Dad who told kids to buckle up before hitting wife with SUV and stabbing her sentenced

A New York man was sentenced to 25 years in prison for the attempted murder of his estranged wife after he admitted to deliberately plowing his car into her before stabbing her. According to Law&Crime, the couple’s three children were in Stephen Giraldo’s SUV when he struck and then stabbed his estranged wife Sophia Giraldo.

The punishment handed out to the 37-year-old comes after he pleaded guilty to the December 2022 incident. Sophia, 37, was said to be approaching Giraldo’s car when he plowed into her before stabbing her. Prior to hitting his estranged wife, Giraldo told their three children, who were passengers in the car, to “keep your seatbelt on.” 

Authorities in a statement said that security video captured Giraldo in his car outside his estranged wife’s home on the morning of December 27, 2022. The convicted man was said to be dropping the children at their mother’s home at the time. 

Authorities said that as Sophia was approaching the car, Giraldo told the children to “keep your seat belt on” before plowing into her. The car turned on its side after the convicted man struck his estranged wife. Authorities said Giraldo then “climbed over his child seated in the front passenger seat and through a window and stabbed his wife in the chest.”

Sophia suffered severe neurological damage, broken bones in her leg, and a punctured liver from the stabbing. And though Sophia survived the attack, she has since remained unconscious and under medical care.

“This is one of the most brutal cases we have prosecuted,” said Queens County District Attorney Melinda Katz in the statement. “To tell your children to ‘buckle up,’ purposefully hit their mother, and then climb over your son to continue your attack with a knife is unconscionable. In holding the defendant accountable and securing a lengthy prison sentence, we hope we have achieved some measure of justice on behalf of the victim and her loved ones.”

Giraldo attacked his estranged wife after she filed for divorce last year, Law&Crime reported. Prior to the attack, Sophia was the host of “The Unfiltered and Free Podcast.” In the first episode of the podcast which features “real conversations about living life after betrayal and abuse,” Sophia touched on her marriage, saying it was abusive.