Inside Christopher Grover’s murder at the hands of friend Nikki Addimando as she breaks the silence about ‘misunderstandings’ from prison

A WOMAN who claims her boyfriend abused her before shooting him dead has broken her silence in her first TV interview from prison since her conviction.

Nikki Addimando admitted killing her boyfriend but says the killing was necessary in self-defense.

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“I think there is a misunderstanding between the victim and the perpetrator,” she said in her interview on April 20/20.

“I think it’s hard to understand that someone can be both.”

Addimando says she killed her boyfriend, Christopher Grover, in the Poughkeepsie, New York, apartment they shared with their two children.

The two met in 2008 as a gymnastics coach.

They moved in together in 2012 after she became pregnant with their son Ben.

Their daughter Faye was born in 2015.

Addimando’s conviction

Addimando claims that the relationship has gone sour because of Grover’s increasing abuse.

“I also thought if I could make him happy it would stop or things would go back to the way they were,” she said of her decision to continue living with Grover.

Grover’s alleged abuse was at the center of Addimando’s criminal case.

Prosecutors said Addimando could have left the apartment instead of resorting to murder.

They also claimed Grover was shot while he slept — a claim that coroners have not corroborated.

Addimando’s attorneys pointed to Grover’s abuse and said the physical altercations posed a deadly risk to their client.

On April 12, 2019, Nikki was found guilty of second-degree murder and criminal possession of a weapon.

At that time she was sentenced to 19 years of life imprisonment.

Addimando’s sister Michelle has retained custody of the two children.

Reduced rate

Addimando’s sentence has been reduced and she is expected to be released in 2024.

In accordance with New York’s Domestic Violence Survivors Justice Act, her conviction was retried in court.

As a result of the new trial, the sentence was reduced to 7.5 years.

She is also required to complete five years of legal supervision after her release from prison.

The judge said Addimando “had an opportunity to safely exit her alleged abuser.”

They also admitted, “Through her lengthy statements, photos and other evidence, Grover repeatedly physically and sexually abused her.”

Nikki is interviewed about her trial in an ABC 20/20 episode entitled “Kill or Be Killed.”

The episode airs February 3 at 9 p.m. EST and is available to stream on Hulu the next day.

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