A Queens bus driver accused of running down his wife with a Ford Explorer then repeatedly stabbing her as their three kids looked on in horror pleaded guilty in Queens Supreme Court on Tuesday.
Stephen Giraldo, 36, was ferrying his kids ages 11, 9 and 6 to their mom Sophia Giraldo’s Flushing home near Parksons Blvd. and Franklin Ave. at 5:20 a.m. on Dec. 27, 2022 when he spotted his estranged wife coming out to meet them.
“Keep your seatbelts on,” the defendant told his kids, before gunning the throttle of his White Ford Explorer and slamming into his wife.
Luiz C. Ribeiro for New York Daily News
NYPD 109th Precinct Officers are seen at the scene of car flipped over in the front yard of a house located at Parsons Blvd and Franklin Avenue in Flushing on Dec. 27, 2022.
The SUV flipped onto its side after he slammed the SUV into the mom, and then jealous hubby climbed out over his son still strapped in the front passenger seat to continue his assault.
Once clear of the wreckage Giraldo plunged a knife into his wounded wife.
The victim suffered severe neurological damage during the assault, in addition to a broken leg and a stab wound to her liver. She has languished in a coma since the attack.
“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,” Queens District Attorney Melinda 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.”
Giraldo faces 25 years in prison when he goes before the judge for his sentencing in Queens Supreme Court on Oct. 6.
