Judge Throws Out 2 Counts in Monserrate Trial

Giraldo's testimony expected to weigh heavily on verdict

The judge presiding over Hiram Monserrate’s domestic abuse case dismissed two of six counts against the state senator on Tuesday, The New York Times reported.

Queens State Supreme Justice William M. Erlbaum threw out charges that Monserrate had acted recklessly in handling a glass in his apartment, saying that it didn’t square with the prosecution’s theory that he intended to do harm to his girlfriend, Karla Giraldo.

“You can’t convict on both theories,” the judge said, according to the Times.

That leaves three counts of intentional assault and one count of reckless assault for actions that happened outside the confines of Monserrate’s apartment on Dec. 19. Monserrate has said the slashing was accidental.

Prosecutors say Giraldo, 30, initially told doctors and police that Monserrate slashed her face with glass in a jealous rage inside their apartment, but later changed her story when she discovered he was going to be arrested.

Last week, the case turned into a circus when Giraldo took the stand and began to sob as a prosecutor played a video that showed her bleeding in the hallway of her boyfriend's apartment building.

While on the stand, she was asked "Do you recall telling the doctor that you were fighting and he cut my face?" Giraldo responded: "I don't recall having said that." She said she remembers saying "it was an accident."

The prosecution's strongest testimony came from a nurse and doctor at Long Island Jewish, who heard a different tune from Giraldo the night of the attack. They said when she arrived at the emergency room for treatment, she blamed her gashes on a deliberate attack by Monserrate.

On the stand, a small scar was visible on her face despite heavy make-up. She told the judge that she was in a confused state when she was bleeding knocking on neighbor's door after her face was cut.

The petite 30-year-old did concede that "my boyfriend was probably a little jealous" when Monserrate found another man's card in her purse. Asked if he spoke to her in an angry tone, Giraldo replied through a Spanish-speaking interpreter, "normal, a man's voice is always strong."

Prosecutors rested their case on Tuesday. Sen. Monserrate still faces 7 years in prison and forfeiture of his job if convicted
 

Contact Us