraldo is facing charges of attempted murder in the second degree, assault in the first and second degrees, reckless endangerment in the second degree, endangering the welfare of a child, and criminal possession of a weapon in the fourth degree, according to the district attorney's office.

He is pending arraignment in Queens County Supreme Court, the district attorney's office wrote. If convicted, he faces up to 25 years in prison.

Security footage showed Stephen Giraldo getting into a white Ford Explorer on Parsons Boulevard Dec. 27 about 5:20 a.m., according to the DA's news release. When his wife, 41-year-old Sophia Giraldo, walked in front of the vehicle, Stephen Giraldo told his children, ages 11, 9, and 6, to “keep your seat belt on” before driving directly into his wife, the release continued.

After colliding with Sophia Giraldo, the car turned onto its side, after which Stephen Giraldo crawled out of a window and stabbed his wife with a knife, according to the DA's office.

Sophia Giraldo was taken to the hospital and treated for severe neurological damage, broken bones in her leg, and a stab wound that punctured her liver, the release stated.